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For immediate release			    Contact: James Muhammad
Aug. 31, 1996					    (312)602-1230

FARRAKHAN ACCEPTS GADHAFI AWARD IN TRIPOLI, LIBYA
Muslim leader urges Clinton to allow funds to flow from Libya to help Blacks; offers to help America to improve relations with Muslim countries and Cuba

The Gadhafi Award, named after Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, and a $250,000 honorarium was presented to the leader of the Nation of Islam in America during a ceremony here attended by former heads of state, ambassadors and an international press corps.

Minister Farrakhan was selected as the award recipient because of his role as a freedom fighter for oppressed peoples in America and for calling the Million Man March in Washington, D.C., last October.

"I am honored to receive this award... however, the government of the United States, the Treasury Department, in consultation with the State Department, has declined an application for a license to receive this (monetary) gift which has no attachment whatsoever to the government of Libya, but is a prize named after its esteemed leader, Muammar Gadhafi," Minister Farrakhan said.

"While I accept the honor of the prize, I will ask you to hold the money until this matter is decided n a court of law," he said.

Prior to Min. Farrakhan's Aug. 28 arrival in Libya, attorneys for the Nation of Islam applied to the U.S. Treasury Department for separate licenses to receive the $250,000 honorarium given with the Gadhafi Award and to receive $1 billion or less as a gift from the government of Libya, which has expressed its desire to help the Nation of Islam with its program of reform and spiritual and economic development of the Black community in the U.S.

On Aug. 29 the Treasury Department dismissed both applications, citing U.S. laws that ban trade with Libya because of its alleged role in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Appealing to President Clinton, the Muslim leader said, "Instead of blocking this prize and Brother Muammar Gadhafi from offering me aid that I might help the homeless, the poor that are sleeping under bridges in cardboard boxes... because they have no jobs and they have no hope, America should have matched that promise with a promise of her own." He cited the hardships America's Blacks and poor will face as a result of recent welfare reform laws, the loss of jobs to cheaper labor markets overseas, and the attack on affirmative action and entitlement programs. Min. Farrakhan has said the $1 billion gift will be used to produce food, clothing and shelter for Blacks in America, stimulate jobs and business development, and be available for loans and other humanitarian projects.

Holding the Muslim Holy book, the Qur'an, Min. Farrakhan said that as a Muslim he has the right to accept the monetary gift from his Muslim brother and vowed to take his fight to the highest platform "for what we consider the mother of all court battles."

Min. Farrakhan also appealed to President Clinton to bring closure to the pain of uncertainty of the families of the victims of the Pan Am bombing. He asked Mr. Clinton to allow the two Libyan nationals accused of the crime to be tried in an international court of law, even with Scottish judges.

"The truth should come out, and whoever is guilty should be brought to justice. But this (case) should not be used as an excuse to punish the Libyan people because they love their leader and will not bow to pressure to destroy their own leadership," he said.

America's preeminent Black leader called for a halt to all terrorist activities that take innocent lives, opting instead for dialogue to settle grievances. He said that a standard should be raised to measure what a terrorist nation is and that standard should be accepted by the international community.

"If such a standard is raised, would America be able to live up that standard?" Min. Farrakhan asked. "We must expose foreign policy that is against the good of Africa, against the good of the Muslim world, against the good of the Caribbean, Central and South America.

"I am calling for an end to all terrorism and the killing of innocent people for political purposes. I am calling for the United States to sit down with Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Nigeria, Iran and Cuba to work out a just solution," he said.

Citing a phrase used by President Clinton during a speech at the recent Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Minister Farrakhan offered to help the President to "build a bridge" based on truth and justice between America and these Muslim and smaller countries.

He said he would elaborate on that subject during the National Political Convention of the Oppressed scheduled for St. Louis, Mo., Sept. 27-29. The convention also is an outgrowth of the Million Man March.

The Gadhafi Award and monetary gift is given by North-South, a Swiss-based Non-Governmental Organization. Past award recipients include South African President Nelson Mandela, the Native American Indians, the Children of the Intifada, Ahmed Ben Bella, former president of Algeria, the Children of Bosnia, and an African AIDS project.

The delegation traveling with Min. Farrakhan included his wife, Khadijah, daughter Maria, noted civil rights activist Rev. James Bevel, Million Man March co-convener Rev. Benjamin F. Chavis and officials of the Nation of Islam.