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Aviation History
1992
1992 - 1035.PDF
INTERNATIONAL Editorial Enquiries +44 (81) 652 3842 Editorial Fax +44 (81) 652 3840 Display Advertising +44 (81) 652 3315 Display Advertising Fax +44 (81) 652 8981 Classified Advertising +44 (81) 661 6373 Classified Advertising Fax +44 (81) 642 4431 Telex 892084 REEDBP G Subscriptions +44 (81) 649 7271 Back issues (recent copies only) +44 (81) 652 3335 Picture Library +44 (81) 652 3427 Flight Directories +44 (707) 46952 USA Newstrade Sales Enquiries +1 (718) 392 7477 LONDON Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS, UK Editor Allan Winn Editor's PA Jacqueline Worsley Deputy Editor Forbes Mutch News Editor Andrew Chuter Features Editor David Learmount Business Editor Kevin O'Toole Military Editor Mike Gaines Air Transport Editor Ian Gdold +44 (81) 652 3882 +44 (81) 652 3882 +44 (81) 652 3852 +44 (81) 652 3843 +44 (81) 652 3845 +44 (81) 652 3835 +44 (81) 652 8809 +44 (81) 652 3834 Technology/Industry Editor Simon Elliott +44 (81) 652 3838 Databases Editor Tom Hamill Editorial Assistant Kate Sarsfield Design Editor Mike Wells Layout Sub-editor Annabel Goddard Layout Sub-editor Jenny Long Technical Artist Tim Hall Technical Artist David Hatchard Technical Artist John Marsden Spaceflight Correspondent Tim Furniss Photographer (Europe) Mark Wagner +44 (81) 652 3096 +44 (81) 652 3842 +44 (81) 652 3828 +44 (81) 652 3848 +44 (81) 652 3847 +44 (81) 652 804? +44 (81) 652 8047 +44 (81) 652 8054 +44 (237) 451756 Fax +44 (237) 451600 +44 (272) 358200 Tax +44 (272) 358290 Display Advertisement Sales Sales Manager Clive Richardson +44 (81) 652 3315 Assistant Sales Manager Nick Wilcox +44 (81) 652 3892 Regional Manager Northern and Eastern Europe Mark Jana«ay+44 (81) 652 3317 Regional Manager UK and Scandinavia Janice Lowe +44 (81) 652 3316 Advertisement production Howard Mason +44 (81) 652 3267 EUROPE/MIDDLE EAST European Editor (Brussels) JulianMoxon +32 (2) 657 9689 Fax +32 (2) 657 5260 Munich Correspondent Douglas Barrie Paris Correspondent Gilbert Sedbon Israel Correspondent Arie Egc-zl +49 (89) 689 1041 Fax +49 (89) 689 1045 +33 (1) 4825 5261 +972 (3) 967 1155 Sales Director (France) Pierre Mussard +33 (1) 46 Representative (Italy) Romano Ferrario +39 (2) 29 46 29 58084 302 AMERICAS American Editor Graham Warwick +1 (404) Fax +1 (404) Washington Correspondent Kieran Daly +1 (703) Fax +1 (703) USA West Coast Correspondent (Los Angeles) Guy Norris +1 (714) Fax +1 (714) er (USA) Craig Schmitman +1 (310) Fax +1 (310) President RBP (USA) Ray i Traffic Manager JoAnn Caw +1 (212) +1 (212) Fax +1 (212) Vice President US Sales John Tidy +1 (714) Fax +1 (714) Sales Director (Mid West and Canada) Gene Glendinning +1 (708) Fax +1 (708) Sales Director (East Coast) Robert Hancock +1 (703) Fax +1 (703) Business Development Director Sheena Robbins +1 (703) Fax +1 (703) 587 2927 594 1534 836 7443 836 8344 252 8971 252 8972 452 4464 452 3515 687 6604 756 1057 756 2514 635 9920 635 0602 836 7444 836 7446 836 7444 836 7446 ASIA/PACIFIC Asian Editor (Singapore) John Bailey +65 226 3188 Fax +65 227 1769 Australian Correspondent Paul Phelan +61 (70) 532 791 Fax +61 (70) 532 791 +65 226 3188 +65 226 3188 Fax +65 223 6960 +81 (3) 3234 2161 Fax +81 (3) 3234 1143 Sales Director Mike Hancock (_.,., Account Manager Fiona Bartholomeusz Regional Representative (Japan) Shoichi Maruyama Publisher Les Edwards +44 (81) 652 3436 For lull advertisement information see inside back cover. COMMENT A WRONGFUL RIGHT Civil air transport is meant to be the industry which knows no interna tional boundaries. For most govern ments, it has ceased to be an instrument of foreign policy, although for many countries it remains a national instrument of international trade and commerce — disputes over bilateral services agreements regularly show. Rarely has it been used, in recent years, as an instrument of international politics, such as it now is against Libya. It