ACCESSION NUMBER:318051
FILE ID:TXT201
DATE:12/21/93
TITLE:LIBYA AND THE PAN AM BOMBING (12/21/93)
TEXT:*93122101.TXT
LIBYA AND THE PAN AM BOMBING
(VOA Editorial) (450)
(Following is an editorial, broadcast by the Voice of America December 21,
reflecting the views of the U.S. government.)
December 21, 1988. A crowded commercial jet departs London's Heathrow
airport for the United States. Among the 259 passengers of Pan America
flight 103 are men, women and children of 30 nations. Many are American
citizens, eager to rejoin their loved ones for the holiday season.
Thirty-five minutes later -- all are dead.
Just after 7:00 p.m., a powerful bomb blew the plane apart, 31,000 feet
above the quiet Scottish village of Lockerbie. Some of the passengers and
crew were instantly killed. Others died strapped to their seats, in a
horrifying fall that took as long as three minutes. For 11 persons on the
ground, death came in the form of burning wreckage and debris crashing on
homes, businesses and city streets.
The perpetrators of this cowardly and barbaric act of international
terrorism were agents of the regime of Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi.
Authorities in the United States and Britain uncovered evidence linking Abd
al-Basit al-Maqrahi, a senior Libyan intelligence officer, and Lamin
Fhimah, former manager of the Libyan airlines office in Malta, to the
suitcase bomb used to destroy Pan Am flight 103. The United States and
Britain issued warrants for the arrest of these Libyan agents in November
1991.
Libyan agents are also being sought by French authorities in connection with
the bombing of UTA flight 772 in 1989 -- a bombing that took the lives of
171 people.
Outraged at the Qadhafi regime's wanton disregard of international law and
the norms of civilized conduct, the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions
on Libya on two occasions, most recently in Resolution 883. Adopted last
month, this resolution includes a freeze on certain Libyan financial
assets, a ban on the export of certain types of petroleum technology to
Libya, the closing of all Libyan Arab airlines offices, and an end to all
commercial dealings with that airline.
On the fifth anniversary of the Pan Am bombing, the United States reaffirms
its pledge to bring Libyan terrorists to justice. The United States will
continue to support sanctions against Libya until the Qadhafi regime
cooperates fully with the investigations of the Pan Am and UTA bombings,
hands over the accused terrorists for trial, pays compensation for the
terrorist attacks, and renounces international terrorism. As Madeleine
Albright, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said, "strengthened
sanctions cannot bring back lost lives. But pressure to enforce Libya's
compliance with the demands of the international community...can ensure
that our citizens will not fall victim to future acts of state-sponsored
terrorism."
NNNN
1
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
