Sunday, 26th October 2008
KMB picks up Gaddafi prize for Mintoff
Old friends: Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, Dom Mintoff and Libya. Photo: Jason Borg
Dom Mintoff yesterday sent Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici to pick up the Al-Gaddafi Prize for Human Rights in his stead, with a note of apology saying he was too sick to attend.
The former prime minister may be 92, but he can still lure crowds. Last night a packed hall waited with bated breath to see whether Mr Mintoff would be there in person.
Instead, Dr Mifsud Bonnici, his deputy in 1980 and eventual successor, read out a handwritten note from Mr Mintoff addressed to Ahmed Ben Balla, Algeria's first president and organising committee chairman.
The note read: "Dear comrade... my colleague (Dr Mifsud Bonnici) is familiar with my handwriting if you need help in understanding the letter. Please accept my apologies for my absence, but when you visited me (on Saturday at home) you had fresh evidence of my present state of health." Reading out his letter, Dr Mifsud Bonnici joked that it was not the first time he was deputising for Mr Mintoff: "I think it's my destiny to stand in for him."
A gilded frame of Mr Mintoff in his heyday stood high in the background, seemingly keeping a close eye on Dr Mifsud Bonnici while he received the medal and $250,000-prize to loud applause.
The prize, which in past years has been presented to Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro, and Hugo Chavez, was awarded to Mr Mintoff in "appreciation of his struggle for the independence of Malta".
It also acknowledged Mr Mintoff's endeavours to rid the Mediterranean of war fleets and nuclear weapons to make way for security, peace and prosperity.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici said Mr Mintoff planned to use the prize money to set up a fund to build and promote a global movement for peace.
"I never dreamt I would be asked to accept this award on his behalf, and on behalf of Malta," Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.
"I cannot praise his achievements enough, but if he were here he wouldn't have wanted me to do that. But, I cannot fail to remark that if there is one Maltese personality who has contributed to the building of the nation, then that person is Mintoff.
"He deserves our gratitude and I'm sorry to remark that we have been parsimonious and trivial in recognising his contribution. The award is recognising what we haven't," a visibly moved Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.
"Mintoff has been a controversial figure throughout his life, but this does not diminish what he has done, what he has striven to do, and what he has achieved."
Mr Mintoff was renowned for his relationship with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and last night's event at the San Ġorġ Corinthia Hotel, St Julian's, rekindled memories of the early days of friendship between the two countries.
At the top of the stairs to the conference hall stood a large, framed photo of Mr Gaddafi, rekindling memories for some of Mr Mintoff's Cabinet members - Alex Sceberras Trigona, Joe Grima and Daniel Micallef - who were present for the event.
Established in 1989, the prize is awarded to "international personalities, bodies or organisations that have distinctively contributed to rendering an outstanding human service, and achieved great actions in defending human rights, protecting the causes of freedom and supporting peace everywhere in the world".
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Comments
At least he managed to bring the NP on the leftwing! A hell of a good job, isn't it??
Which in no way absolves 'the donor' of his abysmal record where human rights are concerned or his total disregard of human life where the individuals concerned are perceived as obstacles to the attainment of his politocal goals. If malta and the rest of Europe are indeed scrabbling for his friendship as you claim, then that does not legitimise Gaddafi, rather it debases the countries concerned.
The fact that an increasing number of voters are now better able, and so are more prone, to evaluate the performance of the different political parties and then act accordingly, of course, is never taken into account by mlp and its supporters. Why consider reality, when any number of conspiracy theories can be blamed?
More accurately, he copped out before the full effect of his disasterous policies filtered down to the level of mlp voters and passed the baby to the completely clueless KMB.
This is one political party that likes to self destruct. As witnessed in the last general election, the majority seem to be quite fine with that.
Encore une foi.
so dark of them 2 except them!
@ Daphne Caruana Galizia - Mintoff might have caused some persons to depart, albeit I believe temporarily, from their beloved Labourite ideals but your contributions on the ever same note are causing readers either to ignore your contributions or not to read this paper at all. Like the man of his times but is now 'outdated', dear Ms Caruana Galizia, your intellectual contributions, elegant style and precise content are outdated too. Please spare us.
