Gadhafi slammed at rally
ENGLEWOOD, N.J. (AP) – More than 200 people gathered Sunday to tell Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi he’s not welcome in their suburban New Jersey community, including several who lost relatives in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Gov. Jon Corzine was among those who attended the event in Englewood, where the Libyan government has been renovating a 5-acre estate ahead of Gadhafi’s first U.S. visit, scheduled for next month. Gadhafi had been expected to pitch a ceremonial Bedouin-style tent on the grounds, but his representatives announced Friday that he would remain in Manhattan where he’s addressing the United Nations General Assembly, after rumors of his visit to New Jersey sparked an uproar last week.
“This is a community that’s still in pain,” Corzine said. “To not have him here is a victory.”
Corzine called the Pan Am bombing, widely believed to be the work of Libyan intelligence, a precursor to 9/11. New Jersey and New York suffered heavily in both attacks.
The Pan Am attack claimed 259 lives on the plane and 11 more on the ground, and the 97 residents of New York and New Jersey killed represent more than half of the 189 Americans on the plane.