Tuesday, 6th May 2008
Flag poll
The poll about the GC on the Maltese flag, carried on timesofmalta.com, is too silly for words. The question is loaded in favour of the affirmative.
Voters cannot be correctly and scientifically sampled. There are Maltese who don't speak English, so the poll is excluding them. There are thousands of Maltese people who speak English but do not have computers. There are thousands of Maltese people who may or may not speak English and may or may not possess computers but do not read The Times.
This poll is easily manipulated - one could send an e-mail link to 100 or 1,000 people and ask them to vote yes or no. Non-Maltese nationals can vote to their heart's content, get their pub mates, tourists, foreign students - anyone - to vote.
The question is worthless without an outline of the controversy surrounding it. For example, this would be a fairer question: The GC, as a medal, was never supposed to go on the Maltese flag or any flag. A colonial British governor drew it on our flag thus defacing our 900-year-old National Flag.
1. Did you know this?
2. Would you like your government to tell the Maltese people more about this issue so the Maltese people may be able to make an informed decision about whether a referendum is required?
This poll is up the pole - a bit like the image of Christ on the Maltese euro poll. That poll proved useless and so will this GC-on-the-flag poll. There is only one poll that counts and that's a referendum.
I, for one, will continue to explain this issue and combat misinformation whenever and however I can.
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Comments
The origin of the Maltese flag is historically unknown since there are no written records on its provenance. Tradition supposedly tells us that the flag was awarded by the Normans to the Maltese population following the Norman takeover of southern Europe including the Maltese Islands.
The facts about the George Cross are that this was awarded to the Maltese Nation, at a national level, FOR GALLANTRY SHOWN DURING THE GREAT SIEGE OF MALTA BY THE NAZI WAR MACHINE. The Maltese resisted and held until provisions arrived by means of naval convoys and support by the British and allied forces that were combating nazism. It could have been a John Cross, a Peter medal or any other symbol of bravery and courage, awarded by any democratic entity of that time. It belongs to us Maltese as much as our flag, our rocks, soil, sea and everything we have and hold dear. We wear the George Cross with pride and have included it in or flag so that no one forgets what our fathers and mothers went through so that we could have our freedom. We Maltese are very proud of our great and over-proportionate share in the annihilation of nazism and the regeneration of democracy in Europe.
This is the truth Mr. Flynn. Anything else is just a fable. Let there not be another war like we had.
What are you afraid of? Mr Mintoff and his lousey cane? Once I had written that comment, I kept thinking about it, and it dawned on me how true it turns out to be.
Dr George Borg Olivier has found his peace, and God bless the man. Nothing now will save those who humiliated him and betrayed him. Imagine what he felt when he saw them rising to their feet. Imagine the pain he would have felt. He too was a political man, but none loved us, only he did.
Some of you journalists at the Times are too young to remember. But I tell you this. You are duty bound to investigate, find out the truth, and bring it forth to the people so they may know, even if I were to be mistaken.
Mr Mintoff hated all those who served the "kuruna". He didn't care who they were, whether they were decent men or not. Sir Mamo will have been one of them. So you, as journalists, must now ask yourselves: Why, why Mr Mintoff chose Sir Mamo and not some other labour politician as he kept doing once Sir Mamo was out of the way? Dr Fenech Adami is sure to have the answer. I nearly shook hands with him once, as he was being carried shoulder high in Sliema. But for some reason, my hand recoiled away from his as I looked into his eyes.
Its not a big deal, Malta isn't a joke....at least Not, because of our Flag.
My Point: Better things to think about and arrange.
He needs to accept that the Maltese GC Flag IS a DEFACED flag. This is a fact under the rules of heraldry and vexillology. The national flags of some countries are defaced flags, Australia is one of them. Dr Riccioli should do his homework. This is a blog - not Google!
Mr Camilleri makes my heart sing confirming the hope of every Maltese who ever lived under Colonialism, that the born - free Maltese feel, think, and are equal to any other nationality. Placed in an equal playing field, whether at home or abroad, Maltese have done as well as, if not better, than the rest. Colonialism was anything but a fair playing field.
But it is erroneous of him to state that the GC on the flag must be legal and proper because no one complained.
The GC warrants are the written rules, the constitution of the medal; subject always to the discretion of the reigning monarch - NO ONE ELSE!!
