Who bears the responsibility for this?

Lockerbie, 21st December 1988. This small town became a byword for terrorism. On that cold and rainy night a Boeing 747 exploded above the town and the debris rained down, carving craters in the homes and streets and killing even more innocent people.

The incident shocked the world, and as rescuers crawled over the wreckage and search dogs braved the omnipresent aviation fuel that was deeply harmful to their paws, many men and women spent their Christmas away from their families, looking for body parts whilst trying to grasp the reality of what was in front of them.

This is terrorism. Mass murder of innocents. Anyone with a shred of humanity can only feel deeply repulsed by the horror of Lockerbie, but this should not blind us to the questions of who did this? Why?

The investigation led to the conviction of al-Megrahi in a trial that seasoned observers called ‘a miscarriage of justice’ and others questioned almost every aspect of the proceedings. This included evidence kept from the defence or blocked at the request of the British government, tampered evidence and unreliable witnesses.

There has been considerable disquiet over the conviction and many were awaiting al-Megrahi’s appeal with interest, in the hope it would resolve some of the unanswered questions over the bombing. Al-Megrahi has consistently proclaimed his innocence and, after a lengthy battle, finally got an appeal, which was to have been heard in September. This appeal will not be heard as the convoluted process meant that he had to renounce his right to an appeal in order to qualify for release under a prisoner transfer scheme. Some may wonder if this requirement is in tune with principles of justice. Or was it just another unusual coincidence, such as Peter Mandelson meeting Col Gadaffi’s son on holiday recently.

The argument against releasing Megrahi is that he showed no compassion towards his victims and therefore, didn’t deserve compassion. The counter is that we do not have the same morality as a terrorist, but we are better than that. If we accept his guilt, there must be other considerations. At most he was just a bit player in the conspiracy, and how could he refuse? If a state ordered him to put a bomb on a plane, it would have no objection to kill him and his family if he refused. Indeed, the evidence shows that this is just how the Lybian intelligence services worked. this leads to the big unanswered question; Who ordered the bombing? Who initiated this plan to commit mass murder?

The awful truth is that the person who bears ultimate responsibility for this atrocity is not in a Scottish prison cell but in a Presidential palace and will never face justice. It is that person we need to pursue, not al Megrahi. In the meantime there should be a public inquiry into the Lockerbie bombing, one that allows the evidence due to have been introduced at the appeal to see the light of day.

This is unlikely to happen as the UK government has a distaste for inquiries into terrorism, the July 7th London bombings have also been refused such an investigation. To fail to instigate an inquiry will continue to hide the truth from terrorism’s victims and from the public.

There is good reason to be cautious of terrorist convictions and the reassurances of the British government. Ask the Birmingham Six about it.