[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 102 (Wednesday, July 21, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1443-E1444]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CONCERNING NEGOTIATIONS WITH LIBYA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ROBERT E. ANDREWS

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 21, 2004

  Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, as the Administration continues to 
negotiate with the government of Libya regarding the U.S. sanctions 
that still remain in place, it is vitally important that the interests 
of the Pan Am 103 victims' families be kept in mind.
  As all of my colleagues surely recall, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded 
over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988, devastating numerous 
families throughout the country. For over 15 years, the families of the 
270 victims, including 189 Americans, have waited for justice. Given 
that the Libyan government has admitted responsibility for this 
horrific attack, the sought-after justice must include a substantial 
penalty to be paid by this government. To this end, an agreement was 
reached whereby the Libyan government is to pay each family a 
substantial sum, in stages, as certain criteria are met.
  In order for the next stage of compensatory damages to be released to 
the families, the United States must lift two executive orders, one 
which has frozen Libyan assets in the U.S., and another which prohibits 
Libyan airflights to and from the U.S. A deadline has been set at the 
end of this month, and if these executive orders are not lifted by that 
date (and there is no extension of this deadline), then the families 
will not receive this portion of the compensation, and it will be 
returned to the Libyan Government.
  Let me be clear, the families are not concerned with the money. 
Rather, they want to ensure that the Libyan government is fully 
punished for the attack that claimed the lives of their loved ones. I 
wish to also state that the families are not necessarily advocating for 
all of these sanctions to be removed. If the U.S. decides as a matter 
of policy that they want these sanctions to remain in place 
permanently, they will support this decision. What the families do not 
want to see happen, however, is for the deadline to pass, thereby 
denying the families their just compensation, only to have the 
sanctions lifted a short period later. The Pan Am 103 families have 
waited far too long to be left standing in the cold, and they should 
not be made to watch justice slip away.
  The State Department and the Administration are to be commended for 
their efforts in these negotiations thus far, and I urge them to keep 
the Pan Am 103 victims and families in mind as they proceed towards 
further resolution.

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