CAIRO, 30 October — Libya, which is threatening to withdraw from the Arab League, has requested an emergency meeting of the pan-Arab organization to discuss its complaints, a League official said yesterday. In a telephone call to League Secretary-general Amr Moussa, African Unity Minister Ali Abdul Salam Triki requested the "holding of an urgent summit to debate the situation in the Arab world," said the official. Libya has expressed anger at the League’s failure to do more to address Israeli attacks on the Palestinians and US threats against Iraq, but has apparently agreed to put its withdrawal threat on hold. Moussa told Triki during the telephone call that an extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers from the League’s 22 members would be held soon and could address Libya’s concerns. The meeting could be held as soon as Nov. 10 at the League’s headquarters in Cairo, the official said, adding that contacts were under way to set the date. Moussa had pulled out all the stops in his bid to convince Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi not to leave the group, promising the League would listen to his concerns more attentively but also warning him of the seriousness of a pullout.
