Arab League awaits U.S., British position on Lockerbie case
Libya-Regional, Politics, 8/7/1998

The Arab League is awaiting official positions from the U.S. and Britain on ways of resolving the long-running Lockerbie issue, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday quoting a press statement issued by the Cairo-based organization.

Arab League Secretary-General Esmat Abdul Meguid, who was on a visit to Libya, is known to have explored the responses of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi to a possible detailed plan for trying two Libyans suspected of involvement in the 1988 aerial attack.

Abdul Meguid said Tripoli held on to its position to settle the issue in accordance with a proposal put forward by the Arab League, the Organization of African Unity, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement. The proposal asked for a trial of the Libyan suspects in a third and neutral country.

The statement said that Abdul Meguid, who was to leave Libya later Thursday, met with Gaddafi and other leading Libyan officials.

"The visit is designed to express Arab solidarity with Libya in its conflict with the West and to affirm the need to lift sanctions imposed on the country," the statement said, adding that the visit is also meant "to stress that the continued embargo on Libya will push Arab nations to look into possible alternatives to stave off more damage to the Libyan people."

The United Nations slapped Libya with air, military and diplomatic embargo in 1992 for its refusal to extradite its two nationals suspected of blowing up a Pan-Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. A total of 270 persons were killed in the incident.

Libya has been resisting the pressure to hand over the suspects to U.S. or British courts, saying this will compromise their chances for a fair trial.

Washington and London last month agreed to allow them to stand trial in the Netherlands before Scottish judges.

A key stumbling block now lies in the Anglo-American insistence that all the judges must be Scots, while the defense counsel wants a multi-national bench.

The Arab League is supporting Libya's stance and in a recent meeting in Cairo, the league Council said Libya is entitled to claim damages caused by the unfair sanctions.

Meguid held talks earlier this year in London with British Foreign Minister Robin Cook on the Lockerbie dispute, and has conferred in Cairo with a delegation of the relatives of the bombing victims.

The Anglo-American turnabout is seen as having been prodded by the increasing international support for the Libyan position.

During a summit in Burkina Faso in June, African leaders threatened to bust the embargo by September 1 should Washington and London fail to agree on a compromise. And some heads of state recently flew into Libya in defiance of the air embargo.

Previous Stories:
  Arab League chief backs Libya, assassination plan reported   (8/5/1998)
  Obstacles placed in AL chief path to Libya   (7/31/1998)
  London agrees to try Lockerbie suspects in the Hague   (7/31/1998)

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