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Thousands Of Libyans Protest Lockerbie Verdict
WASHINGTON & TRIPOLI, Feb 3 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Three Libyans slashed their throats Saturday as several thousand took to the streets of Tripoli to protest against a Libyan's conviction in the Lockerbie bombing.
Protesting in front of the U.N. office in Tripoli, three angry demonstrators took razors to their necks and were taken away by an ambulance. Their conditions were not immediately known.
Libyan television, which broadcast live coverage of the demonstration, showed bloodstains remaining on the street and paramedics speeding off with a police escort.
The demonstrators, who included students, lawyers and government officials, chanted against U.S. "blackmail" and the "unjust verdict against our compatriot," yelling "Allahu Akbar!" - "God is Greatest!"
"The sentence is the greatest masquerade of history. We will not bow before American desires, and we demand compensation for the victims of the American attack against our people in April 1986," said a statement a demonstrator read before the crowd.
"We also demand compensation for the suffering endured by the Libyan population and the economic losses" caused by the international sanctions imposed on Tripoli for alleged terrorism, it said.
The demonstrators also called for Libya to withdraw from the U.N., saying the United Nations was "the hostage of a country [the U.S.] that continues to use this organization to impose unfair sanctions and carry out aggression against peoples."
"This sentence smears the credibility of Scotland's judiciary," said the statement, which added that the verdict was based on "false and ungrounded facts and findings."
They also called on the Libyan authorities to "break with western companies and to stop them from participating in development projects" in the country.
Libyan television said there were similar demonstrations in most cities in Libya, and schools were closed to allow students to participate.
A Scottish court in The Netherlands on Wednesday jailed one Libyan defendant for life and cleared another over the 1988 bombing of a U.S. airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland that killed 270 people.
The United States and Britain insist sanctions should remain on Libya until Tripoli compensates the victims' families. A lawyer representing the 150 families has said they are seeking about one billion dollars.
The 1986 raid on Tripoli, in which Libya says 37 people were killed, including the daughter of Libyan leader Moamar Kadhafi, was ordered by U.S. president Ronald Reagan in response to alleged Libyan involvement in the bombing of a Berlin disco frequented by U.S. servicemen.
It was later found that Libya played no part in the Berlin bombing. However, no compensation has been paid to Libya by the U.S. for the bombing raid.
Kadhafi has said that he will make public on Monday "revelations" about the trial, which he denounced as "political".
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