University Daily Kansan / Friday, November 15. 1991
7
Two indicted for 1988 bombing
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Two Libyan intelligence agents were charged yesterday by U.S. and British authorities with planting the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988, killing 270 people.
Bush administration officials said high-ranking Libyan officials were deeply involved in the plot and left the Moammar Ghadjah government.
"We find it very hard to believe this could have been carried out without the active involvement of higher-ups within the government," White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater said.
The indictment of the two agents returned by a federal grand jury and the British charges capped what FBI Director William Sessions called the largest international terrorist investigation ever conducted.
The charges against the agents of Jamahiria Security Organization, the Libyan intelligence service, were announced simultaneously in Washington by Acting Attorney General William P. Barr and in Edinburgh by Scotland's Lord Advocate, Lord Fraser of Carmyllie.
The Dec. 21, 1988, bomb blast killed all 259 people aboard the New York-bound Boeing 747 plus 11 people on the ground when debris from the explosion fell on Lockerbie, Scotland, and the surrounding countryside.
Fitzwater did not rule out the possibility of using military force to arrest the suspects, who are believed to be in Libya, saying: "We are considering action, and I'll leave it at that. We don't rule out any option."
Barr, awaiting Senate confirmation to be attorney general, vowed that the investigation would continue.
said. "We have no higher priority."
"We will not rest until all those responsible are brought to justice," he
The two suspects are Abdel Bassei Ali Al-Megrahli, 39, a high-ranking JSO official, and Lamen Khalifa Fihhm, 35, a covert JSO operator who posed as station manager for the Libyan Arab Airlines in Malta.
Several relatives of passengers killed on the airplane praised the Justice Department for obtaining the indictment but criticized the flush water from the faucets with Syria, which many of the relatives think masterminded the plot.
"It's great that they've got the gun and the gunman. Now who bought the bullets, and who masterminded it?" said Kathleen Flynn of McLean, Va., whose son John Patrick was killed in the blast.
Justice Department officials said there was no evidence that Syria or Iran played any role in the plot. However, there was any contact between Syria
and Libya about the bombing.
"They almost protested too much about the Syrians," Flynn said. "The key is 'no evidence.' They didn't say they weren't involved."
State Department representative Richard Boucher denied that Syria was exonerated to ensure its continuation in the Middle East peace process.
Saeeb Mujbar, Libya's ambassador to France, said in a BBC radio interview shortly before the announcement, "It is a very serious accusation or, if you want to say this, a very serious lie.
"There was no political influence over this indictment," he said.
The U.S. indictment, which charged 193 violations of federal law including murder of 189 Americans aboard the plane, also suggested that high officials in theiban government were part of the bombing and could be sentenced to death if convicted.
Three killed in post office shooting spree
The Associated Press
ROYALOAK, Mich - Airedpostal worker who colleagues said had vowed revenge on his superiors sprayed his former post office with toxic gas and killing three employees and wounding seven, according to authorities.
Employees said Thomas Mclivane,
3, of Oak Park, Mich., then turned his
rife on himself. He threw three his
vice, and took them in critical con-
ditions, authorities said.
Mellvane was fired last year for time-card fraud and had appealed his dismissal. Postal Service representa-ted Lois Eberthardt in Washington.
The firing was upheld Wednesday bvan arbitrator.
"Everybody said if he didn't get his job back, he was going to come in and shoot," post worker Bob Cibulla said. "Everyone was talking about it."
The gunman "was crazy. He was a waiting time bomb," said post worker Mark Mitchell, who served with McLivan in the Marine Corps.
"One time at Twenty-nine Palms (Marinebase), there was a guy he was mad at, and he drove a tank over his car."
(night-Ridder Tribune News
Post office have been the scene of several shootings in recent years. Last month, two people were killed in a post office in New Jersey by a fired postal worker. Postal workers also died in attacks in Oklahoma and California.
Previous threats by McIlvane against his supervisors were forwarded to Postal Service authorities, Oakland County Prosecutor Richard
Thompson said at a news conference.
Thompson said the gunman had used a 22-caliber carbine commonly used for hunting. He said that the man had been sawed off, making it illegal.
Royal Oak police officer Joseph Hill said seven postal employees were being treated at hospitals, but two hospitals in the Detroit suburb listed six people with gunshot wounds and three with unspecified injuries. Police said they could not immediately clarify the injuries.
Hill said some postal workers had been injured by jumping from windows to escape the gunfire that began shortly before 9 a.m.
Mellivane opened fire in at least three different areas. He began with a loading dock, where the attack three people were shot, fire Chief Bill Crouch said.
Mellvane then went to an upstairs office and shot another three people before walking to the opposite end of the building and firing several more rounds, including one at himself.
"When something like this happens, you don't believe it," Crouch said. "I don't know what the world's coming to."
Doors with combination locks were installed in the loading-dock area about three months ago, according to postal workers. How the gunman got past them was not immediately apparent.
Letter carrier Rockie McDonald, an acquaintance of Melvane, said he was shot at three times from about 25 yards. He fell to the floor and wasn't hurt.
"I yelled 'No, Tom! No!" McDonald said. "I don't know how many times I yelled it. He turned and went the other way."
Mellvane was hired as a custodian in January 1985 and promoted to letter carrier in 1986, said Marty Janke, a representative for the National Association of Letter Carriers.
Royal Oak is a middle-class suburb of 70,000 residents 10 miles north of downtown Detroit. The post office covers most of a square block.
Bush plans revival package in case economy does not recover soon
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — If the economy does not rebound by January, President Bush will propose a new revival package in his State of the Union message and may try to sell it in a barnstorming re-election campaign tour, administration officials said yesterday.
The president has reached a fairly firm decision against presenting any significant new economic-growth proposals this year, said the officials, commenting only on condition of anonymity.
done some time ago."
Bush said, "I'll have a very strong State of the Union that hopefully can mobilize the Democrats that control Congress to do what they should have
That focus on January gives him more time to gamble that the faltering economy will improve. If it does not, he could tailor any new package to better reflect economic realities, the officials said.
Statistics that will show whether the economy was still in a recession in the 1990s is an exercise.
will be released by the Commerce Department in late January, just days before Bush's annual address to Congress.
If these figures on the gross national product are dismal, Bush will have the option of beefing up his package, including a general tax cut for middle income Americans, the sources said.
YEARBOOK LAST CHANCE! PORTRAITS
For those of you that missed the first portrait session, the Jayhawker has brought back the portrait photographer UNTIL Nov.22 ONLY!
This will be your last chance to get your photo in KU's official yearbook. Don't miss out!
Come to the Strong Hall Rontunda at any time during the following hours. You do not need an appointment
Dates: Nov.11-15 and 18-22
Dates: Nov.11-15 and 18-22 Times: Mon., Wed., Thurs., & Fri.: 9:00 - noon; 1:00-5:00 Tues.: 1:00-5:00; 6:00-9:00
Sittingfee: Seniors: $4(8poses) Underclasses: $2(4 poses) The sitting fee is waived if you purchase or have purchased your copy of the 1992 Jayhawker for $25.
DO NOT PUT IT OFF UNTIL THE LAST DAY UNLESS YOU WANT TO WAIT IN LINE!
1992 JAYHAWKER IT'S YOUR YEARBOOK DON'TBE LEFTOUT!