Posted on 08/06/2003 9:43:56 AM PDT by knighthawk
Libya appears ready to take the blame for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and could do so as early as next week if a compensation deal with the victims' families is reached, US officials have said.
The officials, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said they understood Libya planned to notify the UN Security Council of its acceptance of responsibility on August 14 should the private settlement go through.
But they stressed that the date could slip depending on developments.
"August 14 is what we're looking at, but these things have fallen through in the past so we're not holding our breath," said one official, referring to numerous past instances where a deal seemed imminent but did not come to pass.
"There is movement and I would look to next week for developments," a second official said, warning, however, that: "It's not done yet and it's not done until it's done."
The Libyan acceptance of responsibility for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 would follow the signing of a $2.7 billion settlement deal with the families of the victims and the deposit of that amount into an escrow account at Switzerland's Bank of International Settlements, the Washington Post said.
Lawyers hope to seal that agreement early next week, the paper reported, citing sources familiar with the complex two-year-long negotiations.
Hopes for a deal have been dashed at several points during that period but the talks picked up steam in March when Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalgham said that his country would accept civil responsibility for the bombing pay compensation.
Then, in an interview with a US television network on Sunday, Libyan leader Moamar Kadhafi said he believed the Lockerbie case was "about to be closed".
"The issue is over," Mr Kadhafi said on the American Broadcasting Company television's This Week program. "The concerned parties, the legal experts, found a formula."
A compensation deal accompanied by an acceptance of responsibility would set in motion a process under which UN and then possibly US sanctions against Libya could be lifted.
As the deal is envisaged, Libya would pay the each of the families of the 270 victims $10 million in installments based on the lifting of the sanctions and the removal of Libya from the US list of "state sponsors of terrorism".
The US officials, however, stressed that the linkages exist only in the private deal being worked out between the victims' families and Tripoli and that Washington may or may not decide to follow them.
"We have our own criteria for determining these things," one official said. "We may go along with the outline, but we are certainly not bound by it."
Under the deal expected to be signed, the first $4 million in compensation would be disbursed to the victims' families when UN sanctions against Libya are lifted following its acceptance of responsibility.
Those sanctions were suspended but not lifted after Tripoli handed over the two suspects, former Libyan intelligence agents, in the case, one of whom was convicted by a Scottish court in the Netherlands in January 2001.
The acceptance of responsibility before the United Nations would pave the way for a dialogue between Libya and the United States about the lifting of separate US sanctions.
A further $4 million would be delivered to each family once US sanctions are lifted and the final two-million-dollar payment would be made if the State Department removes Libya from its list of state sponsors.
The United States has said UN sanctions cannot be lifted until Libya satisfies all requirements under UN Security Council resolutions, including the payment of compensation, an admission of responsibility, the disclosure of all relevant information about it and a renunciation of terrorism.
The US sanctions, imposed under different terms, would require those steps in addition to other moves from Tripoli.
Yes, I know. I was paraphrasing Dennis Miller. Of course, the attacks in 1986 were retaliation for the disco attack in Berlin.
What has really made him more compliant are the economic sanctions. IIRC, Kadhafi called the 9/11 attack "horrifying" and urged Muslim charities to some donations. It's also rumored that Libya is sharing intelligence with us now.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.