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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 March 1999 Issue No. 419 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 March 1999 Issue No. 419
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Breakthrough -- yet again?
By Rasha SaadIn an unexpected speech on Tuesday, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said that a settlement in the dispute over the Lockerbie suspects had been reached despite Tripoli's rejection of the one-month ultimatum made by the United States and Britain.
The ultimatum had nearly dashed all chances of a compromise being reached, but swift intervention by Saudi Arabian and South African mediators put the deal back on track, the Libyan leader said.
"We reached a compromise which saves face on all sides thanks to the efforts of [South African President Nelson] Mandela and Saudi Arabia as well as the contribution of [UN Secretary-General Kofi] Annan," Gaddafi said.
"The US-British ultimatum came close to sabotaging the compromise and would have done so if Mandela and Saudi Arabia had not intervened to ask Libya not to complicate the situation," he added.
The United States and Britain on Friday set a one-month deadline for Libya to hand over two suspects wanted for the 1988 bombing of a Pan-Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people.
The following day Libya said that it could not accept a time limit for handing over the pair, saying it had to have guarantees of a fair trial first.
Gaddafi said that a Saudi envoy arrived in Libya on Tuesday morning to "ask me not to complicate the situation and to assure me that everything is happening for the best."
"Personally, I have confidence in the word of Mandela which, in my view, is stronger than any Security Council resolution and stronger than any other commitments," he added.
Official Libyan and Egyptian sources also said that Gaddafi was expected to arrive in Egypt on Friday (tomorrow) for talks with President Hosni Mubarak on the dispute.
In a news conference following Gaddafi's speech, Annan said that he was encouraged by the latest signals from Tripoli and expressed hopes that a final response from Libya on proposals he had made earlier would be received "shortly".
However, Britain, in reaction to Gaddafi's statements, said it was not aware of any final deal. Asked if the British government had received any confirmation of a deal from the UN, a spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office said, "No, not at all."
The spokesman added: "Over a period of months we provided comprehensive clarifications and assurances [to Libya] through the UN secretary-general. We feel that we've done all we can to reassure Libya that there is no hidden agenda or undisclosed demands and our hope is that the suspects will be handed over as soon as possible."
A State Department spokesman was also quoted as saying that the only compromise Washington would accept would be for the two suspects to stand trial in the Netherlands in accordance with Security Council resolutions.
Reaching a deal on arrangements for the trial of the two Libyan suspects is hoped to be the first step towards the lifting of the seven-year-old air and arms embargo imposed by the Security Council on Libya for refusing to hand over the pair for trial in either the US or Britain. Following international pressure, the US and Britain announced late last year that they were ready to accept a trial in the Netherlands by Scottish judges.
According to diplomatic sources, the main obstacle facing completion of the agreement on the trial is Tripoli's demand for the lifting of sanctions as soon as the suspects are handed over rather than mere suspension as ruled by the Security Council when it approved the latest US and British proposals for holding the trial in the Netherlands.
"We want the sanctions lifted and we must have a guarantee of this," said Libya's ambassador to the UN, Abu-Zeid Omar Dorda.
Both Saudi Arabia and South Africa earlier this year offered to act as mediators between Libya and the UN. Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, and Jakes Gerwell, a top adviser to Mandela, have made two trips to Libya in the past couple of months and are in regular contact with Annan.
Libya's reluctance to agree to a suspension rather than a complete lifting of sanctions is believed to stem from a lack of confidence in US intentions. Despite denials from State Department officials, Libya believes that the US has a hidden agenda to re-impose sanctions once the two men are handed over.
Libyan officials are also seeking agreement from the US that future proceedings against the two suspects will not turn into a trial of the Gaddafi regime. Only Britain has officially agreed to this. According to Libyan sources, there are also concerns that the Scottish panel might not abide by guarantees agreed upon on the pretext that the judiciary should remain independent. Hence Libya is seeking these guarantees in the form of a legal amendment to be ratified by Britain, similar to that which allowed the transfer of the Scottish panel to the Netherlands.
The US threatened a tightening of sanctions against Libya if the one-month ultimatum was not met. However, Security Council representatives from Bahrain, China, Gabon, Malaysia, Namibia and Russia questioned the wisdom of making threats at such a delicate stage. Some argued that the ultimatum could prove counter-productive.
Jim Swire, spokesman for relatives of the British victims in the Lockerbie bombing, criticised the US-British move. "To issue this sort of ultimatum is to sabotage attempts at diplomacy which are on the brink of bearing fruit," he said. "I find it very wearying. Every time there seems to be an advance, we get America stating 'you better hand them over or else'."
