Libya / U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing
WASHINGTON, August 21, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing
Taken questions
MR. CROWLEY: Well, I think, obviously, in light of the release, we have had a number of conversations with the Government of Libya. Obviously, he will move back to Libya, and we certainly believe that as a convicted criminal he is not entitled to a hero’s welcome.
QUESTION: Well, I’m talking about with the Scottish and Brits.
MR. CROWLEY: I understand that. I mean, we have a wide range of interests, close partnership with Britain. We’re obviously deeply disappointed with its decision, but I don’t think it’s going to affect our fundamental relationship.
Yes.
QUESTION: What have your communications, though, been with the Libyans? Do you want him to be held under – well, he apparently can’t really move very well anyway, but do you want him to be held under house arrest or are you asking for some sort of action by the Libyans? Because they have seen this case quite differently to how you perceive it.
MR. CROWLEY: Well, obviously, I think there are some conditions that the Scottish authorities have given to the Libyans. I’ll refer to the Scottish authorities to describe those. But we have had conversations both – or will have conversations both in Washington and in Tripoli over what our expectations are with respect to his greeting back in Libya.
QUESTION: What are your expectations?
MR. CROWLEY: We believe that he – to the extent that the Scottish authorities have sent him home to die with his family, we hope that he – the return will be low key and he will not be celebrated as a hero, which he is not.
QUESTION: And can you say anything about whether you want him to be, I think, following on Sue’s question, under house arrest or anything like that? You’ve made that known to the Libyans that you’d like that?
MR. CROWLEY: That would – I think, if the Libyans take that action, we would be pleased.
QUESTION: What does the State Department say to the families who have been very vocal in the last few days that this is about oil and trade deals with Libya and it only appeases Qadhafi?
MR. CROWLEY: Well, for that I would refer you to the Scottish authorities and to the British Government. This is a Scottish decision.
Obviously, from the standpoint of the United States, we do not think that justice has been served. We think that justice has been undermined. We understand compassion, but Pan Am 103 has always been a special case. We all remember the iconic vision of the cockpit of Pan Am 103 resting on the ground in Lockerbie. And over 12 years, the United States, working with the United Kingdom, working with the international community, worked diligently to prosecute and convict the perpetrator of one of the most heinous crimes of the last 25 years.
The international community was united in applying significant international pressure on Libya to yield these suspects, to create a special tribunal to provide them a fair trial. That verdict was considered just, and it was upheld on appeal. So we deeply regret that the Scottish authorities have taken this action, but they have. It was within their purview to do so.
QUESTION: It seems to be Libya is preparing to celebrate this. Do you think that will have an impact on the future relationship between the United States and Libya, and what your feeling was toward the Brits and Scottish after his release? Are you mad? Are you – I mean –
MR. CROWLEY: I think we are disappointed. That’s – we think this sends the wrong signal to those who would contemplate acts of terrorism or political violence. As for Libya, obviously, they have taken steps in recent years to be a more responsible actor in the region and the world, and we’ll be watching to see how they handle this particular situation.
QUESTION: Can I ask you a quick one?
MR. CROWLEY: Sure.
QUESTION: Last week, you told us that Secretary Clinton and Attorney General Holder had made calls to the Scottish justice minister. Can you bring us up-to-date if there were any calls since then, with him or any other officials? You said senior officials in the government. Who else did she call and when? When was the last one?
MR. CROWLEY: I think you’re – I haven’t got a list in front of me, but going back literally months, we have been deeply engaged with both the Scottish Government, Scottish authorities, and the British Government on this question. We have raised it in a variety of venues with a variety of officials at the highest levels of all governments. And we expressed, as we said publicly, our firm conviction that this individual should serve out his time in jail.
QUESTION: Did that happen since last week? Has there been –
MR. CROWLEY: I can’t say that we’ve had – obviously, we’ve had communication in the last 24 hours. We were given an informal word that the verdict would be coming down today, and as we continue to say, we are deeply disappointed in the action they have taken.
QUESTION: After the Libyans kind of settled the compensation case and the deal was done, the Libyan’s retracted their kind of claim of responsibility. And today, it was reported that Saif Qadhafi’s plane, the son of Muammar Qadhafi who’s seen as very close to the government, took Megrahi home. I mean, what does that say about the fact that the Libyan’s don’t claim responsibility for this, but then are assisting the man who –
MR. CROWLEY: Well, I mean, there was a very specific settlement. My recollection is rusty, but Libya, first of all, yielded these suspects, agreed to the trial that was conducted in – in a special trial conducted in the Netherlands. They have paid compensation to the victims of Pan Am 103, but clearly in terms of what happens now, we will be watching closely to see how Libya reacts to his return home.
QUESTION: But what do you say to the fact that a senior member of Muammar Qadhafi’s family is taking the guy home?
MR. CROWLEY: Let’s see what the Libyans do once he gets back to Libya.
QUESTION: Did you say that you’ve been told by the Libyans that they won’t have any celebrations, or that you had asked –
MR. CROWLEY: We have said to the Libyan officials quite clearly that he is not entitled to a hero’s welcome.
QUESTION: Well, your embassy doesn’t seem to think that that – first of all, your deep engagement with the Brits and the Scotts doesn’t – I’m not sure what their decision today means about your ability to influence people, but – there, in a friendly country, but now you have this situation with the Libyans. Now, you’re telling them that you don’t think it would be appropriate or that he is not entitled to any kind of celebration, and yet there’s a Warden Message from the embassy in Tripoli which says that, you know, there is this big celebration expected.
MR. CROWLEY: Well, let’s see what happens. But clearly, what happens when he returns to Libya will have an influence on the future direction of our relationship.
QUESTION: Well, does that mean that if there is a –
MR. CROWLEY: Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
QUESTION: Well, no, I understand, but have you told them –
MR. CROWLEY: We have communicated – we have communicated something clearly to Libya, and we’ll see how they respond.
QUESTION: But you have said our relationship will suffer if this guy is given a hero’s welcome?
MR. CROWLEY: We have given a very direct message to Libya.
SOURCE
US Department of State
