Britain to back IRA victim suit vs. Libya

Britain to back IRA victim suit vs. Libya

Those maimed or bereaved by bombs from Libya may someday get compensation.

SHAWN POGATCHNIK Associated Press Writer

DUBLIN — Britain's sudden decision to support a lawsuit against Libya by Irish Republican Army victims raised hopes Monday that thousands maimed or bereaved by IRA bombs might one day receive compensation.

Libya admits it shipped hundreds of tons of weaponry to the IRA in the mid-1980s, most critically the plastic explosive Semtex at the heart of the outlawed group's deadliest bombs. Lawyers say they expect the regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi to pay 10 million pounds ($16 million) to each person on their growing list of IRA victims.

"The fact is, if the Libyans hadn't provided the IRA with the Semtex, my son would be alive today," said peace activist Colin Parry, one of more than 150 litigants.

The case was first filed in U.S. courts in 2006 but is currently in limbo. Parry's 12-year-old son and a 3-year-old boy were killed when the IRA bombed a shopping district in Warrington, northwest England, in February 1993.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has endured scathing criticism since Scotland's Aug. 20 release of the only person convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. He suffered renewed attacks Sunday, then reversed his government's hands-off policy toward the lawsuit.

Opposition leaders and IRA victims denounced Brown as weak for failing to tie the Lockerbie prison release to a compensation deal. Within hours, the prime minister announced his government would provide Foreign Office support for IRA victims as they seek meetings with Libyan leaders.

Gadhafi's son Saif said his government would permit access to Libyan courts — but would mount a stern defense.

"Anyone can knock on our door. You go to the court. They have their lawyers. We have our lawyers," Saif Gadhafi said in a Sky News interview in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

Asked if his father's government would reject compensation demands from IRA victims, Saif Gadhafi responded, "Of course."

Libya has paid billions to other victims of Libyan-sponsored bloodshed as part of its successful push since 2001 to end its diplomatic isolation and reopen trade with the West.

Libya agreed in 2003 to pay more than $2.1 billion in compensation for the 270 people — including 180 Americans and 52 Britons — killed in the December 1988 destruction of a civilian jet over Lockerbie, Scotland

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Britain_to__back_IRA_victim_suit__vs__Libya_09-08-2009.html