PARIS, 12 September 2003 — Relatives of victims of a 1989 French airliner bombing announced yesterday they had signed a compensation deal with Libya, paving the way for a UN resolution lifting sanctions against the North African country.
The deal, announced in Paris, is a follow-up to the $33 million Libya paid in the case in a 1999 agreement. The French had demanded more compensation since Libya paid $2.7 billion for the 1988 downing of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland.
The deal that will lead to additional compensation was signed Wednesday night in Tripoli. The amount of compensation was not announced, and it was unclear whether a figure had been reached.
Approval of the package had been expected yesterday. A Libyan official from the Qaddafi International Association for Charitable Organizations, a charity headed by a son of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, told reporters that the compensation package would be signed.
Valery Denoix de Saint Marc, a lawyer for the families, said the accord calls for the creation of a fund that would distribute compensation to victims’ families.
The signing of a deal meets a condition that France has set for its support of a British-backed Security Council resolution to completely lift UN sanctions against Libya. The penalties have been suspended since 1999. “France does not oppose that the Security Council votes for the lifting of sanctions as quickly as possible,” said French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin.
