The Honorable Madeleine K. Albright
Secretary of State
Department of State
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Albright,

     We commend you and Ambassador Burleigh for the deiplomacy which has brought Abd al-Basset al-Megrahi and Al-Amin Khalifah Fhima to the Netherlands to stand trial before a Scottish court for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103.

    The families of the victims of this henious terrorist act have waited too long -- more than a decade -- for the first suspects to be brought to justice. We must ensure that they are prosecuted effectively. We hope the families and their representatives will also have access to the trial, if possible through a video link to the United States.

    United Nations sanctions on Libya have already been suspended. The United States should not consent to permanently lifting the sanctions before the trial is concluded to ensure continued Libyan cooperation. We agree with your decision to keep U.S. sanctions in place until it can be demonstrated that Libya has renounced terrorism in word and in deed.

    Our shared commitment to justice for the victims' families cannot end with this trial. We would appreciate your assurances that no line of inquiry has been excluded. The United States must pursue the investigation to identify all those responsible for ordering, financing and organizing as well as carrting out this terrible crime, wherever they may be. Our national interest demands that we demonstrate that terrorists who attack our citizens will be tracked down and will find no quarter.

    We stand ready to suuport your efforts to punish terrorists as well as those who support and encourage such unlawful and uncivilized conduct.

Sincerly,

(signed)
 

Senator Frank R. Lautenberg
Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Senator Barbara A. Mikulski
Senator Gordon Smith
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Senator Arlen Specter
Senator Robert G. Torricelli
Senator Sam Brownback
Senator Charles E. Schumer
Senator Paul Wellstone
Senator Dianne Feinstein
Senator Paul. S. Sarbanes