ACCESSION NUMBER:318058

FILE ID:POL201

DATE:12/21/93

TITLE:CLINTON VOWS JUSTICE FOR PAN AM FLIGHT 103 VICTIMS (12/21/93)

TEXT:*93122101.POL

CLINTON VOWS JUSTICE FOR PAN AM FLIGHT 103 VICTIMS



1Memorial planned at Arlington National Cemetery)  (470)

By Alexander M. Sullivan

USIA White House Correspondent

Washington -- President Clinton vowed December 21 to secure justice for the

victims of Pan American Flight 103, murdered by a terrorists' bomb over

Scotland five years earlier.



The president saw the attack on the aircraft, which killed 259 passengers

and crew and 11 citizens of Lockerbie, as an assault on America's "creed of

freedom and opportunity" by enemies who understand that those American

ideals are "a mortal threat to their illegitimate and repressive

authority."



Clinton spoke at Arlington National Cemetery, at ground-breaking ceremonies

for a cairn of remembrance to be erected with 270 rose-red stones of

granite carved from a quarry near Lockerbie.  The stones were donated to

the families of the bombing victims by the people of Scotland for use in

the cairn, the traditional Scottish memorial for the dead.



The United States and Great Britain charge that two Libyan intelligence

officers were instrumental in placing the bomb aboard the aircraft on

December 21, 1988.  British and American judicial systems have indicted

Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah in the murders, but

Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi has refused attempts to extradite the two.

There were citizens of 21 nations aboard the plane; 189 Americans, many of

them college students, died in the explosion.



Each of the stones in the cairn, Clinton said, "tells the story of a life

wrongfully cut short.  This memorial will serve as a lasting monument to

the innocent who died."



The president pledged that the nation "will never stop pursuing justice

against those" who caused the bombing.  The bombing, he said, "was an

attack not only on the individuals from 21 nations who were aboard the

aircraft, it was an attack on America."



Terrorists recognize that history, in the form of "the rising tide of

democracy seen everywhere in the world, is turning against them," Clinton

declared.  "...These outlaws seek to legitimize their voice through

violence, to advance their agenda through threats, to cripple our daily

lives through fear."



Clinton said he is "determined to see that those who murdered those who were

aboard Pan Am 103 are brought to justice."  The suffering of the families,

he said, is "why we have demanded the surrender of the two Libyans indicted

for this vicious offense, why we have pushed for and secured tougher

international sanctions against Libya, and why we will not rest until the

case is closed."



In a proclamation designating December 21 as a Day of Remembrance, Clinton

said his administration "is closely monitoring the terrorist threat,"

explaining that "we must remain ever vigilant if we are to combat merciless

brutality and ensure the security of all of our citizens."



NNNN



.