The GC could NOT be placed on any Flag without a proper warrant from either King George Vl or Queen Elizabeth II. It is disrespectful and demeaning to do so. (see previous postings in relation to the R.U.C., the only other group recipient of the GC.)
I DO accept that all this is a moot point anyway; as far as the Maltese Constitution is concerned, the GC Flag IS legal, of course.
What I maintain is: (With the proviso that I respect the fact that there were pragmatic exigencies in the case of 1964 and 1974).
1. That certainly the alleged defacing of the Flag by Lord Gort was a sacrilege, and, in a perfect world, should never have been confirmed by later Maltese leaders without a specific referendum.
2. That the True Flag of the Maltese Islands has always been the White and Red.
3. That the Maltese people should now be given the chance to voice their choice in a referendum.
Please no more clichés of honour, bravery, sacrifice, heroism; we've addressed them earlier. The Medal moves me too. I just don't want it on my Flag.
May I refer Mr Dalli to my earlier postings. His arguments have all been answered previously. Something isn't accepted because people have not rioted or rebelled. Malta was under Colonialism for 150 years with very few riots. Wouldn't it be preposterous to deduce from that the Maltese were happy with Colonialism and should still be under it?
I still maintain that the vast majority of Maltese today don't know HOW this GC saga really started and that a foreigner was allegedly the first to place it there.
The objections by my esteemed opposites are a clear representation that most Maltese haven't thought through the significance of a REPUBLIC having a memento from a FOREIGN MONARCH, and the significance of our defaced traditional Flag.
The fact that contributors don't accept the word "DEFACED" clearly suggests that people don't appreciate that DEFACING is what we did to our Mother Flag!
We didn't have to do this; we don't need to continue with it now that Malta is a Republic.
To Mr Dalli, I repeat it is not the prerogative of any premier, president, party or parliament to decide unilaterally about changes to the Flag - but for a properly informed people; and in a non party - partisan manner.
I am a realist and an honest debater. So, I accept that the majority WOULD, today, opt for the defaced Flag - that's a function of demographics. There are far too many born - frees who have only known the defaced Flag. I am amazed that there are over 1000 people who actually voted against the GC on the Flag!
But I would put the population percentile of these True Believers at much higher than 20. But even 20% is an enormous base.
The born - frees are the group that need to be persuaded - they have the numbers. I have every faith that given the facts they will support a return to the True Flag.
It is no burden for me but one of life's pleasures to play some tiny part in persuading them, calmly, honestly, openly and thoughtfully.
It might be true that there was a time when segment - perhaps even a very large segment - of the Maltese population had an inferiority complex when dealing with foreign persons. That has long since gone. My generation, (I am 53), was brought up believing we were just as good as any foreign person and I believe THAT is where the difference lies.
I can look at the history of WWII with a clear mind and with no chips on my shoulder. Hence, I can appreciate the wider picture. That allows me to look at the Cross for what it really is. ie: a medal honouring my parents' and grandparent's generation for what they went through during those years.
When I see our flag flying ... the cross reminds me what Malta' population when through during those years ... and it serves as an inspiration.
If when you look at the flag all you see is servitude, then I'm afraid you are the one who is poorer for it. Shake the chip off your shoulder and look at the wider picture!
Mr Flynn makes further assumptions. "The Maltese didn't know that the GC was put on the flag ?" I admit those living in the caves of Mellieha probably didn't. Those too young to know what was happening at the time didn't either. Those who had just been born, I presume neither.
Again, I will have to repeat myself, since then a lot of time has passed and no mass protests have occurred. The reason is obvious and for all to see.
The ultra majority of the Maltese residents are proud of the Maltese flag as it is. Mr. Flynn does it cross your mind that should any premier decide to remove (in your wildest dream) the cross from the flag...then probably those mass protests that did not occur when the cross was placed there will in fact materialse now.
There are way way much more living Maltese residents who know, love and TRULY respect the Maltese Flag as it is than there are people who remember Count Roger's flag.
The cross on the flag symbolises an honour every Maltese person carries on him/her all the time. Some don't appreciate it (like you). But really its not a burden for you. Your alliance is for a different flag.
At any rate, in the GC warrants is stated:
"We reserve to Ourself, our Heirs Successors, full power of annulling, altering, abrogating, augmenting, interpreting, or dispensing with these rules and ordinances, or any part thereof, by a notification under Our Sign Manual."
