I have not blogged on the whole prisoner release and Libya before, but there are few things I want to get off my chest.
My view is that Al Megrahi was not guilty of the bombing, planning it or anything else to do with the bombing. The truth is that he was convicted on the basis of evidence from dodgy sources who were incentivised by the US to give evidence that would frame Libya in order to justify the US stance towards that country since the early 1980s.
I don't doubt Libya was guilty of a lot of nasty things in the 1980s. They funded, armed and trained the IRA. But Czechoslovakia too was guilty of this by continuing to produce semtex with no chemical marker (as they promised to do) which would allow it to be detected by sniffer dogs. The Czech's were complicit in working with the Libyans to ensure the IRA was well stocked with grade A Semtex but we say nothing about them. The truth is that whilst Gadaffi was not a nice person, neither was General Franco and the US was happy to deal with him. Likewise the last Shah of Iran was despicable to his people but he too was a friend of the UK and the US.
The truth of the matter is that an innocent man was let go, but sadly the fact that his retrial and appeal never went ahead was the worst thing about this release. It means that those who were really guilty will never be prosecuted or found.
News reports today (exaggerated by the Scum on Sunday) which claim the US is going to withdraw security co-operation with the UK because of Al Megrahi's release are all part of the media spin and the Tory campaign to use this story as another stick to beat Labour with. But they also show a shallow disregard for the fact that real justice will not be done.
Yes, the government have made a dreadful cock up in linking things to trade and denying them whilst the SNP's Justice Minister came over as shallow, dull, slightly dim and unable to say anything other than repeat the same lines over and over again. The SNP have looked just as bad as Labour if not worse.
Anyway, enough of a rant from me. That's my illogically strung together views on this issue. Feel free to tell me I am wrong.
2 comments:
I agree with you posting I blogged on this on myself as I also wanted to get some points of my chest.
http://bracknellblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/megrahi-msp-point-scoring-boycotts-and.html
This was before the IRA story although this one is looking very bad for the government and there comments have been badly worded
For many years I have said he was and is innocent. The British Governments stance on global trade has somehow made the pan am flight a part of today’s economical problem. History has a habit of repeating itself - for those in government this is an easy back door to whip the opposition. The economy has nothing to do with pan am 103, but while the media spins its stories of ole the public laps up what they read - purely because they see what they want. It is a fact hat Malta was involved with the placement of the suitcase on the flight, and it is also a fact that the line up of 5 prisoners detained was unfounded and at best similar in fashion to the perpetrator/s. People will see only what they want to see. Only a fool would now assume Megrahi is guilty - a fool with a narrow and untrained mind. The global position is this - global opinion does not come from the people. It comes from those that create the future from within. As conspiracies go this is a mother of them all. We as people on this planet owe ourselves nothing for believing those that control the future (the media) and the media itself. So I also ask myself this...what are we to do? Are we to believe still what we read in the press or are we to stand tall before the man and tell him to kiss our ass? I for one would do the latter. But unfortunately there just are not enough of people like myself - or yourself - for one. The west has had a special relationship with many 'dodgy' countries over the years - mainly because the west has installed its own government in that particular country. The countries that are on the proverbial bad list of the west are those that do not wish to subscribe to the status quo. I for one admire any country that stands up against the status quo as this is what they don't want. Why should I bring my children up in a world where the world around them lies to them every day? It really is all in the mind, and if the global; population could see this we would obviously live in a better place. Megrahi is a free man now, but the cloud hanging over his head is still a dark one -but not put there by him. Unfortunately only a court can clear his name - and not the internet. The only good thing that can come out of this internet blogging is the change of consciousness in the reader. As people seek out information they become more and more enlightened - hopefully for the best.
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