SCOTLAND/UNITED STATES 21 December 2008 20th anniversary of Lockerbie bombing observed

Community groups in Lockerbie plan to observe the 20th anniversary of the bombing of PanAm Flight 103 over the Scottish town in a low-key way, and there will be a parallel ceremony at the Lockerbie memorial at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC. Oscar-winning director Steven Speilberg is preparing to make a movie about the bombing, which claimed 270 lives from both sides of the Atlantic, and rumors are flying that the convicted perpetrator of the crime will be freed soon on a tecnicality. 

An ecumenical service is planned by Lockerbie churches, and commemoration sites around the town will have extended opening hours. A symbolic quilt has been commissioned by the town.

The Lockerbie memorial in Arlington was constructed of 270 blocks of Lockerbie-area sandstone that were shipped to America. Each block represents a life lost in the disaster.

Spielberg's movie is an adaptation of the book Flight 103, written by former Israeli officer and MOSSAD agent Juval Aviv. He is reported to have actors Ewan McGregor and James McAvoy in his sights to play lead roles. The Israeli was the chief investigator for airline Pan Am.

Libyan national Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi is serving a life sentence for the crime in a Scottish prison. Several British newspapers are reporting at the end of September that Megrahi will be set free, possibly before the anniversary, on a “technicality,” because of a controversial legal stalemate involving top secret documents.

Aviv believes that Libyan national Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the only person convicted of the atrocity, is actually innocent. He claims that Tehran officials ordered the destruction of the Boeing 747 as revenge for the accidental shooting of an Iranian airliner by the United States on 3 Jul 1988. Oct/08

RELATED READING:

Lockerbie-related events
http://panam103.syr.edu/calendar-of-events. Visitors are also encouraged to leave memories and reflections on the website.

It's time to put right the wrongs (Scotsman 24 Jun 2007)
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=986842007

Twisting tale of conflicting statements (Scotsman 24 Jun 2007)
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=987012007