From: Dr Jim Swire
It maybe that 2007 will see the
opening of a new arena for those determined to obtain both the truth about the
Lockerbie disaster, and a full explanation of the murder of their loved ones.
However on past experience, we must beware lest current perceived national
advantage poisons our search for the truth.
Some of us believe that Iran was
deliberately spared from blame for instigating the Lockerbie atrocity, even to
the point of having fabricated evidence produced and inserted at Zeist in order
to blame a Libyan (Megrahi) for a crime for which the evidence did not seem to
achieve the minimum standard required under Scots criminal law - the expulsion
of any reasonable doubt.
The motive for such a scandalous
process would have been
This would explain, but could
never excuse Thatcher's blank refusal to meet the
The apparent corruption of the
evidence base at
It is profoundly to be hoped that
the issues relating to the
If we are right then we see the
origins of a policy whereby Iran was given a sinister endorsement to pursue
whatever policies her leaders fancied, in the belief that they would not be
held to account, for it is clear that not only had America been supplying arms
to Iran at that time, but also US agents must have been known by Iran to have
been aware as to the true origins of the Lockerbie atrocity.
It may be that the
The speech by Tony Blair repeated
below seems to signal a sea change in the
The writer would be strongly
opposed to any further bloodshed, he believes that the time has come when the
West should admit our previous perfidy, display the truth, and seek a dialogue
based on truth with the peoples of the Arab World and
As PM Blair says below:-
"We must recognise the
strategic challenge the Government of Iran poses; not its people, possibly not
all of its ruling elements, but those presently in charge of its
policy. .......... Our response should be to expose what they are doing,
build the alliances to prevent it; and pin them back across the whole of this
region. "
Would it not be wise to add to
that 'expose what else some of their present leaders have done in the past',
with an honest admittance that we have distorted those past doings and
deliberately blamed others for our own perceived advantage? We cannot live
just in the present; lasting alliances have to be built on a foundation of
truth and trust, not the shifting webs of deception. Is it not possible to
admit that we too are not without blame?
Our New Year Resolution for
2007 must be to find the truth as to why 270 died at Lockerbie, and who was
responsible, in the hope that honest resolution of these issues will reduce
animosity and bloodshed in the future. We cannot bring them back, but we can
seek to honour their lives and their memory.
Dr Jim Swire, father of Flora,
murdered at Lockerbie.
#############################################
TONY BLAIR'S SPEECH
Speech to
Business Leaders in
( Emphasis added for relevant
passages )
Speaking to business leaders in
"First of all what I would like to do is to explain
how closely the histories of our two countries have been intertwined for 200
years and over that time no country has had a deeper involvement here. A unique
relationship of which we in the
While here the
Add to that a flourishing business relationship. UAE is the
We therefore decided a few months ago to make the UAE one
of the British government's top ten priority business partners over the next 5
years. And standing here and looking around at the very distinguished group of
business people I have here, I can see how right that decision is already
proving.
We need to build for the future across all fields:
political, security and defence, commercial, educational, cultural, health - on
which I am delighted to hear of the important and ground breaking work by
Imperial College London at their Diabetes Institute which opened in Abu Dhabi
this summer. At the cutting edge of technology this is an institute which
represents exactly where our two countries should be together.
So I have agreed in my talks with Their Highnesses, the
President, the Prime Minister and the Crown Prince that we shall be
establishing
- regular talks at senior
official level on the regional security challenges facing our two
countries;
- regular exchange between
our senior business leaders on how best both to maximise our commercial
enterprise and to work together on the common challenges that face us in
making best use of our human capital, above all through education and
training and through the most up to date methods of healthcare;
- greater educational and
training exchange. Yesterday I was present at the signature and agreement
between the London School of Economics and the Emirates Foundation on the
establishment of the Sheikh Zayed Chair in Regional Studies at the LSE's
new Middle East Centre, alongside a programme of educational exchange and
training in both countries.
The UAE however is also an interesting and telling place in
which to conclude my visit to this region and I want to spend the rest of my
address in saying to you how I think not just the issues around this region are
developing, but what our role in helping them develop in a benign way should
be.
Too often discussions on the Middle East and Muslim opinion
are conducted as if there are only two views - the extreme Islamist view and
the view of the West. In fact as the last 7 days have shown, the vast bulk of
opinion in the wider region is moderate and seeks peace. That goes for the
people of the region as well as many governments. Our task is to mobilise that
desire and harness it to ensure that all people here can have opportunities for
safety, security, democracy, freedom and economic prosperity. Otherwise we
allow the forces of extremism to win in the absence of a clear and constantly
articulated alternative vision.
At first flush it may seem odd to see a journey that has so
many different and distinctive stopping points as one journey with a common
theme and sense of destination. So what is it that joins together in a single
narrative the usual December Brussels Council of the European Union and the
journey to conclusion here in this extraordinary modern adventure called Dubai?
Well in Brussels, Europe agreed, after some wrangling, to continue with
Turkey's accession to the European Union. Of course the criteria for membership
should be met, as for any applicant nation. But whereas with previous
accessions, of smaller countries more closely identified with traditional
notions of Europe, the objective criteria were occasionally stretched by
subjective politics to allow membership: in Turkey's case the danger is the
opposite: that even if the criteria are met politics intervenes to deny
membership. Be under no illusion: were that to happen, the Muslim world would
conclude that the religious affiliation of Turkey was the reason, a conclusion
with massive strategic implications for all of us.
Turkey itself has seen economic and political
transformation occurring under Prime Minister Erdogan's leadership, but given
strength by the prospect for Turkey of European Union accession. Here is a
Muslim nation showing how keen it is to take its place in the modern world,
eschewing extremism, embracing democracy, actively seeking the international
community's support in resolving the longstanding and bitter dispute over a
divided Cyprus.
