[9:37 AM] Libya may or may not have offered $2.7 billion in compensation to the families of the people killed in the crash of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988. A U.S. State Department official confirms the offer according the New York Times.
Libya, however, wants all U.S. and U.N. sanctions removed and wants to be taken off the State Department’s list of states that sponsor terrorism. Assuming that the offer actually stands, it will be interesting to note if enough families accept the offer for U.S. officials to consider easing or dropping sanctions against Libya. I say interesting because if Libya were given a clean bill of health as far as terrorism goes, it is still a major human rights violator.
Here is an excerpt from the State Department's 2001 human rights report on Libya:
“Libya's human rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit numerous serious abuses. Citizens do not have the right to change their government. Qadhafi uses summary judicial proceedings to suppress domestic opposition. Security forces torture prisoners during interrogations and as punishment. Prison conditions are poor. Security forces arbitrarily arrest and detain persons, and many prisoners are held incommunicado. Many political detainees are held for years without charge. The Government controls the judiciary, and citizens do not have the right to a fair public trial or to be represented by legal counsel. The Government infringes on citizens' privacy rights, and citizens do not have the right to be secure in their homes or persons, or to own private property. The Government restricts freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, and religion. The Government imposes some limits on freedom of movement. The Government prohibits the establishment of independent human rights organizations. Violence against women is a problem. Traditional attitudes and practices continue to discriminate against women, and female genital mutilation (FGM) is practiced in remote areas of the country. The Government discriminates against and represses tribal groups. The Government continues to repress banned Islamic groups and exercises tight control over ethnic and tribal minorities… The Government restricts basic worker rights, uses forced labor, and discriminates against foreign workers. In October Libyan mobs killed at least 150 African workers. Government authorities put down the violence, but then expelled hundreds of thousands of African migrants. There have been reports of slavery and trafficking in persons.”
The question is whether this will be enough to keep some arrangement of sanctions in place as there are with regards to Cuba. Or will oil interests win out. Don’t get me wrong. I understand the importance of those issues. The point I’m trying to make of course isn’t about Libya, but about Cuba, where the United States has the utmost concern for human rights, freedom, and personal liberties. Let’s see if the same holds true for Libya. Because after all, this is about human rights and political freedom—not about Florida now is it.
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posted 9:41 AM
Libya, however, wants all U.S. and U.N. sanctions removed and wants to be taken off the State Department’s list of states that sponsor terrorism. Assuming that the offer actually stands, it will be interesting to note if enough families accept the offer for U.S. officials to consider easing or dropping sanctions against Libya. I say interesting because if Libya were given a clean bill of health as far as terrorism goes, it is still a major human rights violator.
Here is an excerpt from the State Department's 2001 human rights report on Libya:
“Libya's human rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit numerous serious abuses. Citizens do not have the right to change their government. Qadhafi uses summary judicial proceedings to suppress domestic opposition. Security forces torture prisoners during interrogations and as punishment. Prison conditions are poor. Security forces arbitrarily arrest and detain persons, and many prisoners are held incommunicado. Many political detainees are held for years without charge. The Government controls the judiciary, and citizens do not have the right to a fair public trial or to be represented by legal counsel. The Government infringes on citizens' privacy rights, and citizens do not have the right to be secure in their homes or persons, or to own private property. The Government restricts freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, and religion. The Government imposes some limits on freedom of movement. The Government prohibits the establishment of independent human rights organizations. Violence against women is a problem. Traditional attitudes and practices continue to discriminate against women, and female genital mutilation (FGM) is practiced in remote areas of the country. The Government discriminates against and represses tribal groups. The Government continues to repress banned Islamic groups and exercises tight control over ethnic and tribal minorities… The Government restricts basic worker rights, uses forced labor, and discriminates against foreign workers. In October Libyan mobs killed at least 150 African workers. Government authorities put down the violence, but then expelled hundreds of thousands of African migrants. There have been reports of slavery and trafficking in persons.”
The question is whether this will be enough to keep some arrangement of sanctions in place as there are with regards to Cuba. Or will oil interests win out. Don’t get me wrong. I understand the importance of those issues. The point I’m trying to make of course isn’t about Libya, but about Cuba, where the United States has the utmost concern for human rights, freedom, and personal liberties. Let’s see if the same holds true for Libya. Because after all, this is about human rights and political freedom—not about Florida now is it.
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