France tough on Libya
2003-08-19 22:03
Paris - France on Tuesday refused to rule out using its UN veto to block the lifting of sanctions on Libya, saying it was "necessary" that Tripoli first bring compensation for the 1989 bombing of a French airliner into line with that offered to victims of the Lockerbie attack.
Under questioning about the likelihood of France using its veto, French foreign ministry spokesperson Cecile Pozzo di Borgo told a news conference that an "equitable" agreement for the 1989 bombing was a "necessary condition" for sanctions to be lifted.
France has not explicitly said in public it would use its veto, but US officials speaking anonymously said the threat had been made privately.
Britain on Monday put a draft resolution before the UN Security Council calling for air, arms and diplomatic embargoes imposed on Libya in 1992 following the Lockerbie bombing to be lifted.
The resolution was part of a deal under which Libya agreed to pay $2.7bn to the families of the 270 people who died when a bomb blew apart a Pan Am aircraft over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
France is seeking similar compensation for the families of the 170 people who died when their plane, owned by French airline UTA, exploded over Niger a year later.
Blamed on Libya
That attack was also blamed on Libya, which in 1999 agreed to pay €30m ($33m) to France to settle the matter without accepting responsibility.
The French government at the time gave its blessing to that deal, but, in light of the Lockerbie arrangement and the fact that most of the UTA victims' families got nothing, it has since demanded a "complementary settlement" that would approach the 10 million dollars each of the families in the Lockerbie case would receive.
"I would remind you that UTA flight 772 was carrying passengers of 17 different nationalities. French, of course, but also many Africans, some Americans, British, Italians and many others," Pozzo di Borgo said.
France's position was to obtain fair compensation for all the families, and not only the French ones, she stressed.
The spokeswoman added that Paris did not consider that the €:30m Libya had already paid drew a line under the UTA affair, as Libyan officials contended.
She also expressed confidence that separate negotiations between a group representing the UTA families and the Kadhafi Foundation - an official Libyan organisation run by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi - aim to agree a Lockerbie-style package would be successful. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA