The Megrahi forum
WALTER HUMES
The attempt by the United States to take the moral high ground on the Megrahi case is understandable, in view of the number of American citizens who were killed in the attack, but it is entirely unconvincing, given the history of US foreign policy interventions across the globe, many of which have led to the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians. The Central Intelligence Agency has an appalling record in aiding and abetting corrupt regimes in South America and the Middle East – regimes which routinely torture and oppress their own people. Thus claims that the Megrahi decision represents an affront to justice emerge as a clear example of hypocrisy and double standards. American politicians of both major parties are imbued with the arrogance of power and seem incapable of understanding how their nation is viewed by people in other countries.
Then there is the matter of what actually happened to Pan-Am flight 103. I doubt if the full facts will ever be known since there are so many interests – legal, political, financial, military – which have a stake in ensuring that the truth remains hidden. Kenny MacAskill was careful not to say that the existence of a degree of doubt about Megrahi’s guilt was a factor in deciding to release him on compassionate grounds. Nevertheless, we know perfectly well that the justice system is capable of error and, where there are grounds for uncertainty, it is surely better to err on the side of mercy than to stick rigidly to the letter of the law, in an attempt to preserve the ‘integrity’ of the system.
The handling of the episode does, however, suggest a degree of naivety on the part of the Scottish Government. It was entirely predictable that Megrahi would be given a hero’s welcome on his return to Libya and the waving of the Saltire was certainly embarrassing. Equally, the hand-washing stance of Gordon Brown and the UK government should have been anticipated. In the world of international realpolitik, Scotland has emerged as an innocent, assuming that a principled stand would be respected for the moral values which underpinned it when, in fact, it has been seized on by the political heavyweights and presented as a serious lapse of judgement.
Ironically, if Scotland manages to achieve full independence, it will, of course, have to engage in the dark arts of diplomacy and intelligence-gathering which are the meat and drink of long-established nations: these dark arts include charm, bribery, blackmail, misinformation and betrayal. Perhaps there is something to be said for the naivety of non-independence after all.
[click here] for Tessa Ransford
26.08.09
Issue no 130
THE
CHANGING
MOOD
Kenneth Roy
assesses the shift in Scottish opinion since Megrahi’s release
[click here]
FACES
OF
SCOTLAND
I.
A painting by Frank McNab symbolic of Scottish thought
[click here]
II.
A photo-essay by Islay McLeod symbolic of Scottish emotion
[click here]
THE
MEGRAHI
FORUM
A collection of pieces on the ethics and politics
of Megrahi’s release
Click below for:
Walter Humes
Tessa Ransford
Rose Galt
Andrew Hook
Jill Stephenson
R D Kernohan
Bruce Gardner
Sheila Hetherington
Catherine Czerkawska
Alison Prince