Gadhafi's son: Megrahi is innocent.

The idea that Megrahi may be innocent and part of a scheme by Gadhafi to get back in the good graces of the west is simply not even suggested by the mainstream media. There is virtually nothing about all the questions concerning Megrahi's trial and the coincidence of his abandoning his second appeal and then being released! The mainstream media however is quick to paint his release as related to oil. This is just part and parcel of the dumbing down of mainstream reporters who are often content just to repeat the pap of officials or rush off when something becomes the current rage. Eric Margolis's recent article is an exception as is an article in the UK Express.
Given that no one explains to the public how Libyans might feel about Megrahi and why, it is reasonable that people are aghast that there is celebration at his return. But if you thought that Megrahi was innocent and sacrificed himself for Libya's interests you might feel just as many Libyans do. Are reporters just lazy or do they want Americans and others to think of Libyans as uncaring terrorist sympathisers.





Gadhafi's son: 'Why so angry' over release?
By Lucy Adams and Ian Ferguson, The (Glasgow) Herald
TRIPOLI, Libya — The son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi says Scotland's release of the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing opens the way for trade deals between Britain and Libya.
"Lockerbie is history," Saif al-Islam al-Gadhafi said of Pan Am Flight 103, which blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 270 people. "The next step is fruitful and productive business with Edinburgh, London. Libya is a promising rich market and so let's talk about the future.
"There is no reason for people to be angry. Why be so angry? This is an innocent man who is dying," Gadhafi said in his first interview since returning to Libya last week with the freed prisoner, whose release sparked outrage in the USA.
The mercy shown by the Scottish government has transformed the traditional Arabic view of Britain as "crusaders" against Islam, Gadhafi told The Herald in Glasgow, Scotland.
Abdel Baset Ali Megrahi was released by the Scottish government Aug. 20 on compassionate grounds because he is terminally ill with prostate cancer. The controversial decision drew strong protests from President Obama and Americans who lost family members on the doomed flight.
Megrahi, 57, a former Libyan intelligence agent, served eight years of his life sentence.
The U.S. government warned Libya to avoid giving Megrahi a "hero's welcome" upon his return home. After a crowd cheered and waved flags at the Tripoli airport as Megrahi arrived, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called the scene "disgusting."
Gadhafi apologized for any perception that the Libyan government had not done its best to contain the jubilant scene. He said that it was not a "hero's welcome" but that Megrahi was greeted by a few hundred of his friends and family.
"There was no official celebration, no guards of honor, no fireworks and no parade. We could have arranged a much better reception," Gadhafi said.
"The U.S. knew a long time ago that Mr. Megrahi would probably be released and asked us to keep the reception low key. For the last three or four weeks, it has become obvious that he might have been released, so it was not a complete surprise," he said.
He expressed regret at the U.S. and British response. Obama called Megrahi's release a "mistake." British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was repulsed by the airport welcome.
Megrahi will not take part in next week's ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of the revolution in Libya and the elder Gadhafi's rule over the oil-rich North African nation.
"It was a shock and surprise for Libyan society that he was freed on compassionate grounds," Gadhafi said. "And it showed the Libyans that the British and Scottish are civilized people. … That is why for the first time in our history that Libyan citizens have been out in the streets waving a different flag — the Scottish flag.
"This act changed the minds of many people," he said.