Libyan leader with ties to Pan Am heads African Union
Muammar al-Gaddafi, leader of Libya during the state-sponsored bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, was named the new chairman of the African Union Monday.
Gaddafi was in power in Libya when terrorists bombed the flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 21, 1988. The attack killed all 259 people on board, including 35 students coming home from Syracuse University abroad programs in London and Florence. It also killed 11 people on the ground.
Judy O’Rourke, director of undergraduate studies for SU, coordinates Remembrance Week each year in honor of the victims.
‘I am not impressed,’ O’Rourke said. ‘I think he is an inappropriate choice. I understand that countries that are part of the African Union want to have their own voices heard, but I do not believe he is a person that can engender respect for and in others. I think it’s an unfortunate choice.’
Gaddafi addressed an auditorium of Georgetown University faculty and students via satellite on Jan. 21. His discussion of how to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict caused campus and national controversy.
This past December, SU honored the 20th anniversary of the Pan Am 103 attack, and included events planned by this year’s Remembrance Scholars. The scholars are 35 SU seniors selected to represent the 35 who died in the bombing, with each scholar receiving a $5,000 award. The program began in the spring of 1990 and also allows two students from Lockerbie to spend a year studying on campus at SU.
Anthony Fatta, a 2008-2009 Remembrance Scholar and a senior religion major, said he thinks Gaddafi’s political success is disrespectful to the victims and their families. He said he thinks giving power to someone who planned the deaths of 270 people is rewarding bad behavior.
‘It’s probably going to strain relations between Libya and the rest of the international community,’ Fatta said. ‘Trade sanctions were lifted against Libya under the premise that Gaddafi was trying to bring Libya more to the center and be able to trade and interact with other countries. But this will definitely change a lot of minds.’
Fatta and O’Rourke both said they think the victims’ families will react heavily to the announcement.
‘It’s a tremendous insult to those who have been hurt by his actions,’ O’Rourke said. ‘And that includes people in the United States and all over the world. I think there are people who will be very hurt and insulted.’
Published on February 4, 2009 at 12:00 pm
