No Room at the Inn, Colonel!
TIMES ONLINE: Libyan officials posed as Dutch diplomats to try to find Colonel Gaddafi a place to stay this week on his first visit to the US.

The envoys, including one calling himself Ronald, approached a property agent on the Upper East Side of New York to inquire about renting the Barclay Mansion, a six-storey townhouse on East 78th Street.

Jason Haber, who has a master’s degree from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, realised the ruse and the deal did not go through.

“When someone says they are representing the Dutch, you accept that at face value,” Mr Haber told The Times. “After a few conversations, the accents did not match. When the e-mails started it became quite clear. The e-mails had a Libyan Embassy address.”

Colonel Gaddafi, the world’s longest-serving leader, was due to arrive in New York last night for his first visit to the annual UN General Assembly.

After 11 years of UN sanctions, Libya now holds a seat on the 15-nation Security Council and the presidency of the 192-nation General Assembly. Colonel Gaddafi is also the head of the African Union.

His rehabilitation on the international scene has been dented by Britain’s release of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi. The outcry with which the release was met in America has made it difficult for Colonel Gaddafi to find a place to stay. Libyans pose as Dutch diplomats to get Gaddafi a room in New York >>> James Bone in New York | Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Gaddafi Doctors to Be Trained by NHS as Row over Britain’s Relations with Libya Intensifies
MAIL ONLINE: Libyan doctors are to be trained by the NHS following an agreement signed by a Cabinet minister with Colonel Gaddafi's regime weeks before the release of the Lockerbie bomber, it emerged today.

The agreement is the latest in a series of moves to normalise relations between Britain and the north African state, which was an international pariah for years after being blamed for the 1988 bombing of PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie, which killed 270 people.

But the Department of Health dismissed as "nonsense" suggestions that the agreement had any link with the recent release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi or trade deals with the oil-rich regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed by former Health Secretary Alan Johnson in spring 2008, Libyan medical staff will be able to get a year's instruction in Britain.

Training opportunities will be available in the UK for Libyan medical staff in areas such as intensive care, anaesthetics and endoscopy, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, the Evening Standard reported.

Links have also been formed between London's Moorfields Eye Hospital and the main eye hospital in Libyan capital Tripoli.

The agreement was later discussed in a visit to Libya by then health minister Dawn Primarolo and was raised again when Mr Johnson's successor Andy Burnham met health minister Mohamed Hijazi during a trip to the country on constituency business earlier this year, said the Department. >>> | Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Pan African Parliament Declares Solidarity with Al-Megrahi
"What happened to Megrahi reminds us of the long suffering inflicted on Africa by the its enemies the colonialists and their heinous crimes and discrimination. The Europeans think that they are the strongest and make us fear them but we will face head on their injustice and defend our rights, marching along with Leader Muammar Gaddafi the President of the African Union." – Mr. Mustafa Abudaina from Algeria, Pan African Parliament (PAP) member

THE TRIPOLI POST: Tripoli– The Pan African Parliament declared on Wednesday its solidarity with Abdulbaset Al-Megrahi and wished him quick recovery after his release from captivity in Scottish and Netherlands prisons for more than eleven years.

The 150 strong Pan African parliamentarian delegation expressed its support with Al-Megrahi when they made a visit to him at Tripoli Medical Center.

Speaking to Megrahi and the large audience in his presence, The President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) Hon. Dr. Moussa Idriss Ndele, MP said "we wished that this meeting had took place at the Parliament's headquarters [in in Midrand, South Africa] and gave you a red carpet welcome."

Mr. Ndele added that that would have been in response to the big welcome given to the Bulgarian nurses by the European Parliament despite their crime and with disregard to the feelings of over 400 Libyan children who were infected with AIDS and their relatives.

Al-Megrahi waived his hand to the African parliamentarian delegation as he responded to their words of support and get well wishes. >>> | Sunday, September 13, 2009

In the Megrahi Affair, the More We Learn, the Worse It Gets
This sordid tale makes me feel ashamed to call myself British. I always knew that the British establishment stank; now, it is clear to me that it stinks to high heaven! – © Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: Telegraph view: The way the Lockerbie bomber gained his release brings shame upon Britain.

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi is the only person to have been convicted of planting the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie. Megrahi murdered 270 people, including 51 British citizens. His release from a Scottish jail has caused fresh pain to many of the relatives of those he killed. It has tarnished Britain's reputation abroad, because in spite of the fact that the Scottish Executive has insisted that it took the decision to free Megrahi on its own, there is increasing evidence, including the story we publish today, that the British Government had, at the very least, a powerfully influential role in the decision.

