On this day, 27 years ago, on August 24, 1998 (July 3, 1998, the United States and Britain agreed to open the trial of the Lockerbie air disaster case in the Netherlands. On August 24, 1998, the United States and the United Kingdom respectively announced that they had agreed to interrogate two Libya suspects in The Hague, the Netherlands, for causing the world-shocking Lockerbie air disaster in 1988. On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 departed from Frankfurt Airport in Germany for the United Kingdom. However, the Boeing 747 suddenly exploded while flying over the town of Lockerbie in Scotland, England. All the passengers and crew on board were killed. Some residents on the ground were also killed by the sudden disaster. A total of 270 people were killed in the air crash. Since then, relatives of the victims of the air crash have been hoping to hear the case as soon as possible to comfort the souls of their loved ones in heaven. After investigation, the United States and Britain believed that the explosion was caused by two Libya people working in the Frankfurt office of Libya Arab Airlines who loaded a suitcase containing a bomb onto Flight 103. After the investigation results came out, the United States and Britain have been demanding that the Libya government hand over the two suspects for trial in the United States or the United Kingdom. However, the Libya government firmly denied that its citizens were involved in the air crash and refused to hand over the suspects accused by Britain and the United States. To this end, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to impose sanctions on Libya in March 1992. After various efforts from the international community, Libya agreed to consider surrendering the two suspects, but insisted that the trial must be held in a third country on the grounds that a trial in Britain and the United States would lead to an unfair verdict. By February this year, the International Court of Justice ruled that Libya's complaint should be listened carefully. In this case, a British law professor proposed a plan for an English judge to hear the case in a third country in accordance with Scottish law. After active mediation by the Organization of African Unity, the Arab League and former U.S. President Carter, in July this year, U.S. President Clinton said that the United States and Britain could consider the request of trial in a third country. After more than a month, Britain and the United States selected the Netherlands. After agreeing to try the case in a third country, the United States and the United States extended their carrot and stick at the same time in order to urge Libya leader Gaddafi to accept the proposal as soon as possible. British Foreign Secretary Cook said the trial will be conducted in full accordance with Scottish legal procedures and rules of evidence collection. Once Libya hands over the two suspects to the Hague Special Court, the British government will support the UN Security Council to temporarily suspend sanctions against them, but if Libya remains the same, the UK will consider increasing sanctions. U.S. Secretary of State Albright also said that the practices of the United States and Britain are "in full compliance with United Nations resolutions." She asked Libya to decide as soon as possible whether to accept the proposal. A senior U.S. State Department official also threatened that if Libya refused to hand over the two suspects soon, the United States would urge the international community to stop importing its oil. In order to gain support from the international community, the United States and the United States also informed United Nations Secretary-General Annan of their decision, asking him to forward the proposal to Libya and help arrange the specific matters of the transfer of the two suspects. Annan has clearly welcomed the decision of Britain and the United States. However, Libya lawyers said that there are several questions that need to be clearly answered, namely: Where will the two so-called suspects be detained? If they are finally acquitted, whether their safety can be guaranteed and their freedom can be smoothly restored, etc., Libya also asked Britain and the United States to ensure that the two suspects will not be transferred to other places for trial. To this end, the British and American sides stated that their explanations on the details of the trial process in English and Dutch, as well as their open letter to the United Nations Secretary-General, were enough to show that the trial would be fair and safe for the two Libya people. As the most direct victims of this air crash, the relatives of the victims are most concerned about when they can be given an "explanation" and when the souls of their loved ones can truly rest in peace in heaven.