Boycott Scotland
http://www.boycottscotland.com:
Although the great majority of letters we receive are supportive, there are also the inevitable letters of criticism and condemnation.
Some Scottish and British respondents ask why we do not print such letters?
Quite simply, because most of them display the most foul and disgusting language directed against the American families and friends of the victims of Pan Am Flight 103, as well as towards the people of the United States in general.
Well, this one doesn’t. That said, your stated policy is to not publish criticism, so I will instead.
However, your campaign is flawed on more levels than I care to count.
First, given that only the respective Governments of the United Kingdom and Scotland were responsible for the release of Megrahi, boycotting the products and services of an entire country seems a bit foolish. Imagine the outrage if American products had been boycotted as a result of actions by the previous US administration?
Second, many of the Scottish families of Lockerbie victims are less than convinced of Megrahi’s guilt in the first place; indeed, even the UN-appointed observer for the trial proceedings has stated that Megrahi can’t have had a fair trial, and that there are serious doubts over how sound the conviction was (see http://i-p-o.org/lockerbie_observer_mission.htm).
Third, there was no similar outrage when the US recommended the release of convicted terrorists under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, most of whom were in perfectly fine health.
Fourth, what would forcing Megrahi to die in prison achieve, guilty or not? Justice, or revenge? Whichever way the dice rolled, releasing him to spend his dying days with his family makes little odds on anything but a symbolic basis. Forcing him to remain in prison when we have a legal statute for compassionate release under such circumstances would cast an even worse light upon Scotland.
So, by all means, boycott the governments of Scotland and the United Kingdom, but presumably you’ll also be boycotting the governments of most other countries. Leave the rest of us alone, though.
And, if you’re going to do it at all, perhaps you should have started in 2001 when the trial began and the government of the United Kingdom produced evidence which to this day Megrahi’s defence team still hasn’t been able to view and respond to. Never mind whether a man’s guilty or not, just so long as there’s a scapegoat to sit on the receiving end of the (valid) frustration, anger and pain. Actually, that seems to sum up the whole campaign.
