Libya talks ‘positive’
Politicians lobbying for compensation from the Libyan Government for victims of IRA terrorism have said that their meeting with Libyan officials was a “positive first direct engagement”.
The delegation to the north African state has said that Libya should make a substantial investment in Northern Ireland’s economy to make amends for arming the IRA.
The aid would boost peace and reconciliation for all those affected by decades of republican violence, the Westminster parliamentary group added.
Victims have sought compensation from Tripoli after it boosted the IRA with tonnes of the explosive Semtex as well as thousands of rifles, small arms and flame throwers.
DUP MPs Jeffrey Donaldson and Nigel Dodds said they were welcomed with great courtesy.
“This has been a constructive and positive first direct engagement with the Libyan authorities,” they said.
“It constitutes a major milestone in our campaign on behalf of all those who have suffered because of Libyan involvement in helping IRA terrorism.”
They met Abdulati al-Obidi, Secretary for European Affairs, Ali Shamekh, Secretary of the General People’s Congress and Tripoli mayor Dr Ali Reeh among others.
The team presented a proposal that Libya participate in a humanitarian programme for peace and reconciliation for the benefit of all affected in the United Kingdom, particularly in Northern Ireland, including:
- substantial business and infrastructure investment
- wide-ranging community development projects
- bringing closure for those who have suffered in the past, including resolution of existing claims by UK citizens involving Libya.
Mr Donaldson and Mr Dodds added: “We emphasised the great importance of the proposal as a new and innovative means of giving such closure to the past and providing a firm foundation for future progress in Northern Ireland.”
The Libyan authorities are ready to consider further details of the proposals, which we will be sending to them this week, they added.
“We have come a long way so far but this remains a work in progress and we do not expect an immediate result.”
Explosives
Semtex explosives supplied by Libya were one of the IRA’s most lethal weapons in its decades-long terror campaign.
Links between the IRA and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi are thought to stretch back as far as 1972, and Libya is understood to have supplied the republican group with Czech-made Semtex in the 1980s.
Although members of the victims’ families were not invited on the trip, the fact that the trip was taking place was welcomed as a sign of progress in the long-running campaign.
In a statement, their lawyers said: “The victims view this as a significant step forward, as well as recognition by both countries that their plight will not be overlooked as Anglo-Libyan relations develop.
“They sincerely hope that, following the parliamentarian team’s visit, Libya will review its position towards them and appreciate that they wish to visit Libya in the spirit of peace and reconciliation.”
