Gus’s Blog

I’ve just read Lesley Riddoch’s comment in the Scotsman about the forthcoming Scottish Parliament debate on the release of the Lockerbie Bomber, Megrahi. In the comments that follow it has been suggested (without a link or anything to back it up, it has to be said) that it was the British Embassy that supplied the flag-waving Libyans at the airport with their Saltires. If this true, it adds an interesting twist to the story.

Seriously, though, my own opinion on Megrahi’s release is somewhat divided, but I’m satisfied that the decision made to release him on compassionate grounds was not taken lightly. If the guy was indeed guilty of the crime he was convicted of, I’d be content to let him rot in jail, but I’ve never been completely convinced that he was the perpetrator. We went from having no idea who committed the crime to suddenly having a country to point the finger at, and an appropriate scapegoat. It all seemed a bit too convenient.

I find it significant that his appeal has been dropped. Why? Surely you can release someone on compassionate grounds and still allow them to appeal their conviction? Or is it because allowing the appeal to go ahead would reveal a basket of dirty linen that certain parties would rather not have aired in public. Again, it seems rather convenient.

And now the Americans want everyone to Boycott Scotland, a website that stinks of hypocrisy. This actually made me laugh. I quote:

Freeing a terrorist in order to further ties with the tyrannical Libyan regime of Muammar al-Gaddafi and to further the commercial interests of British Petroleum in that region is repulsive and sickening

And bombing a country back to the dark ages under the pretence of going after so-called weapons-of-mass-destruction (still elusive after all this time) whilst furthering the interests of various American contractors isn’t “repulsive and sickning”?

And, had I not already finished eating my cornflakes, I would no doubt have choked on them:

You have shown to the international community that your government and the United Kingdom as a whole will stop at nothing to pursue the neverending and relentless acquisition of oil revenues.

There’s a saying I once heard about “people” and “glasshouses”…