Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, in an interview to The Hindu , referred to the question of India supporting sanctions against Libya. She said that of the three measures — travel ban affects 15 members of the regime and the assets freeze six — two were specifically targeted at the regime. The Indian delegation at the UNSC had clear instructions to oppose the imposition of general sanctions, because they hurt the people at large.
On a related issue, Ms. Rao did not think that the attack on an Indian mall in Oman indicated that the situation there was deteriorating and warranted an evacuation plan. She described the attack as a “stray incident” and pointed out that it was not followed by any large-scale violence. However, India was keeping a watchful eye on the situation in Yemen and preparing for any eventuality. It would be easier to evacuate Indians from Yemen because the expatriates were concentrated in two cities that were easily accessible unlike Libya where Indians were spread all over the country.