As former Prime Ministers of this country of ours - with all that we have achieved and been through - I think men like Dr. Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici and Dom Mintoff should be given some form of respect as I would expect everyone to respect Dr. Eddie Fenech Adami, Dr. Alfred Sant or Dr. Lawrence Gonzi.
We have been through a myriad of changes in our little islands and we have - against all odds - reached the position we are in - with all its good and bad - by our own hard work and despite the many harsh problems we caused each other and the challenges international issues have caused the world over.
Leading Malta through these last sixty years was difficult. Just look at the context in which certain decisions have been taken. I am sure that no politician likes to take unpopular decisions as he/she depends on the people for the tenure of office.
Desparaging comments do nothing but instill further divisiveness when we cannot afford any.
All against one soul, who is now frail and old.
Yes: this sad state of affairs can be traced back to the 60s when the Church split the nation into the interdicted and those who weren't. But no one ever writes with such hatred against the Church for having sown so many seeds of shame. That would be too much, wouldn't it? We are a nation of cowards.
The 70s upto 1987 were revengeful. From 1987 to date we haven't made one inch of progress. Only the bombs and the state-sponsored beatings have (presumably) stopped. To this day we still don't know who killed Karen Grech and Raymond Caruana.
Ultimately we will reap what we sow. Our children reading this hatred will only continue our legacy - some of the people commenting are not interested in recounting facts. The vitriolic twist in their tail against a human being is quite evident. Hopefully your children will read these comments and make you feel ashamed.
Your problem would have been solved had you implored and managed to convince Dr. L.Gonzi to be more singular and more Nationalist when he decided to shame us all viv a vis the illegal immigrants - volontary agreement reached recently.
An Internet search for the Al-Gaddafi Prize for Human Rights reveals the extent of international recognition enjoyed by Ghaddafi’s award - Nothing. Ghaddafi’s award is a worthless sham, and it is appropriate that Mintoff is a recipient.
And please, stop asking about the legitimacy of the donor of the prize since nowdays he is the man, we as a country and all Europe, are trying to befriend more than ever! Is Europe going mad then?
But locally he was a divisive person unfortunately, though he must be credited with giant social reforms. But that is that. He was not modern and I think he had a distaste for technology and computers, lest they 'make people redundant'. Imagine where that would have led us today.
But credit to him also, he withdrew peacefully, unlike some other 'authoritarian' rulers.
All in all, I express cautious admiration.
Maybe you, Joanne Micallef, should tell us, we should all like to know what it is that you consider justified the attempt at muzzling the free press and the burning of an office building - especially when the employees are still inside. An act flagrantly condoned by those then in government.
I do not doubt that mistakes were done, but do you think that no one was ever harmed in the past by the Nationalists? What if you tried to get married and you weren't allowed cause you were a labour supporter? What if you went to talk to a priest and the first question he would ask is: Are you a labour or nationalist supporter? and if you reply labour, that's it conversation is over!! I don't remember the Nationalists trying to stop these things.
Can you recall anything positive which Mintoff did for this country? Let's be fair to history.
You said it, Mintoff 'demanded' respect - and, one may add, at any cost. However, 'respect' is something that is earned. Demanding respect inevitably ends up in not getting any - as is clearly demonstrated by the comments posted on this board by persons whose perception is unhindered by the wearing of rose-tinted specs.
I ask you this question:
If it wasn't for Mintoff would you have had the right to vote??
I am not saying that no mistakes were committed but I think it's not right to choose bits and pieces of one's administration. By the way I just mentioned one positive aspect of Mintoff's contribution to our country which might have directly affected you. Lets be fair.
Interesting, why are you supporting PN now?
All the things you mention would have come about anyway, they all only came about because Malta was being dragged along in the wake of developments in the western world, at a time Mintoff was looking for inspiration to Red China and to North Korea.
So absolutely no thanks to Mintoff on the list you set out and, incidentally, votes for women were introduced by Sir Paul Boffa - a man who still commands respect across the political spectrum, unlike Mintoff who does not - and who never will.
What you are saying is true. A good proportion of the people suffered under Mintoff especially in the late 80s.
However another half of the nation suffered also because of the PN, when the archbishop Gonzi divided Malta in half.
However what Mintoff managed to achieve for the country cannot be forgotten.
The only truth is that after Mintoff left the MLP, they never managed to make a 5 year term in government.
