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Libya working behind scenes in AIDS case
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-16 22:26
Libya is working behind the scenes to find a way to
resolve the case of five Bulgarian nurses facing a possible death sentence.
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi wants to win favor with the West, but he also
needs to save face at home.
Picture dated February 18, 1992 of Libyan Abdelbaset Ali
Mohmed al-Megrahi before appearing at the Supreme court for a hearing in
connection with the December 1988 Lockerbie bombing in Scotland. Tripoli
has proposed exchanging Bulgarian nurses on death row in Libya for
infecting hundreds of children with the HIV virus for Megrahi.
[AFP] |
The postponement Tuesday of a long-awaited Libyan Supreme Court decision on
the fate of the five Bulgarian and one Palestinian medical workers apparently
was made to provide breathing space for some type of deal to be reached.
The six were convicted in May 2004 of infecting more than 400 children with
HIV and sentenced to death by firing squad. Human rights groups and others
allege that Libya concocted the charges to cover up unhygienic practices in its
hospitals.
"This is a case where Gadhafi's regime has no choice," said Saad Djebbar, a
Libya analyst with the London-based Chatham House think tank. "This is a problem
that the government wants to get rid of."
Djebbar said the court postponement "took into consideration that
negotiations are going on with a view to solving this problem."
Added George Joffe, a Libyan researcher at the Center of International
Studies at Cambridge University: "Gadhafi needs an excuse to be able to end the
matter. He can't just end it like that. He's got some very angry (Libyan)
families."
Joffe said any Libya- European Union talks are likely focused on humanitarian
aid to the AIDS victims' families "that will be some sort of face-saving
measure, that will allow Libya to get something in return."
Bulgaria has already rejected a Libyan suggestion that it pay compensation to
the victims' families if Libya lifts the death sentences, saying it would imply
their guilt.
But it is known that Gadhafi badly wants to continue improving his relations
with the West — and especially seeks the opening of a U.S. Embassy in Tripoli.
Last month, President Bush warned: "There should be no confusion in the
Libyan government's mind that those nurses ought to be not only spared ... but
out of prison."
U.S. officials made clear again Tuesday that the nurses' case is a key
sticking point that must be resolved before the United States will reopen a U.S.
Embassy. Other human rights and terrorism issues also remain, said State
Department spokesman Adam Ereli.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also has said relations
with Libya hinge on the nurses' fate.
Gadhafi has been largely successful in recent years in shedding his rogue
image and improving Western ties, particularly since agreeing in 2003 to
dismantle Libya's programs for weapons of mass destruction.
He also paid $2.7 billion to compensate the families of victims of the 1988
bombing of a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland.
The moves have resulted in a warming of relations with the West, and the
United States has said Libya could win full diplomatic recognition if it cleaned
up its human rights and terror record.
Ashur Shamis, a Libyan dissident living in exile in London, said Libya was in
a bind.
"Obviously if the court overturns the ruling, then the question will come up,
'Who is responsible for this crime?'" he said.
After the court postponement of a ruling until Jan. 31, angry Libyans outside
the court clashed with riot police. Distressed parents held up photos of their
children and demanded the death penalty for the nurses and doctor. At least 50
children reportedly have died.
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