Lockerbie: It's So 'Touching'
to See a Terrorist Return Home
"The
release of one criminal will be seen by enemies of the West, not as a gesture
of 'humanity' and 'compassion,' but as a manifestation of greed, an act of
betrayal of the victims and a posture of surrender before its attackers."
LISBON: It's always touching to
see a terrorist returning home. A few days ago I watched a spectacle on the
BBC: Abdul Basset Ali Al-Megrahi was saluted as a
hero by the crazed population of Tripoli, capital of Libya. I understand the
enthusiasm. Al-Megrahi was condemned to life in
prison for his involvement in the Lockerbie terrorist attack (one plane, 270
victims). The judgment was internationally recognized as fair and conclusive.
Al-Megrahi fulfilled eight years of his punishment.
Now, for
"compassionate" reasons, the Scottish government - which
is sovereign in judicial matters - decided to release him [video below].
The terrorist is ill with terminal cancer, said the Minister of Justice. At
best he has three months to live. Let us be humane.
I too, am humane. But my
humanity normally lies with the victims, not the executioners. I admit that it
is a deformation of character that makes me a true Torquemada:
upon seeing Al-Megrahi received as a hero in Libya, I
thought immediately of how the 270 families would feel seeing their relatives
pulverized in midair in December, 1988. Yes, I am a monster.
And I'm not alone. The government
of Gordon Brown condemned the release. Saint Obama did too, and with particularly
harsh language. Then began the speculation on the true
motives of the gesture. Is it because of "compassionate"
reasons, as Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill
said? Or, horror of horrors, was the release of Al-Megrahi part of an advantageous business deal between Libya
and the United Kingdom?
Gaddafi (the son) himself confirmed
this suspicion by expressly stating that the release of Al-Megrahi also liberated Libyan oil and gas for Western
companies, starting with the British, already rubbing their hands with glee.
True? False? Does it matter?
Obviously, it doesn't matter:
with the suspicion reinforced by the relentless British press, it has been
revealed that within the context of "commercial" meetings between
Blair and Qaddafi (the father) in the last decade, the freeing of Al-Megrahi held symbolic importance. British soldiers are
fighting and dying in the sands of the Middle East. Meanwhile, the release of one
criminal will be seen by enemies of the West, not as a gesture of "humanity"
and "compassion," but as a manifestation of greed, an act of betrayal
of the victims and a posture of surrender before its attackers. Such is the picture
of our epitaph.
Joćo
Pereira Coutinho, 32, is a columnist at Folha. He has
compiled his articles about Brazil into the book AvenidaPaulista (Ed. Quasi), published in Portugal,
where he lives. He writes every two weeks, on Mondays, for Folha Online.
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