London- Victims of "Libyan-sponsored" IRA terrorism in Northern Ireland Monday welcomed British government support for their claims, as Libya made clear that it would resist any such compensation payments. The conflicting response from the two sides followed a statement by Prime Minister Gordon Brown Sunday that his government would help relatives of victims of IRA bombings to claim compensation on the grounds that the explosives used were supplied by Libya.
But just hours after Brown's remarks, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi, told Britain's Sky News that Libya would resist such demands, which he said were "for the courts" to deal with.
"Anyone can knock on our door. You go to the court. They have their lawyers, we have our lawyers," Gaddafi's son said.
However, the victims' lawyer, Jason McCue, said he was "overjoyed" by the "active support" expressed by Brown which he was sure would "bring about a resolution of our long campaign within a matter of weeks."
The families, representing some 100 men and women who fell victim to IRA bombings during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, base their claims on the supply of Semtex explosives by Libya.
They argue that their demands have gained fresh justification with the release from a British jail of Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, on August 20.
Brown, who only last year ruled out any government pressure on Libya over the issue as "not appropriate," said Sunday that a special Foreign Office unit would be set up to "facilitate" the victims' claims, while not negotiating on their behalf.
"In the coming weeks and months, I can say that we will step up our support by establishing a dedicated Foreign Office support for the victims' campaign," Brown said.
The Foreign Office was Monday unable to give any details of how the campaigners would be supported, saying only that the team was "very much in the process of being put together."
The US government has already secured compensation totalling 1.5 billion dollars for Americans affected by so-called Libyan-sponsored terrorism, including the victims of the Lockerbie attack.
Italy and France have reached similar deals and lawyers acting for IRA victims have criticized the British government's refusal to back such claims.
"I am confident that his (Brown's) moral and logistical backing for the British victims of Libyan Semtex will ensure that they now receive justice and compensation," McCue said.
Jeffrey Donaldson, a leading Democratic Unionist (Protestant) politician in Northern Ireland is due to travel to Libya with representatives of the IRA victims next month.
"It is essential now that the government delivers what the Prime Minister has promised. He has a moral responsibility to pursue this and we will hold him to it," Donaldson said.
However, a "warning" that compensation should apply to all victims of the 30 year-conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland - and not just to IRA victims - came Monday from Gerry Adams, the head of Sinn Fein, the political party with formerly close links to the IRA.
There should be "no hierarchy" when compensation for victims was being discussed, said Adams, whose party is now in government in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Fein would certainly support compensation for all victims," he said, but added: "British state forces have also killed or injured many citizens. Some victims were killed directly by British agents, others by their surrogates."
He alleged that Britain had collaborated with Protestant paramilitary groups to bring illegal shipments of arms into Ireland, including from the former apartheid regime in South Africa.
"Gordon Brown's position is totally inconsistent but this is in keeping with London's long-standing game-playing on this important matter," said Adams.
"The fact is, the British government is a player in all of these issues. It is not, and cannot be, an objective or neutral referee."
