Libya 'seals deal' over French airline bombing

Australian Broadcasting Company ^ | September 02 2003 | AFP

[knighthawk]

Libya's ambassador to Britain says his country has agreed to a compensation deal with the relatives of those killed in the bombing of a French airliner over Niger in 1989.

But in Paris, lawyers for the families say the deal has not yet been signed, and the French foreign ministry says it is unable to confirm an agreement.

The family representatives and Libya "arrived at a final accord satisfying both parties", ambassador Mohammed al-Zuai said, adding that the deal was finalised during a telephone conversation between French President Jacques Chirac and Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.

"During the telephone conversation between Chirac and Gaddafi, they agreed on this issue and announced that the accord was satisfactory to both parties," he said.

Families returned empty-handed from Tripoli last week, where they had flown on a French government aircraft hoping to strike a deal with Libya to pay additional compensation for the 1989 bombing of a UTA civilian airliner over Niger.

Family representatives returned to Tripoli on Saturday to resume compensation talks, the French foreign ministry said.

"The families have already left for France," said Mr Zuai, who was a member of the negotiating team which thrashed out the deal over the Lockerbie compensation.

"The details of the agreement will be announced tomorrow (Monday)," he added.

But one of the lawyers representing the families told AFP: "We are very, very close to an agreement, but everything has not yet been settled. A fair and satisfactory agreement in principle has been reached."

Another of the lawyers, Francoise Rudetzki, said: "Nothing has been signed. It is perhaps imminent... We were not face to face with the person who is qualified to sign."

The French foreign ministry was also unable to confirm the reports of an agreement.

"The ministry is not confirming an agreement and refers to previous statements according to which negotiations are continuing in a constructive manner," a ministry official, who asked not to be identified, told AFP.

Sources close to the case say French authorities are awaiting the return of the families to France, expected during the night.

Libya recently agreed to pay billions of dollars in compensation to the families of those killed when a Pan Am jet exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988, in an effort to get the international community to lift trade sanctions against Tripoli.

But France has threatened to veto a British draft resolution lifting sanctions unless Tripoli agrees to pay the families of the 170 people who died in the bombing of the UTA DC10, also blamed on Libya, in light of the Lockerbie deal.

Libya initially termed the French demand "blackmail", but recently suggested that a compromise offer for the UTA families might be possible.

[knighthawk]

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