Muammar Gaddafi’s New York visit angers families of Lockerbie victims

The nose section of the Pan Am Boeing 747 in a field at Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988
after it was blown apart while flying from London to New York.
Two hundred and seventy lives were lost

James Bone in New York

Families of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing have expressed shock and outrage that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, is to visit New York, the destination of the doomed Pan Am Flight 103.

The UN has disclosed that Colonel Gaddafi, who is blamed for the bombing of the aircraft in 1988 and loss of 270 lives, will address the 192-nation General Assembly in New York.

The newly released UN schedule calls for Colonel Gaddafi to speak directly after President Obama on the opening day of the annual session on September 23, raising the prospect of a second encounter between the two.

The trip will be Colonel Gaddafi’s first visit to the US after decades of conflict between Washington and Tripoli and 11 years of UN sanctions on Libya. It follows his recent rehabilitation on the international scene, which culminated in a 40-minute meeting with Gordon Brown and a handshake with Mr Obama at the G8 summit in Italy this month. Read more here...

Source: Times Online