On the other hand, there are most certainly protocols and technicalities forbidding the GC to be placed on any flag.
See below in relation to Queen Elizabeth II providing a specific additional warrant to the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC Foundation.
Anyway, King George Vl made the rules governing HIS medal so ostensibly he could break them without asking neither St George nor the dragon. In the words of a famous comedian: It's good to be king!
To which, begging everyone's indulgence, I shall add - But it's better without one!
Mr Dalli, asks a perfectly logical question. Why didn't the Maltese rebel and object to the GC being put on the flag? The answer would be very hard to understand by the born - free younger generations of today.
In wartime, there were curfews and virtual Martial Law. No elections were held, self government was still years away. Demonstrations were out of the question; and if they were allowed; there were no buses to take people there. And if there were buses available, they would have been strafed and bombed on the way there.
The Maltese had other life and death priorities - like dodging bombs and, like my mother's family, finding a place to sleep; for their home, clothes, belongings were all gone, blown to dust.
Yet some brave Maltese souls did protest in 1942 shouting, "Zommu 'l - George Cross; ghatuna il - hobz!". These shouts were directed at the GC medal not at the GC being placed on the flag; the GC was ostensibly placed on the Flag later - quietly, surreptitiously.
We must remember no one knew the GC was put on the Flag, allegedly by Lord Gort. And if they knew, which Maltese person was going to cross a general, when a mere English corporal rode roughshod like a lord?
In blissful ignorance, up to the late 1950's and into the 1960's almost all flags flying on feast days, political rallies etc. were the traditional White and Red. So the Flag issue was under the radar of the vast majority of Maltese people.
The Maltese people didn't know simply because no one told them; no one asked their permission. I am 65 years old, of reasonable intelligence and education; but I only found out recently that our Flag was defaced by a foreign Governor at worst; and/or by our own leaders at best - and either way WITHOUT any consultation with the people to whom the Flag belongs!
In 1964 at Independence and then again in 1974 at the birth of the Republic, there were still many Maltese people who sincerely believed that Malta couldn't stand on its own feet. We can only surmise that the GC on the Flag was a crutch; a pacifier to the considerable Colonialist element in Malta at that time. Mindsets of 150 years of servitude don't change overnight.
Perhaps Independence and the Republic were such dazzling prizes that the people were side blinded. Perhaps, the yeas and the nays were too close to risk throwing into the boiling pot another sideline issue of the GC on the Flag. Who's to say anyone of us would have done it differently when faced with the pragmatic realities and the same hard political choices facing Dr Borg Olivier in 1964 and Mr Dom Mintoff in 1974?
But there is no excuse now. Malta is now a free, fit, educated and informed Republic Nation.
There are those who can answer Mr Dalli's precise question for all of us today, while they are still alive - Mr Mintoff; cabinet ministers; senior civil servants of the time and others. I earnestly wish some of them would. I am researching ways to get some answers.
Even with all its faults, this straw poll clearly shows that we shouldn't measure the Maltese feeling about this issue by the "few voices" who write letters to newspapers.
Mr Dalli is also correct about people, say, under 50 years of age who have always known the defaced Flag. They would find my comments revolting at first. But I am only the bugler giving them a wake up call. Once over the initial shock, it is hoped they will want to know the truth; and to endorse individually, in conscience, their own answer to this burning question: Which one is the True Mother Flag of my Country?
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So if the president of Malta commissions an award with Christ on the cross and named for love, and puts EFA on it (since it was commissioned by him), then according to Mr. Flynn this is commemorating the president and not an awad that is showing Christ and for love on it.
St. George is the patron saint of England Mr. Flynn.
The George Cross is an award not to remind anyone of King George but as an award for Galantary. There is also St. George on it not King G's face on it.
You might therefore argue that KGV himself was breaking the rules when he awarded it to the whole population ......... exceptional circumstances however warrant exceptional solutions!
I can't believe there are any technical grounds to stop the GC being displayed on the flag. If there were we would have heard about them years ago.
Had the Maltese of the time not wanted the honour of the GC on our Flag, I am sure there would have been mass protests, insubordination and riots, during or after the GC being put on the flag.
It is not like the Maltese of the time weren't capable of protests etc.. we all the know the story of the bread riots, the mass protests held 50 years ago, the protests of the 80s, etc.. etc..
