KMB bids to persuade party delegates against EU conditions

Former Labour leader Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici is to continue with his crusade to persuade party delegates that it was not in Malta's interest to join the EU on the conditions negotiated by the government.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici was contacted after the Labour Party released the contents of a letter the party leadership sent to Dr Mifsud Bonnici in reply to his letter to delegates of August 11.

In that letter, Dr Mifsud Bonnici reminded delegates that the party had promised that a referendum would be held on the EU issue if the MLP won the election; that last July, the MLP had voted against ratification of the treaty and that although 12,000 more people voted for the PN in the last general election, the agreement negotiated by the government was not advantageous for Malta.

He also argued that one does not dump one's electoral manifesto just because an election was lost.

In their reply, leader Alfred Sant, and deputy leaders Michael Falzon and Charles Mangion told Dr Mifsud Bonnici that his letter did not give a correct picture of the current political situation.

"In the last election, the majority of people voted in favour of EU membership. As we all know, a substantial number of Labourites voted for EU membership while there were some Nationalists who did not agree with membership. The decision has now been taken and the country will be an EU member. Substantial changes will take place in Malta as a result," the Labour leadership wrote.

They reminded Dr Mifsud Bonnici that the MLP general conference in 2001 had decided that the EU membership issue should be decided in a general election.

"The fact that the MLP had come out with the partnership option and then promised a second referendum does not change anything from the decision taken by the conference.

"Neither did the MLP negate the decision taken by the conference by voting against the treaty. The MLP will respect the majority and ensure that the minority is respected too.

"It is true we argued that the agreement negotiated by the government is not advantageous for Malta, but the party must accept democratically the will of the majority. The challenge for the party is to do its best to seek ways and means how those parts of the agreement which are disadvantageous are modified and create less disadvantages," the MLP leadership wrote.

"The duty for the Labour leadership is to seek the best way in the interests of the workers. It is not in the interests of the workers that the country continues along the way of uncertainty and polemics as regards the EU.

"This issue involves many jobs and opportunities in the country. It affects the future of families and of young people. We cannot as a people swing this way or that every five years, going for EU membership or for moving away from it," the MLP leadership said.

In conclusion, the party leadership appealed to Dr Mifsud Bonnici to support a united party which could thus provide the country with the leadership it needed. It was only in this manner that the party could be vigilant enough to safeguard the values and principles it believed in.

"We will not get there if we stay looking back, or if we fight windmills, at the general conference or outside it, with initiatives which confuse and split people of good will.

"We must learn from what happened in the past. We must not remain anchored to what used to take place when circumstances were different from those existing today."

Above everything else, the leadership concluded, one must show one has real trust in the party. They said their reply was being circulated to all delegates as well as to the media, since his letter had appeared in the media.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici would not be drawn yesterday about what he would be telling delegates.

"This matter should be treated internally within the party. I did not release my letter and will not be releasing the letter I will be writing to delegates," he said.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici, who is also involved in the Campaign for National Independence, and the Front Maltin Inqumu, said he was dealing with this issue as an MLP delegate.

"I am a delegate for life and I strongly feel that delegates should discuss the matter internally and see what they want to do. It is delegates who decide the party's policy in the end," he said.

Asked what he made out of the phrase used by the Labour leadership, which accused him of fighting windmills, Dr Mifsud Bonnici made use of a phrase used by the leadership and replied:

"Windmills spin and make me dizzy more than swinging this way or that every five years," he said.

"As a party delegate, I shall continue to fight against the disadvantageous agreement negotiated by the Nationalist government. When I wear the CNI or FMI hats I will argue in another manner," he said.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said he would also be meeting delegates in the local MLP clubs to discuss the issue with them there before the general conference.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said it was in the EU's interest to appease the Maltese people by changing those conditions which were disadvantageous to Malta.

"When the Maltese start feeling the pinch, there will be many who will be opposing EU membership and that is why it is in the EU's own interest for this not to happen," he argued.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that next week he would be revealing how the EU was already imposing constraints on Malta which the government knew about and was hiding.

One of these concerned the amount of work the shipyards can do. He said documents in his possession showed that the EU forced the government to reduce the physical capacity of the 'yard because of problems that shipyards in the EU were facing. This was why the 'yard had to shed the No 1 dock, to be unable to do work beyond a certain volume, he said.