Libyan People's Congress OK to Lockerbie trial
15/12/1998 *** updated: 17/12/1998
This page will keep you informed about the recent statement from the Libyan People's General Congress that Libya does formally accept a trial of the two suspects in the Netherlands. Reactions, interviews, background info and pictures. 
Come and join the discussion: Should the US and the UK agree to an international trial in the Netherlands ?
And should Libya extradite the two suspects for trial ? Who was behind the crash of Pan Am 103 ?
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26/09/1998:
Libya's Congress OKs Lockerbie trial plan

Dec 15 (Reuters) - Libya's top legislative body said on Tuesday it was satisfied with plans for a trial in a neutral country of two Libyan suspects in the 1988 bombing of a U.S. airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Libyan television said the General People's Congress had also called on the three parties, Libya, Britain and the United States, to ``remove any obstacle'' preventing the trial going ahead as soon as possible.

The General People's Congress is made up of about 500 representatives from lower level committees and assemblies.

The resolution read live on Libyan television said: ``(The Congress) expresses its satisfaction with the agreement between the Libyan, British and American parties for the trial in a third country of the two suspects in the Lockerbie incident. It constitutes the fundamental basis to settle this issue.

``It (the Congress) demands to these parties (Libya, the U.S. and Britain) to work to remove any obstacle that prevents the two suspects standing trial before justice as soon as possible.''

The resolution added: ``The Congress (expresses) its consideration to the efforts made by the United Nations secretary-general (Kofi Annan) and the U.N. deputy secretary-general for legal affairs aimed at finding a rapid solution to this issue through the trial of the two suspects before a court with all guarantees.''

It also called for "these sides to work on removing any obstacle preventing the 2 suspects from standing trial as soon as possible," an apparent reference to the disagreement over where they would serve any prison terms.

``This is obviously not a formal decision to extradite the two suspects,'' a Tripoli-based diplomat contacted by telephone from Tunis told Reuters.  ``The question is whether this means that the Congress, whose role is to set policy guidelines, gave its green light to the Libyan foreign and justice ministries to proceed whenever all guarantees for the trial were met.''

At the start of the Congress last week, Justice Minister Mohamed Belgacem Zwai said a Libyan legal team intended to have fresh talks with United Nations legal counsel to seek further clarification about the proposed trial in the Netherlands.

Libyan Foreign Affairs Minister Omar Mustapha al-Montasser said his country wanted the two suspects, who would be tried by a Scottish court under Scottish law, to be jailed in Libya, not in Scotland, if found guilty.


Reactions:

Great Britain:
Britain gave a cautious welcome on Tuesday to reports that the Libyan People's Congress had expressed suppport for a plan to try two Libyans wanted for the Lockerbie bombing in a neutral country.

But Foreign Office officials and relatives of those who died when the Pan Am jet crashed on to the Scottish town of Lockerbie in December 1988 warned that any handover of the two men could still be a long way off.

 "If it is true, it is good news. But at the moment it is only a Libyan media report. We have to be circumspect unless and until we have a formal response," said a Foreign Office spokesman. The Foreign Office said it would not make any detailed comment until Libya had comunicated its acceptance of the neutral-country trial offer through the office of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

 "The Libyans are well aware that the only response can be through Kofi Annan," said the spokesman, adding that Britain wanted to see if any conditions were attached to the resolution passed by the Libyan People's Congress-- Libya's top legislative body.
 
 

United States:
The United States, weary of false starts in its attempt to arrange a trial for the Lockerbie bombing suspects, reacted cautiously on Tuesday to news that Libya's parliament had approved a trial in a neutral country.

 "We want to see confirmation of Libya's position through the U.N. Secretary-General," a State Department official said. "U.N. resolutions make clear that Libya must hand over the suspects and that the Secretary-General (Kofi Annan) is responsible for facilitating the transfer," he added.

P.J. Crowley, spokesman for the National Security Council, said this meant transporting the two Libyan men to the Netherlands for trial before a Scottish court, as proposed by the United States and Britain in August.

