EFL
France is holding up the settlement for families of the victims of the 1988 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, because it wants Libya to pay more for the bombing of a French UTA airliner in 1989, a U.S. official said Thursday. As part of the deal, Libya was to send a letter to the United Nations officially accepting responsibility ... in exchange for the lifting of sanctions against the country. But France has "intimidated the Libyans" into delaying the delivery of that letter, a Bush administration official said. Until the letter is received, the U.N. Security Council will not debate whether to lift sanctions against Libya -- a critical step for victims’ families to begin receiving compensation. The U.S. official said France, as a member of the Security Council, is delaying the U.N. debate until next week, suggesting the French may veto the lifting of sanctions unless their concerns are resolved. It is not clear exactly what or how much France wants before moving ahead on the Pan Am deal, and there was no immediate word from French officials on the U.S. claims. |