EU-Libya launch talks on wide-ranging agreement

Evarist Saliba

Sep 19th 2008, 12:11

With commentators more interested in Libya's colonial past (for which Malta is in no way responsible), or in who is to be called a terrorist (again not applicable to Malta, except that we did have a bomb explode on an Air Malta flight to Cairo), any Maltese negotiator with Libya on issues related to the activities in the sea between us, such as off-shore drilling for oil, and the mass movement of illegal migrants from Libya to Europe, which engages 75% of the activity of our armed forces, is bound to be disheartened.

What was the old motto? Malta first and foremost?

Jew Adam Dickey

Sep 18th 2008, 21:56

Ottoman Empire, in 1911, and ruled it until 1943. Tens of thousands of Libyans who resisted were killed, many more had their land confiscated and given to Italian settlers, and the country was run for Italy’s benefit, not that of its own people. Italy owes --
Libya got off lightly. Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea, Italy’s other African colonies, suffered far more from its rule, and are owed far more in compensation. But they have no oil, they are not close to Italy, and they are not going to get it.
If you calculate the amount owed by other former colonial powers at the same per capita rate as Italy did for Libya -- around 1,000 dollars per head of the ex-colony’s current population -- then France owes Algeria 30 billion dollars, the United States owes the Philippines 75 billions, and Britain owes India 1.1 trillions. But the victims’ heirs shouldn’t spend their money until they actually have it in their hands, and they shouldn’t hold their breaths while waiting. So it's important that we write to our government in class or a home we need to
input into the colonies and stop taking away fro it

Denis Catania@yahoo.com

Sep 18th 2008, 17:17

@Joe Vella: My political hat will stay on, right now it reads PN. But that doesn't mean I should put my political party in front of my country. I have always been a PN supporter but Maltese first.. If you open your eyes you would see this administration losing control.

Joe Vella

Sep 18th 2008, 10:19

@ V. Zammit

Sorry to budge in, but you might want to start with by looking at the Lockerbie tragedy.

Evarist Saliba

Sep 18th 2008, 09:18

@ V. Zammit
Is it so difficult for you to keep to the subject of the news item? I will not fall to your bait to distract attention from Malta's relations with Libya, and what these talks might, with a sense of realism, achieve.

V. Zammit

Sep 18th 2008, 02:39

@ Evarist Saliba
Is bombing civilian airplanes a terror act?
Then what about Libyan Arab Airlines 114?
Back to the 1970’s
On February 21, 1973, a Libyan Arab Airways Boeing 727 with 104 passengers was shot down by the Israeli Air Force. The aircraft was shot down by a pair of Israeli Air Force F-4E Phantom. Do you remember about this crash? How do you call this?
Few months ago


What about - How Israeli fighter pilots threatened to blast Tony Blair’s jet out of sky?
Mr. Tony Blair came within moments of being killed when two Israeli fighter aircraft threatened to shoot down a private-jet taking him to a Middle East conference in the belief that it might have been staging a terrorist attack and Hamas groups would pay for.

What do you call this act please?
Do you call a Palestinian that fight to get his stolen land back a terrorist?

Joe Vassallo

Sep 17th 2008, 21:17

@P Debono.
You need to get your history up to date - the MLP has not been in Govt since 1998, hence the issue has arisen during GonziPN's term in office. The same PN that spent years poking fun at Libya and at Gaddafi. So we are now in a position where the Nats have to beg for support from the same person who they belittled for so long. Have you forgotten the infamous comment made by a leading PN politician, that he would like to put Mintoff into a sack and send him to his (Mintoff's) "habbaziz" friend. At the same time, our Euro friends, the same people the Nats have been brown-nosing for the last years have left us all alone to face the music. Why? Becuase they do not respect the Maltese Govt. Where is Simon Busuttil today? he's no longer on TV every day, telling us what a paradise on earth Malta will be..
Regarding your comment about the Africans laughing and talking.... what's wrong with you? Are you angry that an African smiles, or has a mobile phone? Are they not human like you and me?

V. Zammit

Sep 17th 2008, 21:04

@ Evarist Saliba
How do you define terrisom please?

Joe Vella

Sep 17th 2008, 20:33

@ P. Debono

You make it sounds like as if Gonzi and Muscat are waving flags so the illegal immigrants come to Malta. I can guarantee you there is nothing more that Gonzi and Muscat would like to see to come to an end is the issue of illegal immigration.