Had there been a sizeable part of the population who really and truly did not want the honour of the GC on the flag there would have been mass havoc.
There was none of this and even to this day, which the flag as it is, is the only flag known by numerous generations, there are only few voices who oppose it.
I refer to the site http://www.gc-database.co.uk/decoration.htm ; in particular, this:
.... I propose TO GIVE MY NAME to this new distinction, which will consist of the George Cross, which will rank next to the Victoria Cross..., (King George Vl in a broadcast to Britain and the Empire on the 23rd September 1940). The capitals are mine.
And further, in the warrants themselves:
"in the angle of each limb of the cross the Royal cypher "G.VI"
Fact: The Republic of Malta carries a medal named after an English King and carries his royal cypher.
Now if people know the significance of that fact and are comfortable with it, let them have the courage of their conviction, admit it and support it. I would respect that. So long as we are all on the same page that we debating the GC here and NOT the SAINT GC!
But it would be msinforming or dishonest to try to bend the facts and bring saints into the argument to make it palatable or to mislead the young.
been said in reference to the1940 warranty which gave birth to the
medal. I thought it wise to take a closer look at the document, at least
in as it relates to the transference of its image on our traditional flag.
Nowhere within the GC warranty http://www.gc-database.co.uk/decoration.htm
is there a specific provision for the GC to be displayed on a nation's
banner. Technically its inclusion on our pennant is in violation of the
conditions upon which the GC was conferred, at least by omission, in
that no known approval from King George VI was given for it to be
displayed in any fashion, other than it being WORN as a lapel by
medal recipients, No alternate options are included in its charter
to enable the GC to be flown at mast, within the UK or its colonies.
Therein lies the rub of the argument, over and above the lack of
authorization that might have been ignored by Lord Gort in changing
our flag. I credit Mr. Flynn for his power of observation in raising this
important issue.
Is it far fetched for a reasonable person to conclude that Lord Gort
moved on his own merit in renegade fashion, without approval from
the crown or his superiors, in altering our traditional colors in violation
of the original 1940 GC royal proclamation by warranty? That his
conduct was subsequently approved by an amendment of the
Maltese Constitution in 1964, makes no difference in respect to the
question of legality or lack thereof, under which he might have acted
over his head at the time.
I appeal to lawyers who specialize in Malta's Constitutional law to
render a professional legal opinion on this very key point.
It's intention is not to commemorate King George.
There were two (not one) prime ministers who sat on their hands in relation to this issue; but let's not judge them too harshly. We must appreciate that generation was not born - free, they had to fight for freedom; and the scars on the wrists linger long after the handcuffs are shaken off.
The confidence of today's Malta did not spring forth overnight. It was desperately difficult at the start, there were many vital priorities. Too many factions had to be satisfied; maybe Malta needed a crutch.
But there is no excuse now. Malta stands free and strong and part of the EU. The new generations WERE born - free and their wrists were never scarred; thanks to those who walked before them.
The restoration of our Flag is an idea whose time has come. It's time!
As for who toyed with the idea that had the Brits not been here the Nazis would not have taken over Malta. Totally wrong, Hitler's troops were in north africa and needed supplies there, Malta would be in a very strategic point for Hitler to use, much better than Sicily itself. Would the Brits have bombed Malta if we were under Nazi rule ? Well assuming that the Nazi would not have wiped out half of the population on their own, I would think yes. You are stating the obvious I suppose. Hello this was WORLD WAR 2 not a little skirmish in some little Irish town where sheep thrive on the lush meadows.
What amazes me about your contributions is the lack of response on why we should hold the red and white flag once it was given by a foreigner ? Because of time ? Because according to someone there was VOID before ? So who filled the void ? A FOREIGNER not a Maltese?! Lets get rid of the red and white then, with your same argument.
Another one ...is it King George or St. George on the cross ?!?!?
Had this argument arose a couple or maybe a decade after the GC was put on the flag maybe it might have stood a chance to be removed from there. Decades have passed, the red and white flag with the GC on it is the flag the Maltese want because that is the flag they respect and know. Flynn is stuck in old Malta when the the GC was fresh on it...that time has passed. If its that time you can recall of Malta...well Malta has changed a bit since you left.
Well this brings me to the end of further contributions answering odd questions and out of time arguments.
