Meguid postpones visit to UK and warns of tension with Arabs
A high official at the Arab League stated that its Secretary-General Dr. Esmat Abel Meguid decided to postpone his visit to the UK because of the British stance towards the Lockerbie crisis. Abdel Meguid had intended to visit the UK within his tour at the beginning of November, which includes Oman, Slovenia, and Italy.
The Arab League official clarified that Abdel Meguid's visit to London was postponed to an indefinite date due to circumstances that made it impossible to visit the UK at the present time. Abdel Meguid said that the insistence of UK and the USA on their stances will cause more tension in the region.
The Security Council has been imposing sanctions on Libya since 1992 because of its refusal to hand over to the British or American courts two Libyan citizens suspected of being involved in the explosion of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie in 1988 which caused the death of 270 passengers.
On the other hand, Abdel Meguid rejected the British Foreign Minister's proposal that the Arab League and the Organization of African Unity would appoint observers to attend the trial of the Libyan suspects in order to guarantee the integrity and justice of the trial.
Abdel Meguid said that this proposal is useless as they will not have the right to make any comments or notes on the court procedures. He also added that to allow Arab and African observers to attend the trial would not guarantee the integrity and justice of the trial.
