UN
Ready to End Sanctions on Libya
August 28, 1998
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Seeking to bring about justice in the Pan Am bombing case, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to suspend sanctions against Libya once it hands over two intelligence agents for trial in the Netherlands.
The
resolution, approved 15-0, also threatens additional measures against Libya
if the suspects fail to appear for trial before a panel of three Scottish
judges under Scottish law.
It was not clear how Libya would react to the resolution. Earlier in the day, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi had said he would not surrender the two men until receiving guarantees that the United States and Britain will not play ``tricks.''
He did not elaborate on what assurances he was seeking, but said he wanted sanctions lifted immediately after an agreement on the trial is reached.
``More details must be clear. You cannot say give us these people quickly. They are not tins of fruit,'' Gadhafi said in an interview with CNN from Tripoli.
At the United Nations, Britain, which co-sponsored the resolution with the United States, came out strongly for Libya to make good on its pledge to cooperate.
``This unanimous signal from the Security Council to the authorities of Libya could not have been stronger,'' said Britain's deputy ambassador, Stephen Gomersall. ``This is now the moment of truth for Libya to come good on the commitments it has made.''
Before
the vote, Libyan U.N. ambassador Abuzed Omar
Dorda harshly criticized the 6-year-old U.N.
sanctions and the speed with which Libya was asked to respond to the U.S.-British
proposal.
Nevertheless, Libya ``accepts that the two suspects be tried in a Scottish court in The Netherlands by Scottish judges according to Scottish law,'' Dorda said.
``This is a serious position, an irreversible position,'' he added.
But U.S. officials were looking for actions instead of words.
``We will know whether they have accepted formally when the suspects show up at the court. Until then, we will not be satisfied with an answer,'' Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Thursday in Washington.
The United States and Britain agreed to hold a trial in the Netherlands in hopes of finally resolving the 10-year-old case. Previously, both had said the trial must occur in one of their territories. Libya had rejected that, saying the suspects could never get a fair trial in either country.
Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah are accused of planting a bomb aboard the flight that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people, including 189 Americans.
Gadhafi reiterated that his government has ``no objection'' to holding a trial in the Netherlands.
But he added: ``I expect mines. I expect tricks and conditions to make the trial impossible.''
Asked if he believed the suspects were guilty, Gadhafi, sitting in a wheelchair in his office, said only: ``This is left to the court to decide.''
Gadhafi has been using the wheelchair since he underwent hip surgery in July. He says he broke his hip in a sports accident.
There are likely to be intense behind-the-scenes negotiations during the coming weeks on the details of any trial, which could still fall through.
The U.N. sanctions were imposed in 1992 to push Libya to surrender the suspects. The measures ban air travel to and from the country, prohibit arms sales, freeze some assets abroad and limit sales of oil equipment.
Under the proposal, the suspects could not be extradited from the Netherlands. If found guilty, they would serve their sentences in Britain.
The proposal before the council stipulated the ``safe transfer'' of the two from Libya to the Netherlands and suggested that international observers may attend the trial.
Libyan defense attorney Ibrahim Legwell was quoted Thursday in Cairo's Al-Ahram Weekly as saying that the defense team could accept or reject the U.S.-British proposal. The lawyers, he said, would insist on procedures to ensure the safety of the suspects and to limit access to them ``to spare them any pressure by American or British intelligence.''