Charles Theuma
Malta G.C.
I don't think we will every reconcile our positions about the cross.
Frankly, if all that worries them is the fact that the Maltese were not consulted, (I'm not sure of the details as to who took the decision and how), ....... then they have a point. A rather legalistic one .... but a point nonetheless.
However, that will not stop me believing that the cross should still appear on the flag.
Incidentally, (and if my memroy serves me well), even our Prime Minister through the 70's - 80's ..... a prime minister who seemed to want to do away with anything remotely linked to the period of colonisation ....... never made any attempt to change the flag. He changed the Coat of arms and virtually everything else on the island ...... but not the flag.
The whole argument is this... why should we carry, on our beloved National flag, an emblem which was constituted by a foreign monarchy? it just doesn't make sense! I shudder with shame when I remember how very short-sighted and submissive we are! Personally I dont value the George cross whatsoever because I my opinion, we didn't need a foreign king to tell us how brave we are, and whilst doing so, alienating us Maltese from other much more important matters concerning that era such as financial assistance to rebuild Malta. But leave my opinion out for the time being... if people wish to value that medal, then its place is in our Museum. You see, this is the whole principle, the whole argument revolves around THE MALTESE FLAG. If ever I had the opportunity to wave the Maltese flag infront of an international audience it would definitely be without that scar... it would be without the george cross... amen
I defer to you, Sir, to calculate the cost in human lives and dollars.
So, you see, Britain and Malta saved one other.
Mr Alex Ellul, the difference between Count Roger on one hand and King George VI plus Kofi Annan on the other, is centuries old tradition plus history. The good count beat them to it by 900 years!
Medal warrants describe in fine detail when, where and how people can, as you say "dangle their medals". It is forbidden to place the GC likeness on any flag without a proper warrant. This would need to be given by the Queen as King George Vl was never asked to provide it.
Finally, before someone attributes the GC to the dragon, the George Cross is indeed King George Vl's cross. On each corner around the circle one can clearly see a stylized GVl.
For a republic to have a flag showing anything attributable to any monarch, especially one of another country, is more than a tad contradictory, is it not?
Mr Theuma, you prejudge your fellow citizens because of their surnames or because they emigrated. Have you considered this is offensive to hundreds of thousands of Maltese people scattered all over the world; and that a proportion of those would be on YOUR side and who want the GC to REMAIN on the Flag? If you offend and lock out Mr Smith and me from voting because we live in another country; wouldn't you also be locking out those who are on your side? You are a loose cannon, Sir, and would do your cause a huge service if you think your arguments through properly.
On a lighter note, Mr Galea my surname is Irish not English; my great grandfather was Irish. I would advise you against referring to any Irishman as being English. They DON'T like it!
I wish to put on the record, I do have English friends. I have relatives who are as English as Devonshire Tea. I am not against the people of Britain but against racism and colonialism.
There is enough room in my heart to love both my mother countries; Malta my birth mother and Australia my adoptive mother. There, now it's all out there, let's go back to the facts.
This isn't about decoration, or surnames or where Maltese live. It's not about who saved whom from the Nazis. It is whether there is a defect and tort in the process of the defacement of our Flag and the justification or otherwise of the corruption of a 900 year old traditional Icon.
Let's calmly ask ourselves, who started it all? Did that person have permission from the people of Malta? Was he even Maltese? What process was followed?
The Royal Ulster Constabulary is the only other entity that got a collective GC; they didn't put the GC on their official R.P.C. Flag; they created another entity called The R.U.C. GC FOUNDATION; and to put the GC on that new entity's flag, they had to get a specific warrant from the Queen. Where is the warrant in our case?
I would have no problem with a Maltese GC Foundation/Association being set up and it having a GC on its flag. But NOT on the Nation's Flag. The Nation's Flag is in a special class of its own and above all medals.
No one had the right to change our Flag without the specific consent of the People of Malta - NO ONE! Foreigner or Maltese.
This needs to be put right and the choice properly and intelligently debated after clearly thought through consultation from both sides of the line in the sand. Then let the people decide.
To be sure Mr. Flynn has his own version of how the survey should have been conducted, and I defer to him with due respect, but I respectfully add one of my very own. A more appropriate wording would have been “How many favor a return of Malta’s traditional flag, which was unilaterally altered by Lord Gort with approval from the British colonial office, without consent from the duly elected Maltese government of the WWII period” – if not these precise words, then a variant of the question which avoids the appearance, if not hints of a real case of obfuscation.