With all due respect what it is wrong with these immigrants of an African nature, as you called them, to have new mobiles. I haven't seen or heard of any crime statistic that shows crim ein malta is any higher due to illegal activities by these immigrants. Many of them are doing work that many Maltese refuse to do either because the pay is not that great or because it is kind of a taboo to do, like garbage collection.

P Debono

Sep 17th 2008, 18:03

I'd like Mr. Gonzi and Mr. Muscat to take a short walk down from their pedestal and visit Valletta for once. I'd like them to stop near the gabbanas and count how many immigrants of an African nature there are sitting on the floors, shouting, laughing and talking to their African friends on their new mobiles.

Then I'd like them to see what the Maltese people think of the presence of these people in the most densely populated country in the EU. And I would like them to visit Libya with this frame of mind.

But sadly that will never happen. They will keep bowing their heads to Gaddafi's will as more Africans keep coming to Malta.

Joe Vella

Sep 17th 2008, 17:03

@ Denis Catania

With all due respect the Talks where between Libya and the EU. The talks were led by the French because at the present time France is in the Chair of EU Presidency. Malta choose to send observers to the talks because issues of direct concern to Malta where on the table; thus it was important for Maltese Diplomats to stay on top of these issues.

Can't you for once take off your political hat!

Evarist Saliba

Sep 17th 2008, 14:42

Good luck to the participants in these talks which should be approached with a sense of realism. For the sake of history:-a) Dr George Borg Olivier established diplomatic relations with Libya, opened an embassy there, appointed the first resident ambassador in Tripoli, and organised the first official visit by Malta's PM to Libya, as one of his diplomatic priorities.b) In spite of our friendship, and acknowledged financial help, Libya used its armed forces to stop Malta from drilling for oil in an area which Prime Minister Dom Mintoff considered as belonging to Malta. It took very long years for Libya to accept to refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice. c) By declaring the Gulf of Sirte as its internal waters, Libya denied Malta a vast area where it could conduct off-shore oil exploration. Prime Minister Mintoff, and the rest of the world, rejected this claim. Is the situation still the same?d) Our embassy in Tripoli was surrounded by hostile demonstrators when Fathi Sqaqi, the leader of a terrorist group, travelling on a Libyan passport, was killed by Mossad in Malta.

Libya has capable diplomats who can negotiate better relations with the EU, including Malta.

Denis Catania

Sep 17th 2008, 14:26

We had an observer. Do they ever let us do anything but observe?

Evarist Saliba

Sep 17th 2008, 14:25

Good luck to the participants in these talks which should be approached with a sense of realism. For the sake of history:-a) It was the government led by Dr George Borg Olivier which established diplomatic relations with Libya, opened an embassy there, appointed the first resident ambassador in Tripoli, and organised the first official visit by Malta's PM (Dr G.Borg Olivier) to Libya.b) In spite of our declared friendship, Libya used its armed forces to stop Malta from drilling for oil in an area which Prime Minister Dom Mintoff considered as belonging to Malta. It took very long years for Libya to accept to refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice. c) By declaring the Gulf of Sirte as its internal waters, Libya denied Malta a vast area where it could conduct off-shore oil exploration. Prime Minister Mintoff, together with  most of  the rest of the world, rejected this claim. Is the situation still the same?d) Libya's embassy in Malta has always been treated with respect, while our embassy in Tripoli was surrounded by hostile demonstrators when Fathi Sqaqi, the leader of Islamic Jihad, travelling on a Libyan passport,was

Edwin Formosa

Sep 17th 2008, 14:24

""So the foreign policies of the Mintoffian days are now being vindicated""" !!??OO

C. Borg

Sep 17th 2008, 13:14

By energy, do they mean nuclear energy?

L Galea

Sep 17th 2008, 11:11

Does it mean that they will take back all the illegal immigrants that we have here?

If so, I hope that we find no NGOs who try to stop the Maltese Government from sending them back to Libya.

Joseph Grech-Attard

Sep 17th 2008, 10:30

At last!! So the foreign policies of the Mintoffian days are now being vindicated, even by gonziPN! What a shame we let them out of our control and managed to sow racism, and at times hatred, to our Mediterranean neighbours of "habbaziz'. Nobody speaks of U-turns now? At least i firmly believe that such and similat U-turns are necessary and beneficial for our nation which still occupies a strategic importance in the Mediterranean and can help in the peace processes of North and South! Mintoff's policies still hold and shall continuje to do so.