``Libya's clear obligation is to turn over the Lockerbie suspects to the (U.N.) Secretary General so they can be transported to the Netherlands for trial before a Scottish court,'' White House spokesman P.J. Crowley said. He was responding to reports that the Libyan People's Congress had apparently backed a plan to try two Libyan suspects in the Lockerbie bombing in a neutral country.

Crowley said he could not comment specifically on the news reports about Libya's response to a Lockerbie trial plan. ``In our view, that is what they need to do. Justice has been delayed for almost 10 years in this case. It is time for Libya to meet its obligations,'' said Crowley.

The State Department official said he could not comment specifically on the reference to "obstacles," which could mean Libya disputes aspects of the U.S.-British proposal. Another U.S. official said it was possible to read Libya's latest statements on Lockerbie in at least three ways-- either it is playing for time, or preparing to go along with a trial in the Netherlands, or it has not yet decided.

 "The only thing for certain is what they do," he added.

United Nations:
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Tuesday he was encouraged by reports that Libya's parliament was satisfied with plans for a trial of two Lockerbie bombing suspects in a neutral country.

But Annan told reporters more details were needed and he was waiting to speak to Libya's U.N. ambassador, who is in Geneva.  "I think it is encouraging. I think it is in the right direction, But I won't say more until I have spoken to the ambassador," he said.

"When I hear from the ambassador, I will discuss with the ambassadors from the key countries involved and also give a briefing to the Security Council," Annan added. Annan visited Libya 10 days ago to try to settle remaining issues with the country's leader, Muammar Gaddafi. But Libyan news media said it was the Congress, not Gaddafi, whose approval was needed.
 

  • Background information: Kofi Annan's mission to Libya 6-8 December 1998


    • Reactions of the relatives:
    British doctor Jim Swire, a spokesman for the relatives of those killed and who lost his own daughter in the crash, cautioned against too much optimism.

     "The fact that they now appear to have agreed to the handover is a crucial part of the process. But I think everyone involved will have learned enough by now to know that it's wise to wait until actual handover occurs before saying it is...in the bag," Swire told Sky Television. Dr Jim Swire said: "If this is the people's congress saying that they agree then I think there is no doubt ... that the two will be handed over."
     

  • Listen to dr. Swire's comment on the Libyan decision (you need Real Audio Player to listen to file)

    • Swire, who has travelled to Libya several times as an unofficial mediator, said last week he expected the two men to be handed over in the next few weeks. After speaking to Libya's representative at the United Nations, Swire told reporters he believed the handover would take place in the third week of January.
     

  • Background information: All about dr. Jim Swire, his travels to Libya and UK Families Flight 103

    •  
    Other relatives of the 270 people killed in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie reacted with cautious optimism Wednesday after Libya's Congress agreed to a neutral country trial for two Libyan suspects. The 10th anniversary of the disaster has inevitably stirred painful memories and reopened old wounds in Lockerbie as the media circus descends once more on this tight-knit Scottish community.

    But the news from Libya offered a ray of hope after a decade of bitterness spent in the vain pursuit of justice.

    Gordon Smith, former manager of the Lockerbie Disaster Fund, said: ``Nothing can ever compensate for the tragedy of what happened here in Lockerbie but we are very pleased for the bereaved families at the news.''

    Maxwell Kerr, whose street was hit by the fuselage and who helped search for bodies, was equally relieved after the news from Tripoli. ``I was delighted,'' he told Reuters Television. ``The relatives have worked long and hard for this. We in this town too are delighted and we can say that maybe this is the end of a chapter, a line drawn under Lockerbie ... For us, that will be the end of the story.''

    Marjory McQueen vividly remembered her son trying to comfort David Flanagan whose family were killed when the plane's fuselage plummeted on to the town in a giant fireball.

    ``They looked at each other and I thought: what do you say to a boy who has come back to Lockerbie and there was no-one there -- his father, mother and sister had all gone,'' she told The Herald newspaper. For local chemist Tom Carson: ``The memories just stay there. It is just as fresh as it was. But you cannot put the clock back. You have to get on with your life.''
     


    ....more updating will follow soon.....