Across the world, there is little doubt that the British Government is perceived as responsible for the Megrahi affair. Diplomatic relations with America have been strained, because Britain has broken a promise given to the US government that the Libyan would not be released before he had served his minimum tariff of 20 years. Worse, Britain is now identified with a policy of preferring money to justice, and being prepared to sell criminals in exchange for trade deals and concessions. That sets an ominous precedent.

The Government is now making the case for Megrahi's release by insisting that contracts with Libya – including BP's £545 million deal involving exploration for new oil reserves in that country – depended on it: not in the sense that there was a formal agreement with Libya stating "we free Megrahi and you give us the oil deal", but in the sense of an informal understanding that the one gesture would be reciprocated by the other. Jack Straw has stated that Megrahi's release was also important to the war on terrorism: Libya's co-operation on intelligence matters required it.

The Government's argument has been greeted with horror in some quarters, on the grounds that justice should never be compromised, no matter how great the costs of holding rigorously to it. We do not accept that principle. There can be cases in which it is reasonable, when the national interest clashes with justice, to prefer protecting the former. The Government has dismally failed, however, to provide a persuasive argument that the release of Megrahi is one of those cases. The Libyan was responsible for one of the worst terrorist outrages perpetrated in peace-time. His guilt has been upheld by the numerous Scottish judges who examined the evidence. He was certainly not solely responsible. But the fact that he had accomplices, and that others ordered the explosion, does not lessen his culpability for it.

Even if it were true that the future of BP's contracts in Libya depended on Megrahi's repatriation, the heinousness of his crime would make most people pause before concluding that that was the correct path to take. The logic of the Government's case seems to be that £545 million, or whatever sum shall eventually be gained from the deals with Libya, covers the murder of 270 people: the money is enough to forgive and forget the crime. >>> Telegraph view | Saturday, September 05, 2009

Libyan Foreign Minister, Musa Kasa, Defends UK Government Over Lockerbie
So, the day has come when Libya now has to defend the United Kingdom against its American critics!

Gordon Brown and his merry band of crooks have severed our once glorious special relationship with the US and traded it in for a ‘special relationship’ with a tinpot dictator! Why? Because there’s money to be made. Oil money. Big money.

Not only is this as absurd as it is dangerous, but it also signifies a significant shift towards the realisation of Eurabia. Remember this: Gaddafi has made no secret of the fact that he wants Islam to take over Europe. Alas, we have got into bed with vipers! And Gordon Brown and his profiteering cronies have fallen for the ruse hook, line, and sinker! – © Mark

TIMES ONLINE: A top Libyan official once expelled from Britain for plotting the deaths of exiled dissidents rode to the defence of the British Government over Lockerbie yesterday.

In one of the few interviews he has given, Musa Kusa, the Libyan Foreign Minister and long-time member of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s inner circle, told The Times that he was astonished by the controversy over the release of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber.

“Where is the human rights, the compassion and mercy? The man is on the verge of death,” Mr Kusa said in a midnight conversation in his plush, chilled office in the centre of baking Tripoli.

He flatly denied any link between al-Megrahi’s release and British commercial interests in his oil-rich state and said that Libya was grateful to the British and Scottish governments for their humanity. “You should not do an injustice to the British Government. It was nothing to do with trade,” he said. “If we wished to bargain we would have done it a long time ago.”

Mr Musa, likewise, said that the row over al-Megrahi’s rapturous reception at Tripoli airport was the result of a cultural misunderstanding: such greetings were a Libyan custom. “I can’t say to [al-Megrahi’s] friends and tribe, ‘Don’t go there’,” he said. Not one Libyan official went to the airport, he added, and the reception was, by Libyan standards, “low key”.

He emphasised that Libya was eager to strengthen its relationship with Britain despite the present friction.

Mr Kusa, the Libyan foreign intelligence chief for 15 years before becoming Foreign Minister, is the embodiment of his country’s transition from rogue state to something approaching international respectability.

In 1980, when he was head of the Libyan diplomatic mission in London, he was expelled from Britain for allegedly organising the killing of exiled opponents of Colonel Gaddafi’s regime. In later years he was accused of complicity in the 1998 Lockerbie bombing, the destruction of a French airliner over Niger in 1989, the Berlin disco bombing that led to the US bombing of Tripoli in 1986 and much else besides. He was high on the British and US terrorism blacklists.

