WASHINGTON: News that Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi may reside in the town of Englewood, New Jersey, while attending the UN General Assembly next month has local officials and residents in an uproar.
Opposition to his stay in a New Jersey suburb is so strident that the United States now says it is considering barring Qaddafi from staying on property owned by the Libyan ambassador to the UN.
The problem is that the area is home to families who lost loved ones in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland. Thirty-eight victims came from this one town. 270 people were killed in the bombing.
Riled-up neighbors in Englewood announced plans to rally Sunday against Qaddafi’s visit, which would come just weeks after he gave a hero’s welcome to the convicted bomber of Pan Am Flight 103.
Qaddafi put the State Department on the spot by announcing that he wanted to make his first trip to the US to attend the UN General Assembly session next month.
The State Department has the charge of issuing visas to the Libyan delegation, providing security and finding accommodations.
Local leaders have asked the State Department to restrict Qaddafi’s movements, outraged at Libya’s welcome last week for the convicted Lockerbie bomber, who was freed from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, asked Clinton to restrict Qaddafi to a small area near UN headquarters.
Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes told The Associated Press that if Qaddafi shows up, “I’m not going over there with a honey cake.”
The State Department said it had examined the terms of the Foreign Missions Act, which sets rules for US-based diplomats.
It said the Act prevents the US government from blocking Qaddafi’s trip to the United Nations, but allows it to restrict use of the Englewood residence to the ambassador only.
“We can impose restrictions on the use of diplomatic residences,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters.
Officials said that the State Department was speaking with the Libyans and the New Jersey community to work out a solution, hoping to avoid a public embarrassment for either side.
Englewood’s mayor, Michael Wildes, has said that while the community of some 30,000 people would ensure Qaddafi’s security if he came, residents were adamant that they did not want him.
Gov. John Corzine and Democrats US Sen. Robert Menendez and US Rep. John Adler protested anticipated plans by Col Qaddafi to stay in the northern New Jersey community. Menendez said Col. Qaddafi should be “barred” from New Jersey.
