Some terrorism victims criticize 'scheme' to pay them from U.S. Treasury

by PAULINE JELINEK
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON - A new law gives American victims of terrorism millions of dollars in compensation, but some fear it won't achieve their ultimate goal - punishing terrorist nations.

The legislation to pay victims from the U.S. Treasury first, and recoup the money from alleged terrorist states later, is a precedent that complicates international diplomacy, say some international law experts.

The legislation signed Saturday by President Clinton is "a convoluted scheme," says Rosemary Wolfe of Alexandria, Va., whose 20-year-old stepdaughter, Miriam, died in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Fight 103.

"I'm no saint, but I could not take money this way," says Susan Cohen, whose 20-year-old daughter, Theodora, died in that attack over Lockerbie, Scotland.

"It doesn't punish terrorists, it punishes U.S. taxpayers," says Cohen of Cape May Court House, N.J.

"The American taxpayer is going to pay millions of dollars, and somehow, someday, maybe soon, maybe not soon, the money will be taken from the Iranians?" asked Cohen.

"I think you have to believe in the Easter Bunny to believe that."

She and others believe Libya is behind the Pan Am bombing of 12 years ago.

One proponent of the law and among the first who will benefit from it is Stephen Flatow, whose daughter, Alisa, was killed in a 1995 bombing in the Gaza Strip. Others include Terry Anderson, former chief Middle East correspondent for The Associated Press in 1984 when he was taken hostage and held in Lebanon for nearly seven years, and fellow hostages held for shorter periods, David Jacobsen, Joseph Cicippio and Frank Reed.

Together, eight families who've won lawsuits will receive some $213 million plus interest.

"When Tehran reads in the papers that the president has signed this law, and people can go after their money, it's going to hit home," says Flatow of West Orange, N.J. "They're going to wake up."

Courts awarded those damages under a 1996 law that allowed American victims to sue countries sponsoring terrorists if those countries are on the State Department's list of seven terrorist states.

The victims had been blocked from getting the payments until now because the administration rejected various plans such as seizing the long-closed Iranian embassy in Washington or taking money from frozen Iranian assets. Officials feared drawing retaliation or ruining chances for future relations with those states, which are Sudan, North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Cuba, Libya and Syria.

Another section of the law gives some $50 million to the families of three Brothers to the Rescue workers whose plane was shot down off the coast of Florida by Cuban jets in 1996. That money comes from frozen Cuban assets and not the Treasury.

While the law most immediately addresses cases against Iran and Cuba, lawsuits are pending against Iraq by Americans used as human shields during the Persian Gulf War and against Libya on behalf of the victims of Pan Am's bombing. If those families are awarded damages in court, they too could go to the government and ask for help in getting compensation. It would be up to future administrations to block them or help them get assets from those countries.

The new law is "a good gesture in an election year ... good press," said American University law professor Emilio Vianno "But it's a delicate area to tread. It opens the door and raises the expectations of others that could be dashed if their situation is not the same but they cannot be convinced that it is not the same."

Others worry it gives courts and plaintiffs too much say on foreign policy. Some say even allies will be worried by the precedent that wears down a valued diplomatic practice of protecting foreign government assets.

White House spokesman P.J. Crowley says the bill is a compromise supporting victims while serving national security concerns.

"This compromise allows us to demonstrate that support without compromising diplomatic protocols that might result in retaliations by other governments," says Crowley.

Admittedly cynical from years of seeking justice for their loved ones, some families say the U.S. government won't press enough for punishment because it has higher priorities, such as improving diplomatic relations around the world.

"I know it's only a game and don't believe for one moment that our government has any intention of pursuing compensation at the Hague" tribunal, where some $400 million of Iran's assets are tied up, says another Pan Am family member, Bert Ammerman.

"They're not about to go and do a hoopla over $400 million and further damage our relations with Iran when someday we want to have positive relations, open up businesses, get the oil there and so on," says Ammerman, a New Jersey school principal whose brother, Thomas, was killed.

Still, he believes families should take the money for varied reasons. Some need it and others want to set up scholarships and other programs in honor of their loved ones and in the fight against international terrorism.

"I honestly believe - and I'm going to be cynical now after 12 years of this - our surplus is very high right now, so this is an allowable expense" in the eyes of congressmen and officials who approved, says Ammerman.

"It's a nice way to show the families they're going to be taken care of," he said. "But I'm not naive - nothing is going to happen to Iran."

Says Flatow of the law's critics: "I hope they're wrong."