Police officers from Northern Ireland have been involved in the anti-terrorism training of police forces of Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi, the authorities in Belfast said Friday. Confirmation that serving police officers from the troubled British province took part in the training scheme comes amid growing controversy over compensation demands for victims of alleged Libyan-sponsored terrorism in Northern Ireland.
Relatives of victims of bombings by the former Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorist organisation are demanding compensation from Libya on the grounds that the explosives used by the IRA in the 1980s and 1990s came from Libya. Senior Protestant politicians from Northern Ireland are due to travel to Tripoli next month to discuss the delicate issue.
But Libya has said compensation payments were a matter for the courts and not for government-level negotiations. The participation of officers from Northern Ireland in the ongoing training scheme was confirmed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Friday. The officers are seconded to Britain's National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA).
"As is the case with most other police services in the UK, we currently have a number of PSNI officers seconded to the National Policing Improvement Agency. There are agreed statutory processes on the international deployment of all police officers," the PSNI statement said. NPIA said a number of PSNI officers had been involved with training the Libyan police over the past two years.
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