If there is a person from the MLP who has to be ashmed of himself is Dr Sant. He tried to remove Mintoff from the history of Malta and MLP. If there is a person who failed as leader of the MLP and Malta was Dr Sant the guy who called Mintoff a traitor.
We now all hate Mintoff and we believe that he never did ANYTHING positive for Malta...
He has no legacy, and is a monster who eats new born babies....
My oh my.....In case you've opened the Champaigne bottles, dear ms. objective Mallia..I was kidding....
Amanda Mallia, don't make us laugh, please!
So, how do you claim that Mintoff built Malta 'out of nothing". The fact is that what Mintoff actually did was to paralyse the economy, kill off all private iniative, eventually turning Malta into a beggar state.
What the MLP very badly needs is to set up a crash course to teach its apologists the basics of presenting an argument.
What's all this fuss? Mintoff did what European Governments are doing today when their banks are in the same situation.
Like you said, the 'newspapers' case was taken to court and the court decided in favour of plaintiff, this was because the courts then functioned without political or direct government interference.
In Mintoff's time, the judge would have been transferred to other duties on the first inkling that the verdict could go against government as had, in fact, happened in at least one particular case.
Mr. Mintoff through his years in politics as a leader of a left-wing party and as a Prime Minister strived to peruse those above mentioned principles, for better and for worse. Let’s bear in mind the times which he served. These were the years of the Cold War and super power state global politics, obviously all contrary to present day interdependency and globalization which is anathema to a true nationalist socialist of the likes of Mr. Mintoff.
Surely only he can be called a man of his times.
Both were born out of what were originally profitable PRIVATE companies. Try reading this, for a start, which concerns the "birth" of BOV, ie the National Bank of Malta being TAKEN, for nothing, from its owners:
http://user.orbit.net.mt/fournier/MNnational_bank_scandal.htm
Why are you so upset that Mintoff iscalled a dictator? He has been called worst things - and not by the Nationalists. A former prime minister once called him a traitor. Does that make you as indignant?
Stop trying to be funny. It is pretty clear that yours is a reference to the current "surcharge debate", however I choose to ignore your lame joke.
You obviously did not live in or around Sliema in the 1970s and 1980s. You could have tried "switching the lights on at home"; whether or not there was any electricity was another story altogether.
Sliema, as any people who lived there in those days know, was the prime target for power cuts - Not to mention the dire lack of water in our pipes, of course.
The dark days..ha ha.....they were so because of terrorist activity against government interests and those people working for the benefit of the nation. Do you remember Karen Grech and all the other bombi? I do. And why? - because her father was a doctor helping the government provide free healthcare for all?
And the sixties......nies midfuna fil-mizbla on the orders Archbishop Gonzi......Shouldn't the Prime Minister apologise for the deeds of his close relative.
If Gonzi was just a quarter man that Mintoff was we would not be in such problems today.
This letter sums it up, as I am sure many others probably do:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080912/opinion/living-a-17-year-nightmare
Here's another link you might (not?) enjoy:
http://user.orbit.net.mt/fournier/MNnational_bank_scandal.htm
In case you don't have the patience to read it, here's a choice quote from it, said by none other than your hero (Mintoff) himself:
“Jiena nitnejjek mill-Kostituzzjoni" (I couldn't give a damn of the constitution) - Dom Mintoff 1973
For good measure, I'm repeating what he said once again:
"JIENA NITNEJJEK MILL-KOSTITUZZJONI" - That just about sums him up, doesn't it?
Would you like to retract your words that people are "denigrating Mintoff"?
As for your comment about the Labour newspapers -Well, at least they were printed and distributed freely. The same could not be said of independent newspapers in Labour days.
Stop trying to dredge up the past and dig up imaginary dirt. Nothing, NOTHING will ever justify the harm Mintoff caused. Then again, people of your ilk would never admit that.
Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
Mahatma Gandhi
Thank you Dom Mintoff for being a leader that put all subsequent leaders in the shade.
It is a pity that some of your sons and daughters are not intellegent enough to recognise your achievments for our Nation.
Yet in our hearts we all know that Malta never had as true a leader as you.