Today Mr Kusa is received at the highest levels in London and Washington. He negotiated the conditions of Libya’s $2.7 billion compensation payment to families of the Lockerbie victims. In the refined surroundings of the Travellers Club in Pall Mall, he negotiated the dismantling of Libyan weapons of mass destruction. He co-operates with British and American intelligence agencies in their fight against a mutual enemy — Islamic terrorism. >>> Martin Fletcher in Tripoli | Saturday, September 05, 2009

MI6 Agent Joined Disgraced BP Boss in Secret Meetings with Gaddafi
Lord Brown and Gaddafi. Photos: Mail On Sunday
This is the same Lord Brown who struck up a 'close friendship' with Peter Mandelson's then partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva from Brazil. Peter Mandelson has been flitting about the world to attend parties of the rich and famous (and sometimes infamous). It is known that he had at least two meetings with Seif ul-Islam before the deal to release Megraho was struck.

It is difficult to tell precisely, of course, without being privy to far more detail; but can't it be said that there appears to be here at least one common thread on the British side? – ©Mark

MAIL ON SUNDAY: New questions about the extent of the Government’s involvement in the trade deals that led to the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, were raised last night with the revelation that an MI6 agent flew to Libya with former BP boss Lord Browne for two cloak-and-dagger meetings with Colonel Gaddafi.

Jeff Chevalier, the ex-lover of Lord Browne, has told The Mail on Sunday that Browne was ‘shocked’ when the agent made a reference to his relationship with Mr Chevalier, indicating the authorities knew about their liaison, which was a closely guarded secret.

Mr Chevalier said Lord Browne also referred to Mark Allen, the MI6 counter-terrorism chief at the centre of the secret talks between Libya and Britain, who now works for BP.

But he did not know if Allen was the agent who accompanied the peer to Libya.

Lord Browne’s secret missions started shortly after international sanctions were lifted on Libya in 2003, prompting an ‘oil rush’ by companies keen to win lucrative contracts – and with the Government lobbying hard on BP’s behalf.

Although Gaddafi agreed to hand over Megrahi for trial as part of negotiations to lift sanctions, oil industry insiders claim BP’s attempts to win business were hampered by objections to the Lockerbie bomber’s detention.

Mr Chevalier, who spent four years in a relationship with Lord Browne, recalled that the BP boss made his first trip to Libya accompanied by the unnamed MI6 agent. >>> Glen Owen | Sunday, August 30, 2009

Related:

A sad end to an illustrious career: Lord John Browne could face charges of perjury >>> BBC | Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Gay Soap Opera >>> Friday, June 01, 2007

Watch BBC video: BP chief executive resigns >>>

Seif ul Islam al-Qadhafi: Megrahi’s Release Was Linked to Oil Deal
MAIL ONLINE: Gordon Brown came under fresh pressure to reveal details of his Government's dealings with Libya today after claims by the son of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi over the Lockerbie bomber.

Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi claimed a prisoner transfer deal with Britain had targeted Abdelbaset Ali al Megrahi and was linked to talks on trade and oil.

He said the 'deal in the desert' specifically targeted the bomber but his name was never mentioned, and the prisoner transfer deal was signed at the same time as an oil deal. Gordon Brown under pressure over Lockerbie bomber after Gaddafi son reveals prisoner swap WAS linked to oil deal >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Friday, August 29, 2009

It’s Not Independent to Cosy Up to the Colonel
TIMES ONLINE: Lockerbie was a plot against American lives. Of course the US has every right to be outraged by the bomber’s release

Yesterday the Bishop of Musselburgh somehow tricked his way into the Scottish Parliament in the guise of Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary. How else to account for the transcendent moral tone of the statement made concerning the release of the convicted bomber of Pan Am Flight 103?

Scotland was, the Right Rev MacAskill implied, a superior place where “we define ourselves by our humanity”, a humanity obliging the Justice Secretary to show compassion to Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, in the form of letting him fly home, the occasion being the supposed proximity of the prisoner’s death.

And nothing else, note. The utterly unrepentant al-Megrahi, according to Mr MacAskill, who had by now switched to high sanctimony, was facing a “sentence imposed by another power ... He is going to die.” The word “soon” was of course implied.

So these are the new “laws and values of Scotland” — if you’re going to snuff it within a reasonably short time (let’s say months, or a year or so) you are thought to have been transferred into the custody of God and you get let out. How could one not agree with that?

Easily. One wonders how widely Mr MacAskill would like to see this form of humanity applied. Let us imagine that Robert Black, the Scottish serial killer of young girls, or Ian Brady, the Scottish-born Moors Murderer, were discovered to be on their last knockings. Like al-Megrahi, they, too, have shown a resilience in their refusal to help the authorities to uncover the full extent of their crimes, and have thus made matters worse for the victims’ families.

