The Dutch government has given €100 million in frozen Libyan assets to the World Health Organisation to distribute medicine to the Libyan people, a foreign ministry spokesman said yesterday.

“An amount of €100 million in Libyan assets has been unfrozen on a request of the World Health Organisation,” Ward Bezemer said, adding it was only a fraction of Libya’s assets seized by the Dutch government in March.

Mr Bezemer said Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal told a press conference reserved for Dutch media he was delighted to offer the money to the UN health agency.

“I always say sanctions must cut off the regime and not the population,” Mr Rosenthal said. “That is exactly what’s happening here now: Col Gaddafi’s frozen money is being used to save Libyan lives.”

Mr Bezemer said the money would be mainly used to buy treatment for diabetic patients, medicines against heart disease and provide surgical equipment.

The aid would go to “Benghazi, Misurata and other places where the rebels are in charge but also to where the fighting was still going on,” Mr Bezemer said.

“It was an urgent request by the WHO,” added the spokesman, saying the Netherlands used Libyan money from Dutch bank accounts after receiving the green light from the United Nations.