Is it possible that Western officials were surprised by the welcome given by Libyan despot Mouammar Qadaffi to Lockerbie bombing convict Abdels al-Megrahi? Or could it be that their outrage stems from the embarrassment they feel over the way the story has been covered by the Western media? Reflecting a swath of Muslim reaction to the story, K. Selim of Algeria’s Le Quotidien d’Oran suggests that the answer is certainly the latter.
For Le Quotidien d’Oran, K. Selim writes in part:
“Western governments are well aware of the nature of the Libyan regime. They knew it would make intense media use of the return of someone who, by assuming a sentence he considers unjust, permitted Libya to escape the state of international banishment to which it was confined. Tripoli, let’s not forget, gave in on practically everything: it signed its surrender and delivered secrets that put the father of the Pakistani bomb in serious difficulty. Therefore, no one could have expected that it wouldn’t seek compensation for its compromises by welcoming al-Megrahi home as a hero and portraying his return as a “victory.” This is all in the order of things and arguably, this is all part of the transaction. ‘Business as usual.'”
“‘In all of its commercial contracts for oil and gas with Great Britain, Mr. Megrahi was always on the negotiating table.’ So declared Seif al-Islam, son of Colonel Qadaffi, and there is no reason to disbelieve him. Tripoli has fully complied with its agreements. It is Western officials, embarrassed by the comments of their own press, who are indulging in an appalling duplicity.”
By K. Selim
Translated By Sandrine Ageorges
August 23, 2009
Algeria – Le Quotidien d’Oran- Original Article (French)
The release of Abdels Basset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi and the triumphant welcome predictably prepared by Libyan authorities have provoked reactions of incredible hypocrisy from Western countries. Al-Megrahi was found guilty by a Scottish court on the basis of a dossier fabricated mostly by Western intelligence services. No one is yet in a position to assert that justice was done.
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