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Morning News

Pan Am 103 Verdict: Susan Cohen Discusses Loss of Daughter, Reaction to Verdict

Aired January 31, 2001 - 11:50 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We've been talking all morning about the verdict in the Lockerbie in the Pan Am 103 murder trial; one man found guilty, another man not guilty and is free to go back to Libya.

Susan Cohen lost her 20-year-old daughter in that bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland 12 years ago. She's written a book about her life since the bombing, "Pam Am 103: The Bombing, the Betrayal and a Bereaved Family's Search for Justice." And she is joining us now from Washington.

Ms. Cohen, good to have you again here with us here on MORNING NEWS.

SUSAN COHEN: Thank you for having me.

KAGAN: Could you tell us your reaction to the two verdicts here this morning?

COHEN: Well, of course I'm disappointed that both men weren't found guilty, but I am very glad that we have the guilty verdict where it counted, because it is now impossible to say that Libya did not do this. This goes all the way up to Gadhafi. This was not an act of rogue terrorists. And that is the very good part of the verdict.

KAGAN: But the way that it looks right now, the way the history books might read, it looks like one man responsible for killing 270 people 12 years ago.

COHEN: Except that, if you look at it closely, it is something very different, because he was not a rogue terrorists, he was working for Libyan intelligence. And that is what counts. In a country like Libya, there is no way this was done without Gadhafi's knowledge and involvement. And the important thing now is what the Bush administration does about this.

KAGAN: Are you hopeful, or have you become cynical over the last 12 years of dealing with different governments in trying to find justice in your daughter's death?

COHEN: Well, I don't know that we ever can get justice now. There's never been a strong response to this really horrible murder. But we are going to keep fighting, we're going to keep trying. But I am afraid that oil interests are going to beat out the interests of the families when it comes down to the crunch. And that is what we're going to try to resist.

KAGAN: What does the fight become now?

COHEN: Well, it's to make sure sanctions are kept in place, to urge President Bush to actually be stronger and tougher against Libya. I mean, his father is the one who set up the situation which really was very weak and didn't lead to anything but one low-level killer going to jail for 20 years. That's hardly justice. We want him to be strong. We want a strong policy on terrorism, and that's going to be what we're going to be striving for. We may not achieve it. We're going to fight very, very hard. It's not going to be just pay of the families and let's all make friends and forget that the man who committed this crime, Moammar Gadhafi, is still there and he really better be held responsible for it.

KAGAN: So important not to forget about the people who have brought the passion to this. Before we let you go, can you tell us about your daughter, Theadora (ph)?

COHEN: Yes, she was lovely. She was a very talented singer and young actress. She was a Syracuse student who dreamed of a life in the theater. She was the joy of my life. And that murder of her, that terrible, cruel murder had left my life a shattered wreck. And in my book, I discuss not only my personal life, but also the political side of this. To tell the full story of Pan Am 103, I had to do it, though it was very painful to write and caused me a lot of suffering.

KAGAN: Well, I'm very sorry for your pain. I do appreciate you appearing with us here on MORNING NEWS. I know we've talked to you over the years. And thanks for sharing your reaction to the verdicts today.

COHEN: Thank you very much for having me.

KAGAN: Susan Cohen, thanks for joining us from our Washington bureau.

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