The Dutch government says it will investigate whether Libyan assets in the Netherlands can be frozen. During an emergency debate in parliament, Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal said he had been in touch with his colleagues at the Justice Ministry and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. “We will have to move fast”, the minister said.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has reportedly invested billions of euros in the Netherlands via state oil company Tamoil. Minister Rosenthal said he was open to suggestions as long they would only hurt the Libyan regime, not the people turning against it. On Wednesday, the European Union agreed to impose sanctions, the exact nature of which are to be decided on Friday. The Netherlands will support the EU sanctions.

(gsh/hs)

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