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US and Libya hold talks in Washington

Libya's remarkable transformation from US foe to friend is almost complete.

Despite unresolved terrorism and human rights concerns, the US took another step toward ending decades of hostility with the north African nation on Thursday as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held talks with the Libyan foreign minister in the highest-level contact between the two countries in Washington in 35 years.

The visit of the Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam to Rice's State Department offices capped years of improving ties that began in 2003 when Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi agreed to abandon his weapons of mass destruction programs, renounce terrorism and pay compensation to the families of victims of several attacks, including the infamous 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Those steps marked the beginning of the end for Libya's international pariah status, removing UN and US sanctions, allowing it to sail without opposition into a seat on the UN Security Council last year and normalizing relations with the West.

The US and Libya restored diplomatic ties in 2004 after a 27-year hiatus and shortly after his meeting with Rice, Shalqam watched as officials from the two countries signed their first bilateral agreement -- a science and technology cooperation pact. Rice did not attend the signing ceremony.

"I hope this event will help us to [move] ahead," Shalqam said. "I would like to say thanks to God, that we start with education, with culture. We don't speak anymore about war or confrontation or terrorism. No, to the contrary, [we speak of] cooperation, investments, peace and stability."

"I think we can do together something for peace," he said. "Also, this phenomenon of terrorism in our region and other regions of the world, we can do something."

But amid the improvements, the US-Libya relationship remain unsettled. Congress is holding up key elements of the rapprochement -- money to open a new US embassy in Tripoli and a confirmation hearing for the new US ambassador there -- until Libya completes compensation payments for the downing of Pan Am 103 and a 1986 Berlin disco bombing.

Underscoring the last remaining reservations, the State Department canceled a planned photo opportunity at the start of the Rice-Shalqam meeting after determining that only the presence of an official photographer was "appropriate" for the event.

Rice pressed Shalqam on the need for Libya to finish payments to the families of 270 Pan Am victims and those killed and wounded in the La Belle disco attack as well as improve its human rights record if it is to fully enjoy the benefits of US friendship, the State Department said.

Families of the Pan Am 103 victims have been particularly outspoken in their opposition to full ties with Libya and a group of US lawmakers, led by Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg and Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Christopher Dodd, is demanding that compensation be completed before the normalization is finalized.

Ahead of Rice's meeting, Human Rights Watch urged the secretary to demand improvements from the Libyans by allowing a free press, ending a ban on independent organizations, stopping the torture of detainees and releasing political prisoners. It said it knew of several cases, including the disappearance of three dissidents.

"We welcome improved relations between Libya and the US, but not at the expense of political prisoners, torture victims, and other Libyans who suffer abuse," it said in a statement.
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