US rethinks plans to give Libya $2.5 million in aid

New York: The US State Department said it is rethinking a decision to give $2.5 million in aid to Libya after lawmakers on Thursday asked it to cancel the plan.

In a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, two US lawmakers said they were unwilling to give the aid because of the warm reception Tripoli recently gave a Libyan official convicted of involvement in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

They also accused Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi of showing "flagrant disrespect" for the 270 victims of the bombing during his visit to New York this week.

"The celebration that President [Gaddafi] recently held in honour of ... the only man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, showed just how little remorse [he] has for the terrorist attacks that killed 270 civilians," Rep. Nita Lowey and Rep. Kay Granger wrote in a letter.

Lowey chairs the House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the State Department and US foreign assistance.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the department was rethinking the funding, which two sources said had included $200,000 each for two foundations run by Gaddafi's sons.

"The decision to appropriate the money was made some time ago but, in light of recent events, we will be taking another look at these decisions," Crowley said.

The "recent events" was a reference to the celebratory reception Abdel Basset Al Megrahi received on his return to Libya last month after being freed by Scottish authorities on compassionate grounds because of his terminal cancer.