But surely they will soon be beyond the capacity to inflict harm, their maker’s finger beckoning to them, so wouldn’t it be best to return them from England to Grangemouth and Glasgow respectively, to die in the bosom of whatever families they can discover there? >>> David Aaronovitch | Tuesday, August 25, 2009

When Will Brown Come Out of Hiding? PM Urged to Break 'Cowardly' Silence as Britain Faces U.S. Lockerbie Boycott
MAIL ONLINE: Gordon Brown was under growing pressure to speak out about the release of the Lockerbie bomber today as Scotland's Justice Minister fights for his political life.

There is mounting anger both at home and in the U.S. at the Prime Minister's silence over the decision to free Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi.

The Tories accused Mr Brown of adopting a 'cowardly silence' and the Liberal Democrats said it was 'absurd and damaging' not to speak up.

American consumers are now being urged to boycott British and Scottish exports and holiday in Ireland instead of the UK.

And security sources fear counter-terrorism co-operation with the U.S. could be at risk after the head of the FBI said Megrahi's release was a 'mockery of justice'.

The 'special relationship' is also under fresh strain over new allegations linking UK trade interests with freeing Megrahi.

Opposition MPs have demanded records of all meetings between ministers and the Libyan regime to see if the claims have any foundation.

Megrahi was sent home to Libya last weekm where he was given a hero's welcome, after being released on compassionate grounds because he has terminal cancer.

But despite the controversy, Mr Brown has yet to make any public comment about the move which has led to warnings of 'payback time' from the U.S. >>> James Chapman, Sean Poulter and Ian Drury | Monday, August 24, 2009

Lockerbie Fallout Spreads to London
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: U.K. Government Fends Off Suggestions It Had Role in Scottish Release; U.S. Steps Up Criticism

LONDON -- The political fallout from Scotland's release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber has spread to London, as questions arise about whether the U.K. government played a bigger role in the decision than it has publicly acknowledged.

On Sunday, U.S. criticism of the decision took on a more strident tone, with one senior official saying it "makes a mockery of the rule of law."

The political stakes for U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown mounted after a son of Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, issued a statement on Saturday thanking "our friends in the British government who played an important role in reaching this day." He said he believed the decision to release Abdel Baset al-Megrahi would further improve relations between the U.K. and the oil-rich North African nation.

A spokesman for the U.K. Foreign Office said the decision was Scotland's alone and had nothing to do with any trade deals between Britain and Libya.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, who was part of a recent congressional delegation to Libya led by Sen. John McCain, noted Saif al-Islam Gadhafi's letter during a CNN television appearance on Sunday and called on "our friends in Britain" to conduct an independent investigation into "this action by the Scottish justice minister to release a mass murderer."

Both Mr. Brown and the Scottish government have maintained that the decision to free Mr. al-Megrahi, the only man convicted in the 1988 bombing that claimed 270 lives, rested entirely with Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill. Under an arrangement set up more than a decade ago, Scotland rules independently on a number of local matters, including justice. Scottish legislators gathered Monday for an emergency meeting over the release of Mr. al-Megrahi, the Associated Press
reported.

Mr. al-Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, flew home Thursday to a jubilant welcome after Mr. MacAskill released him on "compassionate grounds." >>> Alistair MacDonald and Spencer Swartz | Monday, August 24, 2009

Moammar Ghaddafi Greets Freed Man


Lockerbie Diplomatic Divide

Lockerbie Release: Gordon Brown Should Tell Us What He Said to Colonel Gaddafi
THE TELEGRAPH – Telegraph View: It is utter nonsense to suggest that the release of Megrahi is purely a matter for the Scottish justice system.

As the controversy over the release of Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi continued to rage yesterday, seriously damaging relations between Britain and America, Government ministers stuck to the line that the decision was purely a matter for the Scottish justice system. That is the most utter nonsense, and as more details of the case emerged over the weekend Gordon Brown's silence generated increasing public anger, in Britain and the United States.

President Obama has said that the release of the Lockerbie bomber to a hero's welcome in Tripoli was a "mistake". The head of the FBI, Robert Mueller, called it a "mockery of justice" that had "given comfort to terrorists around the world". Not everyone will agree that America has the right to take such a lofty view: after all, it was not troubled by (and even helped to facilitate) the release of hundreds of Northern Irish terrorists, including the most vile murderers, as part of a US-supported peace process. So America is open to a charge of hypocrisy – but not naivety. It suspects that the "compassionate" release of a dying man has a political dimension. Plenty of Britons think the same. >>> Telegraph View | Monday, August 24, 2009

Gordon Brown: Lockerbie Release Too Sensitive to Comment On
TIMES ONLINE: Gordon Brown believes the early release of the the Lockerbie bomber is too sensitive to comment on, Downing Street said today.

