MP hopeful of Libya "reconciliation" deal

By John Hill on November 13, 2009 12:15 PM |

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Libya has "opened the door" for a deal which could benefit victims of IRA attacks such as the 1996 Marsh Wall blast.

The Middle Eastern country's government received a British delegation in Tripoli late last month, and the group returned home hopeful that an agreement could be reached.

Libya supplied Semtex to the Irish terrorist group, facilitating attacks such as the Docklands bombing that killed two and injured 46.

Jonathan Ganesh - who was hospitalised in the attack - has been at the forefront of a quest for compensation first revealed in The Wharf last October.

He said: "We've still got a way to go yet but the door's been opened. The Libyan government didn't need to meet the delegation, but it has really reached out to us. They want to close this chapter."

Mr Ganesh talked to the British ambassador to Libya by videolink last week, and gained the support of Lord John Laird during a visit to the House of Lords.

He already has a parliamentary ally in Andrew MacKinlay MP (pictured), who was part of the Tripoli delegation.

Mr MacKinlay said: "I admire Jonathan enormously. Brave and dignified people like him encourage you to press on.

"I've found victims such as him are extremely dignified and show enormous courage.

"It's not necessarily compensation they want. It's often acknowledgement of their loss, and reconciliation."

Speaking exclusively to The Wharf on his return from Libya, Mr MacKinlay explained that he envisaged the deal as more of a "humanitarian" fund than a compensation package.

He also hopes that such a reconciliation could serve as an "unlocking mechanism" for relations between Libya and the UK.

He said: "I see a system whereby Libya can advance peace and reconciliation. By that vehicle, people who have clearly suffered physical and emotional loss can benefit.

"There are opportunities for cultural investment, youth work and community work in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. Places such as Docklands must have a proportionate share if anything does emerge. It will be primarily for the benefit of individuals, but also for communities.

"The UK does have a vested interest in seeing Libya come in from the cold.

"You can't airbrush history, but there's an opportunity for a way forward which is in the best interests of the UK, Libya and the victims."