Politicians hold talks in Libya
Monday November 02 2009
A delegation of politicians from the UK have held talks with the Libyan authorities in Tripoli over compensation for victims of IRA violence in Northern Ireland.
The cross-party group of three MPs and three members of the Lords met a number of officials from Colonel Gaddafi's regime to discuss the ongoing bid to secure financial redress for Libya's role in arming the republican paramilitaries during the Troubles.
Since arriving in the north African state they have had discussions with the Libyan minister for Europe, Abdulati Alobidi, and the British Ambassador in Libya, Vincent Fean.
Meetings were also convened with the Speaker of the General People's Congress of Libya and the Mayor of Tripoli.
Included in the delegation are Democratic Unionist MPs Jeffrey Donaldson and Nigel Dodds.
"Further meetings are scheduled where both Mr Dodds and Mr Donaldson will be making a strong case for the thousands of victims of IRA terrorism in Northern Ireland," a DUP spokesman said.
Semtex explosives supplied by Libya were one of the IRA's most lethal weapons in its decades-long terror campaign.
Links between the IRA and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi are thought to stretch back as far as 1972, and Libya is understood to have supplied the republican group with Czech-made Semtex in the 1980s.
Although members of the victims' families were not invited on the trip, the fact that the trip was taking place was welcomed as a sign of progress in the long-running campaign.
In a statement, their lawyers said: "The victims view this as a significant step forward, as well as recognition by both countries that their plight will not be overlooked as Anglo-Libyan relations develop. They sincerely hope that, following the parliamentarian team's visit, Libya will review its position towards them and appreciate that they wish to visit Libya in the spirit of peace and reconciliation."
Press Association
