There has been a great deal of outrage expressed at the hero’s welcome that greeted the arrival of Abdel Basset al-Megrahi when his plane landed in Tripoli. Megrahi was the person convicted of causing the explosion of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. All 270 persons on board were murdered that day. Upon his return to Libya, crowds of people welcomed him home with cheers and adulation. I have seen many news reports that relate the disgust that decent people have at the Libyan reception. The story I saw on the CBS Evening News last week reported this without ever mentioning the word “Scotland”! Why is that? It is due to the actions of the Scottish government that this piece of filth is no longer in prison!
The values of Scotland?
Megrahi was convicted in January 2001 of the murders and sentenced to serve life in prison. (Of course, the appropriate punishment for such a crime is execution – but that is a separate issue.) Now, after 8 years in prison, the mass murderer has been allowed to return to Libya because he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. His release is what is termed a – get this – “compassionate” release! Compassion?? Where is compassion for the victims and their families?
This decision was made by the Scottish Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill. He said that he stood by “the laws and values of Scotland”. Well, if the values of Scotland include allowing a vicious mass murderer to go free because he got sick, then that country has a very warped sense of morality. I don’t believe that this decision does reflect the values of Scotland. If I am wrong about that, then it makes me very sad indeed; because I have always had a positive impression of Scotland.
What did you think life in prison meant?
They released this piece of scum because he was sick and dying? What does Mr. MacAskill think that the tail end of a life sentence looks like? Does he think that the prisoner will fall asleep one night, lily in hand, and peacefully surrender his soul to the devil? No. When you serve out a life sentence, you typically get old, get sick, and die. There is no excuse for ever letting a terrorist like this out of prison. If you don’t have the guts to punish him properly through execution, at least have the decency to make sure he dies in prison where he belongs!
Hey! How about the promise Scotland made regarding a life sentence?
After defending his indefensible decision to let this terrorist go free, Mr. MacAskill had the nerve to complain about the actions of the Libyans. He said that Libya broke a promise not to extend a hero’s welcome to Megrahi (gee, Libya broke a promise?). And then he actually said this: “It showed no compassion or sensitivity to the families of the 270 victims of Lockerbie.” Wow! I’m sure he said that with a straight face and with no sense of the irony that was dripping off that statement. Libya showed no compassion? Why would you expect that? You, sir, are the one who has shown no compassion at all. You have brought great shame upon the country you are supposed to be serving.
Why is there anger at Libya? Scotland is to blame here.
Suppose a man puts a child into a cage with a tiger. Suppose, also, that the tiger subsequently mauls and kills the child. Where would you direct your anger and outrage? Would you blame the tiger? Of course not, a tiger is a soulless animal. It behaved just as you would expect it to. Obviously, the outrage would be properly directed toward the man who put the child in there. We would expect a man to know better than to do such a reckless and horrible thing. This action would be doubly horrifying if the man was also someone who most people regarded as a decent and moral man.
Getting angry at the Libyan reception for Abdel Basset al-Megrahi is analogous to getting angry at the tiger. These people are evil and without conscience. (I refer only to the people greeting the terrorist as a hero and those of like mind – I am not saying that all Libyans are like that.) Like the tiger, they behaved just as you would expect. Anyone who was surprised by that is a moron.
The government of Scotland is the man who put the child into the tiger cage. Specifically, it was Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill. Now I don’t know anything about Mr. MacAskill or whether or not he is a decent and moral man. Based on this incident, I would have to conclude that he is not. The very best I can concede is that his moral compass is way off kilter. However, I do consider Scotland to be a good and decent country. The few people I have met who are from Scotland are certainly good people. That is why this decision is so much more horrifying. Like the man in the above analogy, most people would expect Scotland to know better.
Scotland needs to rescue her good name.
The only way Scotland can start to reclaim her good name is for its people to rise up and demand the ouster of Kenny MacAskill. They need to make a bold statement that this decision is not reflective of the values of Scotland. If they do not, if there are no adverse consequences as a result of this travesty of justice, then the image of Scotland will be tarnished for a long time to come.