Party in Lockerbie, Outrage in NY

- Tears streaked down Florence Bissett's cheeks and her voice choked with emotion as she tried to express her feelings about the "party" that was held yesterday in Lockerbie, Scotland, at the site of the crash of Pan Am Flight 103. "My son was 21 years old two days before he was murdered there," she said of Kenneth, a Cornell University student killed in the crash. "He'll never have a picnic. I won't have him call, `Hey mom! I love you!' I won't hear him anymore. "I'm outraged that they could have this party," she sobbed. "It's a disgrace."

More than 30 relatives of those killed in the Dec. 21 explosion over Lockerbie, Scotland, gathered outside Pan Am headquarters in midtown Manhattan yesterday to voice their outrage at what they called the airline's "callousness" for sponsoring a picnic to make up for a lost Christmas in the Scottish town. But Pan Am officials have denied sponsoring the party and were not represented at the event. They said the picnic was the idea of schoolboy Ed Blaus, 14, of Sicklerville, N.J., and the airline only flew the boy and his parents to Scotland for the massive barbecue.

**[(The following Appeared C Version) But Lynne Fraidowitz of Staten Island, whose 20-year-old son, Daniel Rosenthal, was killed, said, "Having this picnic is cruel, it's like a symbolic recharring of all those bodies. It would have been easier on me if they had just ripped my heart out. The pain I feel hasn't gone away and isn't going to go away soon. And that party makes the pain even worse." "That's just another lie that Pan Am wants us to believe," said Bonnie O'Connor of Rockville Centre, whose brother, John Ahern, died in the crash.

Elizabeth Manners, a Pan Am spokeswoman, has said that Blaus planned the party, raised money for it and wrote Pan Am's chairman seeking support. She said the airline agreed to provide transportation and put the teenager in touch with Disney, Mariott and Coca-Cola.
Meanwhile, at the gathering in Lockerbie, Ed Blaus said, "Let's party!" Response was enthusiastic, with families and groups of children heading toward the soccer ground where the plane crashed as early as 9 a.m. for a day of hamburgers, hot dogs, bagpipes and rock bands in the sun. All wore red "Ed's Party" badges to distinguish townspeople from reporters.

"Given the circumstances of this town, the party is unusual, but it is being supported by the vast majority of the local people, not to cause distress or anguish but to prove to themselves and the world that whereas we mourn those who died, they are determined to repair their town, rebuild shattered lives and ensure a special and sacred place in their hearts for 270 people from 24 nations," said Alex McElroy, chairman of the Lockerbie Community Support agency.

Moses Kungu, a Lockerbie pharmacist and regional counselor, said Pan Am raised the idea of a summer Christmas, but townspeople suggested the party instead. "The idea is not Pan Am's. It is from the community," Kungu said. Flight 103, bound from London to New York, exploded in the air over Lockerbie, killing all 259 persons aboard and 11 on the ground. A terrorist bomb later was blamed for the explosion, and some relatives of the victims have accused Pan Am of failing to provide security.
At the midtown rally, they handed out copies of an article from the German magazine Stern, which reported that Pan Am workers were having a Christmas party instead of checking baggage being put aboard Flight 103 during a stop in Frankfurt. "That party in Lockerbie is nothing more than a bizarre attempt to take the murders of innocent Americans and turn it into a public relations stunt to sell more airline tickets this summer," O'Connor said. "For them to do this is disgusting, disgraceful and in poor taste." "Having this picnic is cruel . . ." said Lynne Fraidowitz of Staten Island, whose 20-year-old son, Daniel Rosenthal, was killed. "It would have been easier on me if they had just ripped my heart out."
"Pan Am claims they had nothing to do with it, but the other companies we contacted that pulled their sponsorship said otherwise," said Daniel Cohen of Port Jervis, N.Y., whose daughter Theodora, died in the crash.
Walt Disney Co., Hebrew National Foods, Coca-Cola and Marriott In-Flight Services, all withdrew their support after learning of the relatives' opposition. Ed Blaus said he had written to the airline asking if Christmas presents could be sent to the children of Lockerbie.
The first he heard of a party, he said, was when Pan Am invited him, his parents and three brothers to Lockerbie.