For many the night Pan Am 103 exploded over Lockerbie seems like an age ago. The world has moved so much in the years since then.
Scotland has changed. Libya has changed.
And yet for many that night is still fresh. The sights and sounds still painfully sharp.
And at the heart of those memories, is the fact that we still do not know exactly what happened, why it happened and who was responsible.
There are those who wish al-Megrahi had stayed in prison.
Even though it was widely accepted that he wasn’t guilty, plenty thought we should accept al-Megrahi as a close substitute.
It would have been easy to do just that.
Yet, it is the relatives of the people who died that night who have been unwilling to accept the convenience of al-Megrahi.
Not al-Megrahi’s relatives, lost in the quagmire of Libya in 2015. Scared of what might happen.
But the families of those who were on the plane and who were in Lockerbie are unwilling to accept the compromise. Those families feel let down by the legal system, the government and are, understandably, unwilling to trust what they are told by their political leaders.
Yesterday they have been given another shot of hope as Scottish prosecutors seek to interview two new individuals suspected of being involved, along with al-Megrahi, in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
For the families it seemed as if we have moved one step closer to finding out the truth.
Though with Libya in chaos, this may not be as easy as it seems.
The repercussions of that night are still being felt across the world.
They define Scotland’s relationship with the US. They impact on Daesh.
For the sake of those of died and those who survived them, and the sake of moving on, the truth must come out.
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Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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