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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Special Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Ending the stand-off
Is the seven-year stand-off between Libya, on one hand, and the United States and Britain, on the other, triggered by the Lockerbie tragedy, about to be resolved? There was considerable speculation this week that a compromise deal was in the offing, under which Libya would turn over two suspects accused by the West of blowing up Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, for a Scottish trial in the Netherlands. This would automatically result in the suspension of UN sanctions imposed on Tripoli in 1992 and tightened in 1993. The 1988 bombing killed 270 people, mostly Americans.UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told reporters on Tuesday that discussions on handing over the two suspects -- Abdel-Basset Ali Al-Megrahi and Al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah -- for trial were at "a delicate stage... I hope that in the next week or so, we will have a clearer indication of what is happening."
Weekend reports from Saudi Arabian and South African officials asked to mediate on behalf of the United Nations suggested that a deal was imminent for a trial in the Netherlands.
Asked why the issue was so delicate now, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said on Tuesday: "I think the secretary-general feels that we're moving closer to a final resolution and he doesn't want to do anything that will upset the apple cart."
Annan's legal advisers have been working on a document containing assurances requested by the Libyan government. This document is expected to be delivered to Tripoli before the UN Security Council convenes toward the end of this month to review the sanctions, which include a ban on air travel, the freezing of some Libyan assets overseas, restrictions on diplomatic personnel and a ban on the purchase of oil equipment.
"Everything is going well," said Libya's ambassador to the UN, Omar Abuzed Dorda, as he left a meeting with Annan on Tuesday. But he declined further comment, saying only "let's leave it in the secretary-general's hands."
The British and US ambassadors to the UN, Sir Jeremy Greenstock and Peter Burleigh, also met with Annan on Tuesday, but did not speak to reporters.
Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said on Tuesday that efforts in recent weeks, including visits to Libya by Saudi and South African envoys, have merged to bring a deal within reach, and that not much was left to negotiate.
"In the coming few days, there may be an agreement on the remaining details," Moussa told reporters after returning from Tripoli, where he conveyed a letter from President Hosni Mubarak to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
According to informed sources, the Egyptian message was that Libya stood to gain by accepting the deal that was offered. "The Libyans could always work with the UN on the technical details of the deal to make sure that they have as many assurances as they can get about the procedure of the trial and the subsequent suspension of sanctions," one source said, "but they should not lose this opportunity of getting rid of the sanctions that have crippled their economy."
Sources said that according to the deal, offered by Saudi Arabia and South Africa, and fine-tuned by the UN, Gaddafi would relent on two key issues.
First, he would accept a suspension, not the lifting, of sanctions. The Libyan leader was offered legal evidence as well as UN assurances that the legal implications of the suspension would not be less than the implications of a lifting of sanctions, and that the US would need a new UN Security Council resolution in order to re-impose the suspended sanctions. Egypt's UN Ambassador Nabil El-Arabi told Al-Ahram Weekly that this would be practically impossible, since Council members with veto power have promised to block any such attempt.
The second issue was the incarceration of the two suspects, if found guilty, in Scotland. Under the compromise agreement, the suspects would indeed be jailed in Scotland if found guilty, but in a prison ward open to UN inspection.
Moreover, Gaddafi received assurances from Britain, but not from the United States, that the trial would be "strictly Lockerbie". In other words, a source said, "the trial would not deal with Libya's alleged involvement in supporting international terrorism, and no Libyan officials would face such charges."
Since similar guarantees were not forthcoming from Washington, the sources cautioned that, if Gaddafi had any misgivings about US intentions, he might choose to opt out of the deal at the very last minute.
El-Arabi told the Weekly that "all the parties concerned are expressing a sense of urgency to reach agreement. Britain offered positive guarantees to Libya, assuring the safety of the suspects. Libya was also assured that Britain and the United States have no hidden agenda beyond a fair and just trial for the suspects, and would not make any further demands that would embarrass the Libyan government."
State Department spokesman Jim Foley said that "if indeed Libya transfers the suspects to Secretary-General Annan for a Scottish trial in the Netherlands, we will be very pleased." But he cautioned that "of course, we have been sceptical until now because Libya has dragged its feet and looked for excuses not to meet its obligations."
Hoda Tawfik in New York,
Dina Ezzat, Nevine Khalil
and Rasha Saad in Cairo, wire dispatches