Being grateful for the presentation of the GC for collective valor is one eminent proposition, desecrating our proud flag at a whim is yet another. How can our people in good conscious not care, about one person robbing them of their traditional flag, after a round of drinking gin tonic? I say keep the GC medal, but get rid of its emblem which continues to blemish our true identity, as befits a dignified people of an independent nation.
What Mr. Flynn enumerates as shortcomings in respect to the manner in which the poll was conducted barely scratches the surface. To what real aim was the TOM poll carried out? Was it an exercise in futility, in that it was worded with clever deliberation such as to show an overriding preference for retention of the GC, at the expense of a sizeable but less vocal group that is in opposition, and is equally disgruntled by matters as they now stand? If a serious poll must be undertaken, the TOM should seek professional help in carrying it out in fair and impartial ways, else it is not worth the effort. Better yet why not go for the jugular and ask “Would you favor a referendum for the retention or removal of the GC from the Maltese flag”?
Words fail me!
Chris Galea finished up with the same old rhetoric.... no Sir.. I am not proud of that part of our past. It brings shame to remember our submissiveness and the way we were exploited to the full. To add insult to injury they gave us a piece of metal which was then, without consultation with the Maltese, simply put on our beloved flag. Present situation: Our flag is defaced! As if we need a foreign king to tell us how much we had to endure. We suffered first and foremost because we were a foreign military base. Those are the hard facts!
So what about the locals who endured those hardships and stayed on to rebuild Malta rather than looking at their personal interests and flocking away ? Do they have a tad more right than you on this subject?
Everyone can quote his/her roots, but be careful how far you go because you might now even claim African citizenship since one day we all emerged from there. The fact is, passport or no passport, you will not have the right to vote in a referendum (or other elections for that matter) I hope you at least realise that you have to be a resident to do so.
As for the referendum on the Queen as head of state and the alleged derailment etc... For starters, losers will always cry fowl even when there isn't and secondly Mr. Flynn I would ask you not to count your chickens before they hatch.. if there will be another referendum about the head of state in Australia. We had a similar scenario here with the labour party being sure of a win only to find themselves relegated for yet another term.
As someone else mentioned, it is also amusing how your adoptive flag holds the British Flag on it as well. At least in Malta even before becoming a republic, never had the union jack on it.
And what about the language in Australia, isn't it funny, rather than use the aboriginal language you use English ! Of course I am saying all this, tongue in cheek, just to show how silly your arguments are about the GC on the Maltese flag.
You have been away from this country far too long to judge the sentiment of the Maltese about the GC based solely on letters by Mr. Grech and a handful of others. Rest assured, that the vast majority are proud, very proud to boast the GC (which is not King G, Mr Grech but St. Geroge!) on the Maltese flag. We are also proud, that Count Roger, a foreigner, gave us the red and white flag. We are also proud of our Roman Catholic state even if this was bestowed upon us by a foreigner.
I get the feeling that P. Flynn is uncomfortable with everything British, but if Mr Flynn could learn to live with his Anglo English name surely he could learn to live with the George Cross on our Flag.
Even though I do not share the same views as Mr Flynn I still think that Mr Flynn Has got the right to comment on the flag whether he pays taxes in Malta or not, keep in mind that our parents fought, made sacrafice and shed their blood for the flag, neather the flag or the George Cross where bought with tax payers money.
The flag belongs to all those who call themselves Maltese.
I would suggest that the people who respond with these usual clichés are just shocked.
It is not an agreeable thing to hear your fellow Maltese testing your sensitivities by saying your National Flag is not the True One; especially if that is all you have known all your life. You feel like lashing out. Believe me I understand, for I felt like that the first time I heard it.
I salute and congratulate you on the opposite side who want the GC on our Flag; for you are as patriotic in your belief as those who want it off. But please think it over carefully.
I had the luxury of leisure to search and find the truth and to test it with an open mind. I had the experience of living 20 years of my life under colonialism between 1943 and 1964. I can assure everyone that the GC didn't change a thing. With the aftermath of the war came the crushing disappointment at seeing our erstwhile enemies prosper while Malta begged and scraped for alms from our British Colonial masters.
