CNI insists government is now illegitimate

The Campaign for National Independence (CNI) returned to the fray yesterday with a condemnation of the government's decision to re-apply for membership of the Partnership for Peace.

Former Labour Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, who has remained the consistent face of Maltese Euroscepticism, insisted that the move was illegitimate and anti-constitutional and even indicted the EU in the responsibility for this breach along with the government.

The news that Malta was applying to re-join the Nato-led initiative - the then newly-elected Labour government had withdrawn participation in 1996 having fiercely opposed the entry in the first place in 1995 - came out of the blue last Thursday through a curt government statement.

In fact, the way the government made the decision without consulting the opposition, particularly given the controversy between the two parties over PfP membership, attracted criticism over the past days. However, Dr Mifsud Bonnici only addressed this point when asked about it.

He focused instead on the congratulatory messages by British High Commissioner Nick Archer and the US Acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Daniel Fried.

While the government was insisting that PfP membership did not in any way breach the neutrality clause in the Constitution as Malta had the option to choose the sort of action it would allow its military to take part in, Dr Mifsud Bonnici insisted that the comments by the High Commissioner and the US Administration official suggested otherwise.

It is evident, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said, that particularly from Mr Archer's comments, who said that "Malta will be able to participate more fully in European Security and Defence Policy", that Malta was joining a military alliance, which is precluded by the Constitution.

"Even if, for the sack of argument, there is never a situation where this membership is activated and we do not participate in military action, we're still in breach of the Constitution," he insisted. He also harped on the argument, made by the government in defence of its decision, that remaining out of the PfP or Nato was precluding the country from participating in certain debates within the EU.

"This is a curious argument" he said, adding that the people were certainly not told that for Malta to be able to participate in certain discussions at EU level it also needed to be a member of Nato or the PfP.

"By breaching the Constitution," Dr Mifsud Bonnici said, "the government has rendered itself illegitimate. We consider this a grave situation." The EU was an accomplice in this and therefore also to blame, he charged.

CNI is unlikely to attempt to take legal action as the section of the Constitution containing the neutrality clause does not provide for someone to seek redress against the government in the case of a breach. In fact, the courts had rejected two similar cases opened against the government on similar grounds.

"The important thing at this stage is that the people realise the situation..." Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.