On Monday, Dr. Martin Aliker, a seasoned businessman, politician, diplomat, and dentist, passed away. He was 95 years old, and on Sunday, he will be laid to rest in his 1928 birthplace of Aworanga, Gulu. 

Throughout his lengthy and remarkable career at the crossroads of business and politics, Aliker established himself as a participant in international diplomacy by utilizing his solid relationships in influential offices throughout the globe. 

In one such instance, Dr. Aliker began serving as a mediator in the intricate relationships between the United States of America and Libya in the early 1990s, particularly in light of the 1988 bombing of an American passenger airliner.

Lockerbie Air Disaster 

Lockerbie, Scotland, saw the disaster of American airline Pan Am flight 103, a Boeing 747 carrying 259 passengers, in December 1988. The aircraft was traveling to New York from Frankfurt, Germany, via London. Along with the 259 passengers on board, 11 more persons perished as the aircraft plummeted to the earth. 

Investigators immediately began blaming Libya for the explosive that was put on the aircraft. Three years after the collision, in 1991, the US government filed an arrest warrant for two citizens of Libya for their alleged involvement in the collision. Col. Muammar Gaddafi, the long-serving leader of Libya, refused to give up the suspects.