SALLUM, Egypt, 23 January 2004 — Egypt and Libya lifted restrictions yesterday on travelers crossing their common desert border imposed two weeks ago during a diplomatic row, the border authorities said. A border official said “all restrictive measures” affecting Egyptian and Libyan travelers that were imposed Jan. 9 were “lifted from midnight on Wednesday” (2200 GMT), atop an easing of measures in the last week.
The official said Egyptian workers were now crossing with just their identity papers, as they had done for years, after the Libyans dropped demands for visas, work permits or proof of possession of $350.
The Egyptians dropped all similar measures imposed in retaliation, he said. Diplomats in Tripoli said Libya had imposed restrictions in anger over Egyptian criticism of its unilateral decision last month to renounce weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
However, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said here that his Libyan counterpart, Abdel Rahman Shalgham, told him that the measures were designed to “check” traffic amid Tripoli’s efforts to stop illegal immigration to Europe.
Libya has in the past few months sent back to Egypt hundreds of Egyptians who were allegedly trying to travel to Europe illegally. “There should have been prior consultations so that the issue was not misinterpreted. But in any case the affair is closed,” said Maher, who was part of a senior delegation who met Muammar Qaddafi in Tripoli on Wednesday to end the row.
He blamed the row on a misunderstanding. The problem was a concern for Egypt which relies on remittances from hundreds of thousands of workers in Libya.
Maher, meanwhile, said in Cairo yesterday that he had US assurances that Washington was still working for Arab-Israeli peace despite the conflict’s omission from US President George W. Bush’s speech.
“Many were astonished that President Bush’s speech on the State of the Union did not raise the Palestinian question, but there are assurances from the Americans that they are still committed to the roadmap and its implementation,” Maher told journalists.
The road map plan — backed by the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations — lays down steps which both sides must take toward creating a Palestinian state that lives in peace alongside Israel. “The fact of not mentioning the Palestinian question does not mean it is not important to them, but it could indicate they are concerned first of all about what’s happening in Iraq,” Maher said.
Maher also called on the international community to intervene to stop Israel’s construction of a separation barrier through Palestinian territory in the West Bank.
