British Minister Meets Gadhafi

08/08/2002| IslamWeb

The first British Cabinet minister to visit this country in two decades met with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Wednesday, saying Libya was making a serious attempt to move away from its international pariah status. Gadhafi said "the right things on a whole range of issues" including weapons of mass destruction and the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, said Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien, who met with Gadhafi in the coastal city of Sirte.

Unlike Saddam Hussein in Iraq, "Gadhafi has recognized that international law must be now complied with, and he is saying that he will comply with international law," O'Brien told British Broadcasting Corp. television after the meeting.

British officials said the high level of the Libyan team in the discussions showed they were taking the talks with Britain seriously. Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Mohammed Shalgam also met with O'Brien.

O'Brien also urged caution, saying Gadhafi had much to prove.

Britain severed relations with Libya in 1984 after a British police officer was gunned down by shots apparently coming from the Libyan Embassy in London. In 1999, Britain announced that diplomatic ties would resume after Libya - which the United States accuses of sponsoring terrorism - accepted responsibility for the shooting death of the policewoman and agreed to hand over suspects in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.

"All these statements are subject to proof, and we've got to be sure that Libya is going to deliver on what it is promising," he said.

"We still have criticisms of Libya on human rights grounds and aspects of its foreign policy. But Libya is moving away from being an outlaw pariah state toward engagement with the West," he said.

O'Brien said that if Libya accepted its responsibilities over the Lockerbie bombing, renounced terrorism and paid compensation to the victims' families, "the U.N. will no doubt be in a position to bring them back into the international community."

Last year, the U.N. Security Council suspended its 8-year-old sanctions against Libya after the government surrendered for trial two suspects wanted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

But before the sanctions can be lifted fully, Libya is also required to admit responsibility for the bombing, renounce terrorism and disclose all information it has about the downing of the Pan Am jet.

O'Brien said Libya still had to come into compliance over Lockerbie. Last year, Libyan intelligence officer Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi was convicted in the bombing.

"They are looking at a form of words which they can sign up to ... which will show they accept a general responsibility for the actions of their official, Megrahi," he told the BBC.

In May, lawyers announced that a group of Libyans had negotiated a deal that would give 10 million U.S. dollars each to the families of victims. But Libya insisted the group did not have authorization from the government to negotiate.

PHOTO CAPTION

Libya said August 7, 2002 it was ready in principle to pay compensation for the 1988 airliner bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people and to address U.N. demands it accept responsibility for the attack. Foreign Minister Mohammed Abderrahmane Chalgam, speaking after unprecedented talks between Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and Britain's junior Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien, also said Libya wanted to formalize relations with the United States. O'Brien is seen in this undated handout photo. Photo by Reuters (Handout)
- Aug 07 6:24 PM ET