Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's death generates little sadness among Libyans - The Guardian

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's death was confirmed by his brother. Link to this video

Libyans expressed relief rather than sadness on Sunday at the news of the death of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

The state news channel, Libya Hora (Libya Free) broadcast a brief news item on the death, and the country's ruling National Transitional Council said it remained committed to uncovering the truth behind the Lockerbie bombing.

"We would have liked to uncover more truths but his death will not shut the Lockerbie file," NTC spokesman Mohamed al-Harizy told Reuters. "The Libyan government will continue to investigate."

Thus far, Libya's authorities have not begun any public investigation into the Lockerbie attack, with diplomats predicting that no such case will be opened at least until a new government takes office following June elections.

In the streets around al-Megrahi's luxurious home, a villa set behind high walls in Tripoli's upmarket Hai Damascu neighbourhood, many said his death was a reminder of an era they prefer to forget.

"All Libyans know his face, and we know that he put us back maybe 10 years," said Arfa Mohamed, a 25-year-old bearded cashier at a nearby fast food shop. "Thanks to him it gave the outside world a view of Libyans as terrorists."

At the house itself, a cordon of male family members stood around the large entrance gate, keeping journalists away.

"We are sorry, but we want to be alone," said Abdul Salem, al Megrahi's nephew. "He is an innocent man. We want to have peace, we don't want to let journalists near to the house."

For ordinary Libyans, Megrahi's position as a security official with the Gaddafi administration, and the expensive villa he was given, mark him out as part of the hated former regime.

"Was he innocent or guilty? Only God can know," said Mohammed Ferake, in a hardware store close to al-Megrahi's villa. "I never saw him, his family never shopped here. The (Lockerbie) case did not help Libya."

The international sanctions that plunged the country into isolation after the Lockerbie bombing were keenly felt. "After that [Lockerbie], Libya was given a bad name around the world. Because of that, all that Libyans were known for was Gaddafi and his oppression," said Ferake.

Al-Megrahi's death comes amid diplomat deadlock over the refusal of the NTC to allow British police officers to visit Libya to investigate Lockerbie.

London remains committed, at least publicly, to persuading Libya to allow police to visit Tripoli to investigate the Lockerbie bombing, as well as the 1984 killing in London of WPC Yvonne Fletcher, and allegations by Libyan Islamist politician Abdul Hakim Bilhaj that former foreign secretary Jack Straw played a part in his torture and rendition by US authorities.

Al-Megrahi's death also touches on the controversial subject of the prevalence of former regime officials in Libya's new transitional authorities. While the Gaddafi-era security apparatus was destroyed in last year's unrest, much of the administration remains intact, albeit under new leaders.

Opposition figures in Benghazi, Libya's second city, say local elections held over the weekend will produce a city council that can act as an alternative administration if, as some predict, national elections due on 19 June are not transparent.