I hereby inform you that I can travel from Libya to other countries, particularly distant countries, only by air. This is despite the fact that I am avoiding air travel as long as my people remains under an unjust and hostile siege. An aerial embargo has been maintained against it for a number of years, which has been unprecedented in the history of the world.

Given that I identify myself with the people of my country, I have not flown in an aircraft since the unjust embargo was imposed, either within Libya or overseas, other than on the occasion I participated in the Arab Summit Conference in Cairo in late June this year. For your information, however, if I consider for my own part that some matter requires that I should travel by air to any country in the world, then I shall borrow an aircraft from Libyan Arab Airways for that purpose. As you must realize, it is not possible for me to discontinue my country's participation in the international community or to suspend the performance of my duties towards my country, my Arab Nation, my African continent and my Islamic community or in connection with the membership of my country in the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and the United Nations.

In the meantime, many heads of State visit the Jamahiriya and suffer the hardships of overland travel from the eastern and western points of entry to the Jamahiriya or of travel by sea from Malta. I affirm the right of these heads of State also to come to the Jamahiriya directly by air using their own aircraft.

I used to rely on the world conscience, but it turns out to be a world without conscience. And I used to rely on the justice of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, but they turn out to be inoperative and to have been annulled by a new status quo of extreme ugliness and injustice that is being forcibly imposed by naval fleets, by intercontinental missiles, by economic sanctions that place a stranglehold on peoples and by threats to deprive children of milk, bread and medication.

My country has advanced all possible compromise solutions with a view to resolving the "Lockerbie" problem, and it will never give up on the "Locker-A" massacre committed against its children in 1986.

The world as a whole is no longer able to bear this injustice. Indeed, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and the members of the Organization of African Unity and the League of Arab States, which are the overwhelming majority of the members of the United Nations, are threatening to abandon their compliance with the unjust Security Council resolutions against Libya, resolutions that have no parallel in history, having become convinced of the justice of Libya's cause and the soundness of its position and having been affected by the grievous suffering of the Libyan people and by the damage caused to all of these peoples in a number of fields.

(Signed) Muammar QADDAFI