Malta marked the 27th anniversary since the last British forces left their garrison yesterday with the traditional fanfare in Vittoriosa.

A wreath-laying ceremony started at about 9.30 a.m. when the Armed Forces band and a guard of honour marched from Gavino Gulia Square, in Cospicua, to the Vittoriosa's Freedom Monument.

President Eddie Fenech Adami, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and AFM commander Brigadier Carmel Vassallo received a salute by the army as they arrived near the monument.

The President inspected the guard of honour before proceeding up the slope to the monument to lay flowers, accompanied by Dr Gonzi. The national anthem was then played.

Freedom Day was also celebrated in Gozo where Minister Giovanna Debono placed flowers beneath a commemorative plaque at Independence Square, in Victoria.

Representatives of AFM soldiers presented a letter to Dr Gonzi pointing out that for the second year in succession, soldiers had not received long service awards.

The lobby group Moviment Graffitti kept up what is now turning into a yearly appointment with its anti-war protest.

The group took the government to task over the alleged landing of CIA planes in Malta transporting terror suspects.

Graffitti also objected to the planned sale of a site at Ta' Qali which will house the US Embassy, saying the government must be informed about its exact functions.