Libya's decision to accept responsibility for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103, which blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, is a victory for the families of the 270 victims who had demanded accountability from the government of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. It is a diplomatic triumph for the United States and Britain, which refused to allow the international community to forget that terrible atrocity. It is also a reminder that those who seek justice must be patient and have faith in their cause: International pressure, legitimately sought and exercised, will prevail.
On Dec. 21, 1988, a bomb exploded on the Frankfurt to New York flight, killing all 259 passengers and crew and 11 people on the ground. Three years later, the U.S. and Britain accused two Libyan men, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi and Al-Amin Khalifa Fahima, of being intelligence agents and charged them with planting the bomb. After Libya ignored U.N. resolutions to surrender the men, the world body a year later began imposing economic sanctions on it. In 1999, the two men were handed over to Scottish authorities for trial, and the sanctions were partially lifted. In January 2001, a court found Megrahi guilty while acquitting Fahima.
Washington and London considered the verdicts only a partial victory; they wanted the Tripoli government to admit its complicity in the act before they would agree to the full lifting of the sanctions. Libya held out until last week, when a letter from the government to the Security Council acknowledged that Tripoli "accepts responsibility for the actions of its officials." The government agreed to pay compensation of $2.7 billion, or up to $10 million to each of the victim's families. In addition, the letter said Tripoli "is committed to be cooperative in the international fight against terrorism" and promised "to refrain from becoming involved in any acts of terrorism." In return, the U.S. and Britain agreed to ask the Security Council to lift the sanctions. Britain tabled a resolution for that purpose to the council on Monday.