I have never read such complete nonsense as the argument put forward by Norman E. Grech. He maintains that the George Cross is a symbol of a foreign king, and a reminder of a foreign person.

To begin with, when the George Cross was awarded to Malta, George VI was the king of Malta and the rest of the Empire. He was no foreign person to the then Maltese subjects.

Let me ask Mr Grech one very simple question I am sure he will understand. Who gave Malta and the Maltese their flag? Perhaps he will allow me to refer to a bit of history that every Maltese school child will know. Count Roger the Norman (like Mr Grech's namesake!) was an invader of these islands, and was as much a foreigner as (if not more so) than George VI. Would Mr Grech have us give up our flag because it reminds us of an oppressive foreign invader?

The symbol on our flag is a perpetual reminder of the honour and respect the whole world holds for those who fought, suffered and died so bravely in a two-and-a-half-year siege, the like of which has no precedent in history. Malta is still regarded as the most intensely bombed place on this planet. Mr Grech will probably have never even lived through this period as I did. Let me tell him, it was damned awful. Thank God the Germans never came to Malta. We would not have lasted long enough to get bombed by the British in turn! There was no food available to the Germans to feed the Maltese population. What was the alternative in those ugly days? Mass slaughter and starvation, as happened elsewhere in occupied Europe.

The problem with Mr Grech, and others he claims think on similar lines, is that he is so very anti-British for his own wrapped reasons. I know that the vast majority of my fellow Maltese do not share his befuddled ideas. Unfortunately, Malta is much too easily influenced by political propaganda.

People like Mr Grech should learn to think for themselves without political bias. I can quite understand why the Royal University of Malta had the word "Royal" cropped from its title by similar-minded individuals as the correspondent.

How about a new flag for Malta that does not betray any extraneous influence? I suggest some prickly pears on a blue background to symbolise the Mediterranean. How stupid can one get?

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