The government of Libya has offered to pay $2,7-billion in compensation to the families of the victims of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, a senior US official said on Tuesday.
”As I understand it, it’s an offer Libya has made to the families through their lawyers and it’s up to the families to decide whether they want to accept. The families of each of the 270 victims of the bombing — the 259 passengers and crew on board the plane and 11 people on the ground in the Scottish town in December 1988 — would receive $10 million, according to the official’s account of the Libyan offer.
Under the offer, the money is to be paid in instalments, spread out over time based on the lifting of certain sanctions imposed against Libya, the official said.
The official said the United States would not likely take a position on the offer — which has been negotiated without the government’s participation — but said Washington would not be bound by a private agreement.
”The compensation is something that the families have to work out with the Libyans,” the official said, noting that US sanctions in place against Tripoli for its support of terrorism would not necessarily be affected.
”The sanctions are a governmental matter,” the official said.
Last week, the State Department renewed Libya’s designation as a ”state sponsor of terrorism” although it said Tripoli had taken some steps to back away from its backing of extremists.
However, compensating the Lockerbie victims is one of several requirements — including acceptance of responsibility for the bombing and renunciation of terrorism — Libya has to satisfy before UN sanctions against it can be lifted.
Those sanctions were suspended after Libya handed over two suspects in the case who were tried by a Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands.
In January 2001, the court found former Libyan intelligence agent Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi guilty of planting the bomb and sentenced him to life in prison. His appeal of the conviction was rejected in March.
Al-Megrahi’s co-defendant, Al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah (44) was acquitted by the same court. – Sapa-AFP