Here they come again, letters about the George Cross (latest published on October 24).

I had started this polemic back in July of 1994 on The Times and at the time was shocked at the barrage of letters published by this newspaper opposing my arguments for removing the cross (cross - in the very sense of the word) from our national flag. Letters from persons who are seemingly intellectual and in touch with the modern world. The frustrating part was that The Times did not publish most of my numerous letters I sent to counter the points raised by these other correspondents.

I will not enter into the merits of why we should, and with priority, remove the George Cross from our flag. May I just say that I know of no flag in the world which contains a symbol of a foreign country, let alone of a foreign king who died 70-odd years ago. The George Cross belongs in our museum, but not on our flag.

A lot has been said about the various remnants left by foreign rule through our history but the crux of the subject is that none of these relics are on our national flag. If I had, for argument's sake, to accept any cross on our flag, I would use the eight-pointed cross of the Knights of St John who protected Malta for over 300 years. I still maintain however that the white and red flag should be kept pure with no reminder of our past servitude and exploitation.

How is it possible that we, as Maltese, do not become irritated by the way many British imperialistic elderly people refer to our island, as the "George Cross island"? Do we not have any pride? Are we just to sit back and accept this insulting statement?

With a sense of consolation, all correspondents who write in favour of keeping the George Cross on the flag are of an advanced age.

I am convinced that the majority of the upcoming generation shares my point of view and that the removal of the George Cross from the flag is "simply a matter of time". My only desire is that I live long enough to see this finally happening.

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