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 Mike Thomson
Libya鈥檚 Prime Minister, Shukri Ghanem, has claimed that his country played no part in either the Lockerbie bombing or the shooting of WPC Yvonne Fletcher in London in 1984.
Mr Ghanem insisted that there鈥檚 no real evidence to prove that Libya was behind either act and his government鈥檚 offer to pay compensation was made merely to 鈥渂uy peace鈥 with the west.
His comments come at a time when relations between Libya and Britain are at their closest for decades following Tripoli鈥檚
decision to renounce it鈥檚 weapons of mass destruction last December.
Earlier this month on a high profile visit to London Libya鈥檚 Foreign Minister, Abdulrahman Shalgam, assured Britain鈥檚
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw that his government would offer 鈥渆nhanced co-operation鈥 in efforts to find the killer of WPC Yvonne Fletcher. This followed long running concerns that Libya failed to fully investigate the shooting.
It鈥檚 long beenthought that the shot that killed Yvonne came from inside the Libyan Embassy. But, Mr Ghanem told the 91热爆 that there鈥檚 no evidence to support this claim and he considers the Fletcher case to be closed.
The Libyan Prime Minister also denies that his government had any links with the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 which cost 270 lives.
Pressed on why his government has offered to pay $10 million dollars compensation to each of the victim鈥檚 families he insisted that this was merely an effort to 鈥渂uy peace鈥 following years of crippling economic sanctions and was no admission of guilt.
The face of Colonel Gadaffi stares down at you from billboards wherever you go in Tripoli. But 34 years on, is he still the man in charge as his nation undergoes a new revolution?
Libyan TV has been covering the latest in a series of visits by International weapons inspectors. Yet just six months ago their presence would have been hardly imaginable. In a souke caf茅 I asked local people what they thought of this latest revolution in Libyan politics.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been waiting for this for decades. It鈥檚 wonderful. It will help us avoid starvation, to avoid a war,鈥 says one man..
Although hardly visible through the pipe smoke, customers in this bustling caf茅 in Tripoli鈥檚 old town had clear views on one thing. It鈥檚 best to make friends with the West.
鈥淟ibya should have done this 5 years ago, make friends with famous countries like America and Britain. Though it鈥檚 important that we don鈥檛 become colonies of these countries,鈥 says another customer.
But when I asked whether Colonel Gadafi was right to give up Weapons of Mass Destruction, the fug returns.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe there were ever any WMD's to give up. It鈥檚 impossible that they could have existed.鈥
Ever since Colonel Gaddafi came to power in 1969 it鈥檚 been almost as hard for locals to guess what鈥檚 really going on as for the world outside. According to the latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the country has been secretly meddling with sinister weaponry since the early 1980鈥檚. Now, just as mysteriously, we learn that it鈥檚 giving them all up. Has the Colonel lost his revolutionary zeal or was this latest u-turn in policy more a case of losing his grip on the reins of power?
Dr Ali Farfer, goes by the weighty title of 鈥楽ecretary of the People鈥檚 Committee for the General Institution of the Mass Media鈥. He has a big say in how and when the Colonel is seen by the world. He insists that, contrary to popular belief, the Colonel is merely The Guide to the Peoples Revolution. And is more adviserthan dictator:
鈥淗e鈥檚 a mentor, a person who gives advice, and teaches people about certain things. He can alert people, but he鈥檚 not in a position to take decisions for people.鈥
So it must have been the people not their guide, who closed down a Tripoli newspaper for a week recently after it dared to criticise their mentor鈥檚 policies. Here, there is no opposition party to complain, because this is democracy, Gadaffi style.
So finding out what ordinary people on the streets of Tripoli really think or know about their leaders鈥 role in shaping their future is hard to tell. Mainly because freedom of speech here, especially when it鈥檚 critical of the government, can prove very costly. But some people, like a shopkeeper I met, are prepared to speak out.
鈥淭hings are very slow, I have to admit it鈥檚 not good. There are people here who have not been paid for 6 months. The problem is the Colonel. This is the 3rd largest country with oil reserves, and yet we鈥檝e been begging in the streets.鈥
But as he was happy to tell me all this, so had things improved?
鈥淔our years ago, if I had publicly said this, the consequences would be very bad. I wouldn鈥檛 have gone to prison, I would simply have disappeared. It鈥檚 a little better now, but we鈥檙e still not free to publicly criticise the government.鈥
A short taxi ride away, in a quieter more leafy area of central Tripoli lays the freshly renovated British Embassy. Ambassador Anthony Layden believes the Colonel鈥檚 decision on WMD has more to do with pragmatism and self-survival than any wars in Iraq, or new found friends in the West:.
鈥35 years of total state control of the economy has left them in a situation where they鈥檙e simply not generating enough economic activity to give employment to the young people who are streaming through their successful education system.鈥
鈥淚 think this dilemma goes to the heart of Colonel Gadafi鈥檚 decision that he needed a radical change of direction.鈥
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