Libya Begins Payments to Terrorism Victims' Fund | Voice of America - English
The State Department said Thursday Libya has made a substantial initial payment into a U.S.-administered fund to settle remaining claims from Libyan-inspired acts of terrorism. The settlement plan would clear the way to fully-normalized U.S.-Libyan relations.
Officials are not saying justhow much the Libyan payment was, but they do say that it is substantialand evidence of Libyan good faith in fulfilling a compensation dealreached in August. The process of normalizing U.S.-Libyanrelations, which began when Libya renounced terrorism and weapons ofmass destruction, has been stopped short of completion over lingeringterrorism compensation claims. In 2003 Libya acceptedresponsibility for several acts of terrorism in the 1980s includingthe 1988 bombing over Scotland of a Pan Am jumbo jet which killed 270people. Libya paid most of a $2.7 billion compensation package negotiated with Pan Am victims' families but theprocess broke down amid legal disputes. The U.S.-Libyan accordreached in August set up a nominally-voluntary fund that would payremaining claims of American claimants, and to Libyans who have soughtcompensation in that country's courts for U.S. retaliatory air strikesin 1986. In a telephone conference call with reporters Thursday,Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch saidthe U.S.-run "humanitarian" fund will eventually total $1.8billion, of which 300 million would go to settle the Libyanclaims. Welch, who led the U.S. negotiating team for the accord,said the Libyan payment is a "substantial indication" of Libya'scommitment to fully implement the deal, and said he is optimistic theprocess will be finished soon. "I've always said I wasoptimistic," he said. "But I've also always said that I didn't want toput a timetable down. Of course in our private discussions, we've hadsome exchanges about our expectations on how soon this would move. AndI would note, as I said earlier, that it's a promising thing that asubstantial deposit has actually now been received, and directly into aU.S. government account." Once the account is fully funded, theBush administration is to grant Libya immunity from additionalterrorism-related court cases, and then remaining compensation is to bedistributed. Welch was not specific about the source of theLibyan payment but said the Libyan government has asked Libyan andother companies doing business in that country to contribute to thefund. He said he did not know if American companies operatingin Libya had been solicited or made contributions, but said Libyanauthorities have been told the U.S. government "would not countenance"pressure tactics to get them to participate. The two countriesannounced a normalization of relations in 2006 and Condoleezza Rice inSeptember paid the first visit to Libya by a U.S. Secretary of State inover 50 years. However, congressional restrictions related tocompensation have prevented a full U.S. ambassador from taking upresidence in Tripoli, and have barred funding for a new U.S. embassythere.