is iconic (although, perhaps, apt) that the ultimate cause of the United Nations air-services embargo of Libya was the bombing of a civil airliner over Lockerbie. The rights and wrongs of the British/ American case against the alleged bombers may one day be heard in a properly constituted court, which is where they should be heard. The rights and wrongs of using international civil air transport as the instrument to achieve that aim, however, de serve a hearing now. The Security Council of the United Nations is within both its legal and moral rights in seeking to bring one of its own members into line. Its action is welcome for its positive nature (until re cently, a rare feature of UN politics), but the wisdom of its choice of one of its embargoes is not so clear-cut. If a nation stands accused of the misuse of arms, then it is logical to try to deprive it of more weapons. Inevitably, such an embargo will hurt suppliers of arms in the rest of the world, but arms makers in countries like the USA have been prevented by their own governments from trading with Libya for many years, anyway. Commercial air transport services are another matter. Over 30 international airlines provide scheduled services to Tripoli (or did until 15 April), and most of them are from outside the former Eastern Bloc with which Libya was most closely aligned politically. Almost all the Euro pean Community states are represented by airlines flying there, for instance, as are many Middle and Far Eastern countries. These airline services do give Libya commer cial stability and international credibility. What- (ii-W-i I o use civilian air services as the instrument of embargo endangers their standing as instruments of peaceful co-operation:" ever succour they give Libya, however, must be multiplied a dozen times by the commercial benefit of those services to the providing airlines and their home countries. Many of those serv ices, for instance, derive much of their traffic from international ventures like the Libyan oilfields. In other words, cutting off by air involves a far greater cost to the rest of the world than it does to Libya. To use civilian air services as the instrument of embargo endangers their standing as instru ments of peaceful co-operation. It is incompati ble with other advances in international co operation, such as the de-nationalisation of national airspace for air- traffic control purposes, is happening in Europe. The air embargo also raises the chances of mili tary confrontation be tween Libya and some of its neighbours. If a Lib yan airliner does not heed warnings from an Italian fighter, and that fighter takes action, the damage to the United Na tions cause could be enormous. Likewise, if that Libyan airliner suf fers an accident as a re sult of trying to evade the blockade, the cost in human life could be matched by the cost to the concept of interna tional policing of interna tional law. The world cannot afford such an expensive outcome. If the members of the UN Security Council really believe in the power of economic sanc tions and the Tightness of their cause, then those sanctions should be targeted where they will have a genuine and rapid effect on the Libyan e'conomy. That means cutting off Libya's exports of oil, no matter what the cost to the interna tional oil companies which handle it, and no matter what the inconvenience to those who would use it. Oil, for good or for bad, is an established weapon of economic warfare, and all who buy, sell or use it know that. The "use of civil air transport as the instru ment 'of embargo will almost certainly not achieve'what the Security Council wants. Not only is it the wrong instrument but its use to a political end (no matter how right and proper that end may be) debases it as an instrument of peaceful international communication. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 22 - 28 April, 1992
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