Word: libya
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Tuesday in Libya was slated to be a blowout party for Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, to mark the 40th anniversary of the bloodless coup that brought him to power. And it might have been, had the world's longest-serving ruler not been wrangling for nearly two weeks with British and U.S. officials over the rapturous homecoming of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi after his release from a Scottish prison...
...fireworks exploded over Tripoli - almost all Western leaders stayed away - the controversy over al-Megrahi's release continued in the U.S. and Britain, where some victims' families and politicians say they suspect that Britain secretly traded al-Megrahi's freedom for big oil deals in energy-rich Libya. (See pictures of Lockerbie 20 years...
...attempt to tamp down the scandal, the British and Scottish governments published a batch of letters online on Sept. 1 detailing the discussions over how to handle al-Megrahi. The letters date back to June 2007, when British oil companies were negotiating huge new deals in Libya. In February 2008, British Justice Minister Jack Straw wrote to Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, that "developing a strong relationship with Libya ... is good for the U.K.," adding that Libya "is one of only two countries to have ever voluntarily and transparently dismantled its weapons of mass destruction program...
...David Miliband] would want Mr. Megrahi to pass away in prison, but the decision on transfer lies in the hands of the Scottish ministers." If the critically ill al-Megrahi died in jail, the Libyan minister told Scottish officials, there would be "catastrophic consequences" for Britain's relations with Libya. (Watch a TIME video with Gordon Brown...
...Libyan officials are to meet with representatives of Britain and the U.S. next week to discuss what remains to be done in order to have the sanctions lifted. Even though Libya has the backing of the Arab League in demanding an immediate end to sanctions, don't expect any movement soon. For one thing, the Libyans want to wait until Megrahi's appeal is over before considering compensation - and that'll be just fine with the West. Ghaddafi's neighbors may begin simply ignoring sanctions as they have been doing with Iraq, but it could still be years before...