Sep 26, 2009 10:42 am US/Eastern
Qaddafi Meets With Lockerbie Family Members In NYC
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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President Muammar Qaddafi of Libya addresses the United Nations General Assembly September 23, 2009 at UN headquarters in New York.
STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images
A woman whose brother died in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, says she and another victim's relative met in New York City with Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi, whose country has been blamed for the attack.
Colorado Springs, Colo., attorney Lisa Gibson said the meeting with Qaddafi at the Libyan Mission to the United Nations on Wednesday was arranged through a Libyan ambassador.
"He generally said he was sorry for the loss, but we didn't go into any details about the bombing," Gibson said of the 10-minute meeting with Qaddafi, who making his first visit to the U.S. to attend the U.N. General Assembly.
Gibson's brother was stationed in the Army in Berlin and was going home for Christmas when the plane blew up, killing 270 people.
Last month, a Scottish magistrate ordered the release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi after he was diagnosed with fatal prostate cancer. Though Libyan security forces cleared away most of the thousands gathered at the airport, hundreds remained to greet al-Megrahi upon his arrival, infuriating the victims' families.
Gibson said she gave the Libyan leader a pen and a card, in which she told him she had been praying for him.
"He was very friendly and cordial to us," Gibson said. "Honestly, I think he was touched by us being there."
Gibson said she's been to Libya three times, and through her humanitarian organization, Peace and Prosperity Alliance, she's helped to raise money for Libyan children with AIDS and other humanitarian projects.
The Libyan leader has been trying to restore his country's standing in the world and transform it from a pariah state to an accepted member of the international community.
Qaddafi surprised the international community by agreeing to dismantle his country's weapons of mass destruction programs. The United States restored ties with Libya in 2006, after Libya agreed to resolve the Lockerbie case in a deal that included paying compensation to the victims' families.
Gibson said the other person who attended the meeting had lost his father in the bombing.
Qaddafi's visit to the U.N. was met with massive protests. "Qaddafi is a liar, Qaddafi is a liar! Qaddafi is a terrorist. Qaddafi
is a terrorist. He is a murderer," went the chant outside.
"It should not be called the Security Council; it should be called the terror council," Qaddafi said.
The Libyan apparently decided to overlook the fact that he has
sponsored terrorism himself, most notably the bombing of Pan Am Flight
103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in which 243 passengers died.
And as he grandstanded before the world in a rant that lasted 90 minutes, rather than his allotted 20, he also suggested that that
General Assembly meetings be moved from New York City to a country in
the eastern hemisphere to relieve jet lag and free the United States
from the security issues surrounding the General Assembly.
"Perhaps America will be targeted again, perhaps by a rocket and tons of heads of state will die," Qaddafi said.
New York Sen. Charles Schumer wasted little time ripping Qaddafi.
"They ought to figure out a way when somebody is off the deep end,
really into the insane zone, which is what Qaddafi is, to prevent him
from speaking. They should give him a slot at midnight before five
people," Schumer said.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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