Like so many Arab nations, Egypt is striving to modernise
but worried that in the very process of opening up, malign and extreme elements
abuse the good intentions of the modernisers.
In Iraq, literally and daily a life and death struggle is
taking place between a government elected by the people, a multinational force
supporting them in that cause, and internal sectarian extremists, backed by
external forces who want either a secular dictatorship or a sectarian theocracy
to govern the country. Down in Basra, I met members of the British Armed Forces
doing heroic service for their own nation and the wider global community. And
they had one message: the ordinary people of Basra want peace but there were
extreme elements, backed from the outside, determined to thwart their will.
So on Monday, to the most intractable dispute in the Middle
East: Israel and Palestine. What do we find there? An Israeli Government that
has now agreed to support the creation of a Palestinian state: a Palestinian
President who wants to negotiate its creation alongside an open recognition of
Israel. But because the Fatah Party appeared unable to make progress towards
the two state solution and seemed out of touch, the people elected Hamas. The
people are now stranded between an elected President who wants to do the right
thing but is blocked, and an elected government which refuses to countenance
the right of Israel to exist as a state and where again there are extremist
elements utterly bent on denying any possibility of peace through the use of
terror.
Yet today we speak in the modern miracle that is the UAE: a
Muslim country that in a few decades has made itself into an oasis of economic
enterprise, tourism and openness to the world. My reflection is that here,
unlikely as it seems at this moment, is what Basra or Gaza could be, were their
people not so savagely let down by the politics of their countries.
This journey is already pretty crowded, as you can see, but
actually we could have added Afghanistan where Afghan people and coalition
forces try to drive back Taleban extremists who recently executed a teacher in
front of his class for teaching girls in his school. Or Sudan, or Somalia. We
could describe the voyage of modernisation currently undertaken by President
Musharraf in Pakistan. In fact, were there time, we could discuss this issue in
one form or another by reference to most major countries and regions in the
world. In Britain, but also across the rest of Europe, a debate is happening
about how we remain tolerant, treat equally all people whatever their race or
religion, but protect that tolerance against extreme elements who seek to
divide us on religious or ethnic grounds.
The lesson of all of this I see as startlingly real, clear
and menacing. There is a monumental struggle going on worldwide between those
who believe in democracy and modernisation, and forces of reaction and
extremism. It is the 21st century challenge. Yet a great part of our own
opinion either thinks there is no common theme to it all; or if there is, is
inclined to believe that it is our - that is America and its allies - fault
that this is so.
In any other situation in which terrorists with almost
incredible wickedness butcher completely innocent people, provoke sectarian conflict,
spread chaos and despair, in almost any other situation we would say well our
response should be to stand up and fight back. In Iraq, in Afghanistan, but
seeping across the board, voices instead say: we shouldn't be involved: better
leave well alone; it is none of our business.
Here are elements of the Government of Iran openly
supporting terrorism in Iraq to stop a fledgling democratic process, trying to
turn out a democratically elected Government in Lebanon, flaunting the
international community's desire for peace in Palestine - at the same time as
denying the Holocaust and trying to acquire a nuclear weapon capability: and
yet a huge part of world opinion is frankly almost indifferent. It would be
bizarre if it weren't so deadly serious.
We have in my view to wake up. These forces of extremism -
based on a warped and wrong-headed misinterpretation of Islam - aren't fighting
a conventional war, but they are fighting one against us, "us" being
not just the West, still less simply America and its allies, but
"us", as all those worldwide who believe in tolerance, respect for
others and liberty.
We must mobilise our alliance of moderation in this region
and outside of it to defeat the extremists. Nothing matters more. Nothing
should stand in the way of it. Nothing should be more galvanising of our
collective will.
That is why Europe must not turn its back on Turkey. We
need Turkey to succeed, we need its influence not least in this region for the
good. The fact that it is a Muslim nation is an advantage not a risk.
We need to support Israeli and Palestinian people in their
search for peace. There are three immediate priorities: an Office of the
President of Palestine that is given the means to improve its capacity and
effectiveness to act in the interests of the Palestinian people; an early
meeting between Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas to make early
progress on outstanding preliminary issues; and as soon as possible a relaunch
of the political process leading to a two state solution. These priorities are
deliverable. But they need to be delivered.
We must ensure that everything conceivable is done to help
the Afghan and Iraqi Governments achieve stability. The so-called 'cutting and
running', to use that familiar phrase, would not just be a breach of faith. It
would be disastrous for our own wider interests.
We must support and empower moderate and modernising
governments and people everywhere in this region. We must recognise the
strategic challenge the Government of Iran poses; not its people, possibly not
all of its ruling elements, but those presently in charge of its policy. They
seek to pin us back in
To do all of this, we need the open and clear backing of
the countries in this region who know better than we what is happening and why.
In other words, at every stage and in every aspect of this
struggle, we should be acting decisively in favour of those who share our
values. We should stop buying into this wretched culture of blaming ourselves,
of pandering to a wholly imagined grievance on the part of those we are
fighting. We should take on the nonsense that says when terrorists who claim to
be Muslim kill innocent and true Muslims in Iraq or Afghanistan, that it is
somehow the fault of American and British soldiers being present there. We
should proclaim what is so obviously correct, that what holds back the
Palestinian people are not those of us striving to make a reality of a stable,
viable Palestinian state next door to
The suffering of so many people in this region is indeed
tragic. Yet here in the
Out of this region with its complex, fascinating history
has come the challenge. Within this region, will come the solution. But
everywhere the impact of its future - for good or ill - will be felt. It is not
too late. But in my view it is urgent.
Dr Jim Swire (jim@swirefamily.net)