Annan letter to Gadhafi stirs controversy

UNITED NATIONS, AUG. 26. The Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan has released a letter written to the Libyan leader, Mr. Muammar Gadhafi in February last year assuring him that the Lockerbie trial would not be used to undermine his Government, angering families of the victims of the plane crash.

The letter, which was not made public at the time, says ``No attempt will be made to undermine the Libyan regime'' based on the information obtained from the two suspects. The letter dated February 17 was made public by British and U.S. officials yesterday after the defence team for the two Libyans, on trial in the Netherlands since May 3, sought its release as it detailed terms of a trial under Scottish law. The letter led to Libya handing over the two suspects for trial by Scottish judges in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am 103 flight which crashed over Lockerbie, Scotland.

It has made the victims' relatives angry, who claimed that the letter offered a cosy deal to Libya as it limited investigation to the two suspects. U.N. officials yesterday explained that the U.N. had merely acted as a mediator between the parties concerned. Mr. Annan had written to the British Ambassador, Mr. Jeremy Greenstock later saying his role was ``limited to providing assistance with the transfer arrangements of the two accused to the Scottish court and to nominating international observers''.

- PTI

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Section  : International
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