ACCESSION NUMBER:318058
FILE ID:POL201
DATE:12/21/93
TITLE:CLINTON VOWS JUSTICE FOR PAN AM FLIGHT 103 VICTIMS (12/21/93)
TEXT:*93122101.POL
CLINTON VOWS JUSTICE FOR PAN AM FLIGHT 103 VICTIMS
1Memorial planned at Arlington National Cemetery) (470)
By Alexander M. Sullivan
USIA White House Correspondent
Washington -- President Clinton vowed December 21 to secure justice for the
victims of Pan American Flight 103, murdered by a terrorists' bomb over
Scotland five years earlier.
The president saw the attack on the aircraft, which killed 259 passengers
and crew and 11 citizens of Lockerbie, as an assault on America's "creed of
freedom and opportunity" by enemies who understand that those American
ideals are "a mortal threat to their illegitimate and repressive
authority."
Clinton spoke at Arlington National Cemetery, at ground-breaking ceremonies
for a cairn of remembrance to be erected with 270 rose-red stones of
granite carved from a quarry near Lockerbie. The stones were donated to
the families of the bombing victims by the people of Scotland for use in
the cairn, the traditional Scottish memorial for the dead.
The United States and Great Britain charge that two Libyan intelligence
officers were instrumental in placing the bomb aboard the aircraft on
December 21, 1988. British and American judicial systems have indicted
Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah in the murders, but
Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi has refused attempts to extradite the two.
There were citizens of 21 nations aboard the plane; 189 Americans, many of
them college students, died in the explosion.
Each of the stones in the cairn, Clinton said, "tells the story of a life
wrongfully cut short. This memorial will serve as a lasting monument to
the innocent who died."
The president pledged that the nation "will never stop pursuing justice
against those" who caused the bombing. The bombing, he said, "was an
attack not only on the individuals from 21 nations who were aboard the
aircraft, it was an attack on America."
Terrorists recognize that history, in the form of "the rising tide of
democracy seen everywhere in the world, is turning against them," Clinton
declared. "...These outlaws seek to legitimize their voice through
violence, to advance their agenda through threats, to cripple our daily
lives through fear."
Clinton said he is "determined to see that those who murdered those who were
aboard Pan Am 103 are brought to justice." The suffering of the families,
he said, is "why we have demanded the surrender of the two Libyans indicted
for this vicious offense, why we have pushed for and secured tougher
international sanctions against Libya, and why we will not rest until the
case is closed."
In a proclamation designating December 21 as a Day of Remembrance, Clinton
said his administration "is closely monitoring the terrorist threat,"
explaining that "we must remain ever vigilant if we are to combat merciless
brutality and ensure the security of all of our citizens."
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