Fifteen years after the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, the United Nations Security Council has lifted sanctions against Libya, triggering the release of up to $US2.7 billion to the families of the attack's 270 victims. France and the United States, which has its own separate sanctions on the Tripoli government, abstained in the 13-0 council vote to end the embargoes imposed on Libya after the 1988 mid-air attack of the Boeing jumbo jet over Lockerbie, Scotland. Passage was assured on Thursday when France withdrew a threat to veto the measure after relatives of the victims of a separate 1989 bombing of a French UTA airliner won a promise of additional compensation from the Libyan government.
| Guess it was important enough to Muammar to make him pay up... |
The United States and Britain first called for adoption of the resolution last month after Libya accepted blame for the Lockerbie bombing, renounced terrorism and agreed to put $US2.7 billion into a special account for compensating the victims, capping 15 years of international pressure and negotiations. The payment - enough to provide up to $US10 million to each of the Lockerbie families if certain conditions are fulfilled - deeply embarrassed France, which accepted far less a few years ago for the midair attack on a French UTA airliner over the African nation of Niger that claimed 170 lives. France then threatened to block the US-British resolution unless it could get more money from Libya for the UTA victims. Their patience wearing thin, Britain and the United States agreed to five separate delays in the sanctions vote before the UTA families' announcement their efforts had born fruit.
| This is Muammar's opportunity to turn Libya into something resembling a normal state. It'll be interesting to see how he goes about it... |
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