US, Libya Near Compensation Deal on Terror Attacks | Voice of America - English
The State Department confirms that the United States and Libya are close to finishing a comprehensive deal to settle outstanding claims from Libyan-backed acts of terrorism in the 1980s. The U.S. Senate Thursday approved a key component of the deal.
Relations between the twocountries have improved markedly since 2003 when Libya renouncedterrorism and agreed to give up its weapons of mass destructionprograms. But political and economic relations have not beencompletely normalized due to lingering disputes over compensatingAmerican and other victims of 1980's acts of terrorism for which Libyahas taken responsibility. Now, in an apparent breakthrough, theBush administration and the government of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafihave worked out a tentative deal that would clear away remainingclaims. Officials say that under terms of the accord, Libyawould set aside about $1 billion to pay remaining claims fromthe 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jetliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, a 1986bombing of a West Berlin disco frequented by U.S. servicemen, and otherattacks tied to Libya. A critical part of the deal is approvalby the Congress of a measure giving Libya immunity from a previous U.S.law that gave victims enhanced powers to seize assets of countriesinvolved in terrorism. The U.S. Senate quietly approved suchlegislation Thursday morning and State Department officials are hopefulthe House will quickly follow suit. At a Senate committeehearing Thursday, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte welcomedthe unanimous Senate vote. "I wanted to take the opportunity to thankyou all for your support for the legislation that just passed theSenate to help facilitate a comprehensive claims-settlement agreementwith Libya. This initiative provides the best opportunity for Americanclaimants to receive fair compensation in an expedited manner, andwould help turn the page on the last vestige of our contentious pastwith Libya so that we can focus on the future of our relationship," hesaid. Libya agreed in 2003 to pay out $10 million each to thefamilies of all 270 people killed in the Lockerbie attack, in a phasedpayout linked to normalization steps. But the process was boggeddown by legal disputes and more than $500 million is yet to be paid inthe Pan Am case, as is nearly $300 million in the Berlin disco attack. Thelegislation pending in Congress would empower the Secretary of State toset up an entity that would distribute the additional funds from Libya. Most, but not all, victims' families support the pending deal. Lawyersfor some plaintiffs in the Berlin case say they could be left out ofthe arrangement, and contend that the immunity legislation for Libyasets a bad precedent for future dealings with other countries listed asterrorism sponsors. The lingering legal cases are believed tohave curtailed potential U.S.-Libyan trade, with Libyan firms inparticular reluctant to invest in the United States out of concerntheir assets could be seized. The United States restoreddiplomatic relations with Libya in 2006. But members of Congressconcerned about compensation issues have prevented a U.S. ambassadorfrom taking up residence in Tripoli, and have blocked funds to build anew embassy. Though Libya's foreign minister has visitedWashington, aides to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have said shewould not go to Libya without a compensation settlement.