STATEMENT BY FOREIGN SECRETARY, ROBIN COOK, LOCARNO SUITE, FOREIGN OFFICE, LONDON
This month has brought home to all of us the grave threat from terrorism
and the depth of
human suffering which it can bring upon innocent people. The grief of the
community of
Omagh and the senseless murder of American and African citizens in two
embassy
bombings have demonstrated why we must be vigorous in ensuring that terrorism
is brought
to justice.
Since the start of the year Britain has been engaged in close contact with
the United States,
and since the spring with the Netherlands, in order to bring to trial the
charges arising from
an act of terrorism with one of the largest ever tolls in loss of life.
Almost 10 years ago Pan Am flight 103 was brought down over the Borders
town of
Lockerbie. All 259 passengers and crew on board the flight were killed.
Eleven residents of
Lockerbie were killed in their homes. The plane was blown up deliberately
by a bomb in the
cargo hold. It was an act of premeditated mass murder and of evil terrorism.
Almost 7 years ago warrants were issued for the arrest of 2 Libyan nationals.
Since that
date, Libya has persistently failed to carry out its obligation to hand
over the 2 accused for
trial despite binding resolutions of the Security Council requiring it
to do so.
Throughout those long years the grief of the relatives has been compounded
by the
knowledge that justice has not been done for their loved ones. It has been
equally
distressing for them that they have been necessarily kept in the dark about
the full facts
known to the authorities, because premature disclosure would jeopardise
a fair trial.
Throughout the same long years, Libya has repeatedly stated that it would
accept a trial
before a Scottish Court sitting in a third country. Omar Muntasser, Foreign
Minister of Libya,
said in January in a letter to the President of the Security Council that
Libya:
'.... accepted the proposal of the League of Arab States that the two suspects
should be
tried by a court in a neutral country and .... that they should be tried
at The Hague by Scottish
judges and in accordance with Scottish law'.
During the Security Council debate as recently as March the Libyan Foreign
Minister said
that concerns about Scotland by the lawyers for the 2 suspects relate solely
'to the venue
and have nothing to do with the judges or the law'. Those statements, made
only this year,
put to rest the claim that Libya has always demanded a trial before international
judges.
Both statements made clear that Libya would accept a trial before Scottish
judges.
I have every confidence in the impartiality and fairness of Scottish justice.
The 2 accused
will obtain a fair trial in a Scottish court, and the evidence will be
properly weighed under
Scottish procedures. If they are innocent, they have nothing to fear from
Scottish justice. Our
preference remains that they submit themselves to a trial before a Scottish
court in
Scotland. But, equally, we have nothing to fear from conducting a Scottish
trial in a third
country.
Last December I raised with Madeleine Albright whether we could break the
stalemate by
arranging a trial in a third country. Since then, Andrew Hardie, the Lord
Advocate, and I
have worked closely together to secure satisfactory arrangements under
which a Scottish
court could meet outside Scotland. This has been a joint project in which
we have
cooperated fully between ourselves and between our opposite numbers in
the United States
and the Netherlands.
The Netherlands has earned respect throughout the international community
as a country
which acts as an impartial host of international justice. The Hague is
the seat of both the
International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former
Yugoslavia and has been chosen as the seat for the International Criminal
Court. I would
record our gratitude to the Government of the Netherlands for responding
positively to our
request that we hold the Lockerbie trial in the Netherlands.
The Lord Advocate will himself address in detail the legal aspects of our
agreements. In the
meantime, I would stress that this will be a Scottish court, administering
Scottish law, under
Scottish procedures and Scottish rules of evidence. It will therefore be
presided over by a
panel of Scottish judges with trial experience of administering those procedures
and rules
of evidence.
The only point at which the court will differ from the standard application
of Scottish legal
procedures is that it will not be a trial by jury, as it is not practical
to require the attendance
of 15 ordinary citizens for what may be many months of a trial in a foreign
country.
The agreements are complex and comprehensive. They represent an historic
innovation in
international legal practice to enable the court of one country to conduct
a trial in another
country. They are the product of long and careful examination by the law
officers of Scotland,
the United States and the Netherlands. They are not up for negotiation
with any other party.
I have today spoken to the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, to ask him
to inform Libya of
the arrangements that we have made for a trial in a third country. We have
asked the
Secretary General to seek arrangements for the transfer of the 2 accused,
pending trial. As
soon as they are handed over for trial, we will support action in the Security
Council to
suspend the international sanctions against Libya. Until that happens these
sanctions will
remain in force and if Libya should refuse to surrender the 2 suspects,
international support
for the sanctions will be redoubled.
For years Libya has promised that it would accept a court without jury,
meeting in a third
country. That way forward is now open to them. It is a way forward that
holds out the
prospect of lifting the hardship of sanctions on the people of Libya and
ending the long wait
for justice of the relatives of those who were murdered. It is now up to
Libya to honour their
undertakings to hand over the 2 accused for trial. Our embassies around
the world will today
be calling on all those countries who have approached us on behalf of Libya
to join with us
in pressing Libya to cooperate in a trial under the very terms which they
themselves have
said they would accept. I now urge Libya to respond quickly and without
equivocation.