It was not a huge mental leap for me to be patriotic to The True Flag; and still give the GC its proper dues. The True Flag is above and beyond all medals The GC represents one defining moment; but there were many defining moments in Malta's history. Every one, for the last nine centuries, is woven into that plain simple White and Red piece of cloth; our Nation’s all embracing standard; our universal supreme emblem embodying and transcending all Maltese bravery and patriotism – not just in one war but in all wars; and in peace as well.
The White and Red is our own Sacred Mantle; our unique, unifying, uplifting symbol into which a nine hundred year history – written and unwritten - is spiritually interwoven. It is our psyche; our ethos.
The restoration of Our Flag requires the support of the people and the Nation it nurtured.
I know many Maltese who would rather read a document in English even if they are fluent in Maltese. It is simply easier to read. Just stand outside a newsagent and see the ratio of people reading this paper as opposed to the Maltese ones. At my local shop in Marsascala it is about 5 to 1. He must read it or he wouldn't be replying to letters here.
Why don't you all stop squabbling and lobby your MP for a referendum on this issue.
But just supposing there is a vote in favour of keeping the George Cross? A truly democratic vote which wants to keep it?
Would the likes of Messrs Flynn, Galea, Vella-Zarb, Grech and Ms Bezzina accept the result?
Thankyou Malta, God Bless Malta!
I wonder what would have happened if - and this is no boast on behalf of the UK - Malta had come into the war due to its proximity to Italy and its strategic position as far as any interested foreign power was concerned?
“It is obvious that Mr. Flynn is a foreigner and does not know anything about Malta.”
Why is it obvious? Does Mr Theuma know who Mr Flynn is, or what is his background?
“Mr. Flynn is hysterical about the GC on the Maltese flag”
Really? Who is really being hysterical here? What adjective would Mr Theuma use to describe someone who flies off at a tangent, showering invective at another blogger, invoking matters that are totally irrelevant and extraneous to the subject, and completely disregarding the major point of the blog?
In this letter, Mr Flynn is not commenting on the defacement of our Flag by a foreigner who, arbitrarily, decided to affix a picture of a medal of his country onto the Flag of another, that was not his to tamper with.
What Mr Flynn is questioning in his letter is the validity or the relevance of the poll as set out in this site. The answer, to anyone who has done basic sampling theory, is that NO, it is NOT meaningful. The size of the sample in this case is immaterial because the sample is not necessarily representative of the population (in the context of ‘survey’). It merely represents the expressed opinion of those readers of this site who opted to vote. No more, no less.
Let me illustrate. Imagine running a similar poll asking the question “Should there be teaching about the Catholic religion in Public Schools?” Let us further imagine that this poll were to be run by L’Osservatore Romano or Famiglia Christiana. Easy question, no? Predictable answer, too.
But what if the same question were to be polled by the ‘Beijing Beano’, or the ‘Taliban Tattler’? The question, although identical, would most probably elicit results that are completely different. Why? Because the sample of the readers who would have responded to the poll would even not be representative of the total readership, let alone the entire population!
There is much more for a scientific survey to be meaningful than a website poll – although, to be fair, The Times has never made such a claim. All things considered, however, having more than 20% of respondents saying ‘No’ to the question that was put up on THIS particular site, is not a percentage to be sneezed at. It is not just a question of adding the ‘Yays’ and the ‘Nays’.
Incidentally isn't the courtesy flag also flown below the starboard spreader? ie: the same position you are referring to?
Time does not erase something (which you see as) "wrong". If that is so...then in a few hundred years we should accept the Maltese flag with GC on it. Your reasoning and conparisions are full of contradictions.
Flag by count roger = ok (because of time)
GC by British = no (because only 80 passed)
??????????????
It is a reminder and a remnant of British colonialism imposed on us by the departing colonialist power as is the English language in the Constitution which is costing us millions of Liri (now euros) to translate and publish our laws and the Government Gazette also in English.
If the UK and the rest of the world does not publish their laws in Maltese, why should we publish our laws and Government Gazette also in English?
Is this not also a remnant of colonialism and subservience to a foreign colonialist power?
As regards the George cross, I think that it stands for our forefathers being crucified on George's cross for serving the British empire (rip) where the sun used to never set.
