New Jersey Leaders to Qaddafi: You're Not Welcome Here

The governor of New Jersey and two lawmakers are protesting Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi's expected stay in the Garden State next month, saying families of the victims of the 1988 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, shouldn't have to play host to the attackers' benefactor.

Gov. Jon Corzine , U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and U.S. Rep. John Adler, all Democrats, met Wednesday with families of the 38 victims who had lived in the northern New Jersey community of Englewood, where Qaddafi is planning to stay when he comes to address the opening of the U.N. General Assembly.

"Qaddafi is not welcome in New Jersey," Corzine said at a gathering at the Victims of Terrorism Memorial in the southern New Jersey community of Pennsauken.

Opposition to the ruler of the oil-rich North African nation has surged since he welcomed Abdel Beset al-Megrahi home last week after being freed from a Scottish jail on compassionate grounds. Al-Megrahi is the only man convicted in the bombing, which is widely thought to be the work of Libyan intelligence. In all, 259 people aboard the plane and 11 on the ground were killed.

"I am angry, like every other New Jerseyan and every other American, about the release of Abdel Beset al-Megrahi," said Corzine, who is dogged by low approval ratings as he faces a tough re-election bid in November.

Adler plans to introduce a resolution condemning Al-Megrahi's release at the U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 8.

"I want him barred from New Jersey," Adler said. "Let him land at the U.N. by helicopter, do his business and get out of the country."

The Libyan government is renovating a sprawling estate in the upscale community, and Qaddafi's expected to pitch a ceremonial Bedouin-style tent on the grounds, after a request to erect it in Manhattan's Central Park was rejected, according to elected officials. Fifty-nine of the Pan Am victims were New York state residents.

Qaddafi's expected U.N. appearance -- his first U.S. visit -- is the culmination of a years-long effort to rehabilitate his image and thaw relations between the West and Libya. He has ruled Libya the past 40 years, and was a steadfast critic of the United States early in his regime.

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Qaddafi renounced terrorism, dismantled Libya's secret nuclear program, accepted his government's responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and paid compensation to the victims' families.

But he and his son drew criticism for what some have described as a hero's welcome for al-Megrahi, who was released from a life sentence by Scotland on Aug. 20 and returned to Libya on compassionate grounds because he is dying of cancer.

Critics view that welcome as a step backward. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown broke his silence on Al-Megrahi on Wednesday, saying he was repulsed by the welcome Libya gave the convicted killer.

Under its host nation agreement with the United Nations, the U.S. is obligated to allow foreign leaders, other officials and diplomats into the country to visit or work at the U.N. with limited exceptions. But the provisions allow U.S. authorities to restrict their movement to a 25-mile radius around U.N. headquarters. Englewood is about 12 miles north of Manhattan, apparently placing it within the 25-mile radius.

Menendez urged the State Department to limit Qaddafi's stay to the immediate area around the U.N., echoing a previous request from Democratic U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey.

The Englewood estate is one of several possible sites being considered for Qaddafi  and his entourage, according to the U.S. State Department and the Libyan Embassy in Washington, D.C. The Obama administration has said it will keep in mind the "raw sensitivities" of the families of Lockerbie bombing victims as it tries to find a place for him.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.