The Prime Minister is under growing pressure to say whether he agreed with the release of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, amid accusations that he is ducking a subject of national importance while offering his views on the Ashes.

Defending the Prime Minister's silence, Mr Brown's spokesman said: “Clearly, the Prime Minister recognises this was a very difficult decision and was clearly an extremely sensitive one and there will be very strong feelings from the families of those people who were victims of this terrorist attack."

He said it was “a uniquely sensitive and difficult decision”. They had not commented before the decision and would not comment after, he added.

Asked whether the release gave succour to terrorists, he said: “I don’t think it does. This was a decision taken by the Scottish Justice Secretary in accordance with the laws of Scotland. I don’t see that anyone can argue that this gives succour.” >>> Sam Coates, Chief Political Correspondent | Monday, August 24, 2009

Deals, Deals, and More Deals?
BBC: The Scottish justice secretary will be forced to defend his decision to release the Lockerbie bomber, as the Scottish Parliament is recalled later.

Opposition parties will demand to know how Kenny MacAskill aims to repair the damage they claimed had been done to Scotland's global reputation.

He has been under huge pressure, after granting early release to terminally-ill Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.

Mr MacAskill will make a statement to parliament and be questioned by MSPs.

The parliament will reconvene at 1430 BST on Monday.

Megrahi was freed after receiving a life sentence imposed in 2001 for his conviction for the UK's worst terrorist atrocity, which claimed 270 lives in 1988.

International standing

The 57-year-old, who has prostate cancer, returned home to Libya on Thursday to jubilant scenes which included people waving Scottish flags.

Scottish ministers said their decision to release Megrahi on compassionate grounds - which has been strongly criticised by the US government - followed due process and was the right one.

As the Scottish Parliament was preparing to cut short its summer break to discuss the issue, Scotland's opposition politicians urged Mr MacAskill to set out how he intends to improve Scotland's international standing in the wake of the criticism. Lockerbie Minister Facing Critics >>> | Sunday, August 23, 2009

Prince Andrew Trip to Libya Could Be Cancelled Over Lockerbie Bomber
THE TELEGRAPH: The Duke of York may see plans for an official visit to Libya cancelled as an expression of British Government anger at Libyan celebrations of the return of the Lockerbie bomber.

There is growing anger in Britain at the reception granted to Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi on his return to Libya after eight years in a Scottish jail.

Downing Street has also said that Gordon Brown had appealed to the Libyans not to give Megrahi a hero's welcome on his return.

In a letter to Col Gaddafi sent on Thursday, the Prime Minister asked the Libyans to "act with sensitivity" over the return of Megrahi.

Megrahi, the biggest mass murderer in British legal history, flew home to Tripoli on Thursday after being freed from jail on compassionate grounds by Scotland's devolved adminstration.

A large crowd gathered to greet his return, and he has been feted as a national hero.

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said that the reception Libya gave Megrahi was "deeply distressing".

The Foreign Office is now understood to be reviewing a plan for Prince Andrew to represent Britian [sic] at celebrations marking 40 years of Col Gaddafi's rule. >>> James Kirkup and Aislinn Simpson | Friday, August 21, 2009

THE TELEGRAPH:
Lockerbie bomber release: Reaction from American media >>> | Friday, August 21, 2009

The Jailed Saudi Blogger, Fouad al-Farhan, Is Released
BBC: A popular Saudi blogger who was detained by the authorities in December has been set free.

Fouad al-Farhan had used his website to criticise alleged corruption and call for democratic reforms in his country.

No official explanation was given for either the detention or the decision to free him.

Mr Farhan's detention had sparked protests from fellow bloggers. International human rights groups had been campaigning for his release.

Unlike most bloggers in Saudi Arabia, he wrote under his real name.

He used the blog to expose problems in Saudi society and campaigned on behalf of jailed Saudi liberals.

Correspondents say the whole affair surrounding the arrest Mr Farhan is part of a wider internet phenomenon issue in the Arab world.

With most governments in the region tightly controlling the activities of the official media, young people are increasingly turning to the internet to express dissent. [Source: Saudi Blogger Released from Jail]

Fouad Is Free >>>

CNN Report: The Detention of Fouad al-Farhan in Saudi Arabia >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)