Do you not know that the 'Pilot on Board' signal (flag 'H') is not flown at the masthead, the position of most importance? Like all other signals it is hoisted to a position of secondary importance, that is below the starboard spreader. No chance for you to be confused then - I hope!
But then, perhaps, when you see a vessel flying the signal 'Do Not Pass Ahead Of Me' (flag 'T'), you might also think that it is a French vessel that is flying its Ensign back to front!
Who knows? In this country, everything is possible!
"X" is the flag of Finland; the pennant of the number 4 is the flag of Denmark; the number 1 - the flag of Japan and number 8 – the flag of St George of England. There are others.
Furthermore, Nelson's famous signal, "England Expects etc" included four Finnish flags, three horizontal flags of France; and two white flags. Neither side of that naval battle mistakenly deciphered, or misunderstood that message in its context.
None of the nations whose flag represents another meaning in another context or maritime signal changed their Flag - Including the "8" Flag..er..sorry the Flag of St George of England. I would recommend Mr Camilleri refrain from telling England's football fans, many draped with the Flag of St George, that their flag is the number 8 flag next time England plays another nation!
Mr Ellul, the Pure White and Red is firstly the ancient Flag Of Malta, given to us in a moment of chivalrous noblesse oblige by Count Roger. It is a precious and unique bit of folklore or history, I am not qualified to say which.
Either way we had nine centuries to dump it Mr Ellul; we didn't, we kept it, we honoured it. I now know that there are enough of us who still look up to it that it shall never die.
No one has the right to change it; no prime minister, president, or parliament - and certainly no foreign governor - has ever had the right to change it That right belongs to you an me and all Maltese citizens. The people must have their say.
Getting a close look at the GC one notices that in fact there is St. George on it not King George.
I am in favour of having the cross on the Maltese flag. It truly tells the world what the flag represents...The country and its brave people. I would much rather we changed (erased actually) some mentality we had in the past by a large part of the population about integration with England.
Since Australia was brought into the picture......now that is a servile country...look at its flag...its doesn't have the GC with St. George on it...its got the British flag on it...
I for one have no wish for my country to be represented by a flag that would be mistaken for a maritime signal.
Far more importantly though I have, ever since I was a few years old, been regaled by stories of what my parents, grandparents and the rest of the Maltese population went through during WWII.
I am proud to see that their courage and determination has been recognised and through the GC on our flag, is displayed for the whole world to see!
Emmy Bezzina
Alpha Liberal Democratic Party
alpha@emmybezzina.org.
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I was born in Malta, I am third generation Maltese on my father's side, umpteen generations on my mother's. I was educated in Malta, worked in Malta, speak and write Maltese and the Maltese authorities haven't cancelled my Maltese passport yet. My family lost their home in the war, were in real and imminent danger many times, buried under bombed rubble presumed dead, strafed, blasted and bombed senseless - they deserved the GC and are immensely proud of it as I am. But not on our Flag!
I am just as Maltese as any Maltese.
Australia has just appointed a Governor General with the queen as the titular head of state.
It is widely believed that this will be the last governor general and Australia will become a republic before too long. Guess how I'll be voting in the next Australian republic referendum? Guess how I voted in the year 2000 Republic Referendum?
There are people far more effective, powerful and persuasive than I doing the job in Australia.
Until, this poll, I thought few people thought much about the Maltese Flag. Now I am beginning to believe there are thousands upon thousands. The vast majority of them will be better than I to continue the quest to restore our Traditional Mother Flag. Let them come forward.
I do believe that if this question were put in a referendum, the majority would vote to retain the GC, but one must keep in mind the limitations of online polls.
How do you explain the problem to the Maltese who do not speak English? They obviously will not read this newspaper.
Thousands of Maltese who do not speak English ? Hello, this is not 1942.
Do not read The Times? The Times is so widely read here in Malta that is can actually be repesentative in number for polls.
Mr. Flynn is hysterical about the GC on the Maltese flag, when the country he lives in still has the Bristish queen as head of state.. every time the Aussy government made a referendum about it, it always emerged that the Aussies want the British Monarchy to represent them as head of state. Now that to me is quite an item in comparison to the GC (which at the end of the day represents St. George and Gallantary)
At the end of the day I ask myself, let Norman Grech speak he is Maltese living in Malta, irrespective of whether I agree with him or not....but you Mr. Flynn....living in Australia, why not lobby for things closer to home. Like your head of state.