From a contribution here: ."Dr Mifsud Bonnici said Mr Mintoff planned to use the prize money to set up a fund to build and promote a global movement for peace." - Plausible indeed, but unbelievable, coming from somebody who sowed so much hatred when in his prime "
Hatred? The most glaring example of class hatred in this country is incapsulated in a couple of well known right-wing columnists who pollute the pages of the English-language press every week. What about political hatred and retribution today, in October 2008. We see it, feel it. and we try to fight it against immense odds. Perhaps, to right wing columnists and their ilk, that is justifiable. Is it?
My mesage to the hatemongers in our society: Enjoy the moment. As Eddie Fenech Adami used to say addressing the Labour Governent that I served in, " This Government has to fall either at the next election , or before". It took me a long time to fathom what a presumed democrat meant with those ending words. Now I know. Eddie's words are as valid today as they were then.
Quite simple really: rude words would not be shown here.
Then I will take up your suggestion and ask you.
What possible reason could ever justify a hoard of charging men, breaking into The Times, trying to destroy it, and setting it alight with people inside?
And while you are at it you might also oblige me by giving the reason which would justify the hoard's atrocious attack on the Curia?
@ Ms Helene Asciak – Whilst I do not condone those actions one must not be superficial and simply stop there, instead one must ask what were the reasons behind the uprising that took place in those days?
@ Mr Michael A. Vella - Montoff was not the one who divided this Nation.
I hope that Dr Joseph Muscat will keep with his original idea of filming a documentary about the history of the Malta Labour Party, like that all those who wish to see and hear the other side of the story when it comes to this Nation’s history will finally have the opportunity to do so. This Nation has gone through many hardships, both our major political parties have forged this Nation in one way or another, it is a shame that to date there isn’t a proper documentary that simply focuses on documenting the facts without transcending into partisan propaganda.
This is a continuation of my previous entry BLACK MONDAY since I had exceeded the 200 word count limit ....
If Mintoff were still PM would we own computers to blog on?
I wonder whether would we all be gathered around a contraband PC entertaining ourselves, without even the option of an internet connection, whilst fearing that it might be confiscated and who knows what other consequences?
Now carry on blogging on your own personal computers, in the comfort of your own homes, with wireless internet connection, to a newspaper which is standing and not burnt to the ground.
"Out of nothing, Mintoff managed to build Malta. By that time we were, and actually still, the dustbin of what’s known now as the EU."
If you suffer from an inferiority complex, please do not share it with us. Even in the '60's when we were still a young independent state, the economy was already moving forward. The Maltese have always been an intelligent, sharp-witted people.
@Mr Camilleri
" Careful how you mention our BELOVED EX PRIME MINISTER there was no one like him and Malta will never have someone like. ....He was one of the GREATEST LEADERS of THE WORLD "
@dusty Williams
"he was the one who made university for all"
ROFL - he did one better: he dismantled the university, created a rubbish institution, and sold it to the yobs as though it were university. University was always free in Malta. But before Mintoff had his way (and the stupid Nats had theirs) it was actually a place of learning and not a place for a bunch of teens and twenties to get paid for doing sweet FA
Share those money with those whom your policies destroyed.
Had it not been for Mintoff the working class would still be living like slaves, although presently with the Nationalist Government and eu dictatorship we went back to the dark ages by being a colony dictated to by unelected Brussels petty dictators.
Achievements by Labour Governments are too numerous to mention, but just a few reminders to those who want us to forget.
Minimum wage
Cost of living increases
Bonuses
40-hour week
Two-thirds Pension
Vote at 18
Votes for women
Equal pay for women
Schools and day-long schooling
Technical Schools
Parastatal companies that used to contribute millions to Malta's coffer
Ridding us of foreign military bases
True independence and freedom with a Republic instead of a foreign monarchy
Our own currency
And all this while constantly being undermined by the Nationalist Party who even went to companies in other countries encouraging them to close down their factories in Malta.
Remember the Malta File?
Whatever you do you cannot erase or change history.
Mintoff was one of the best leaders that Malta ever had.
Wikipedia : BLACK MONDAY
" Black Monday, Malta, 15 October 1979 – the offices of the The Times of Malta were set on fire during a political rally. It was also on this day that supporters of the Malta Labour Party broke into the house of Dr. Edward Fenech Adami."
Wikipedia: The Times (Malta)
"...when arsonists burned the building down on October 15, 1979. That date came to be known as Black Monday. In the face of serious danger, the editor and his staff had to abandon the building and go over another press in the island, Independence Press, where they started work all over again. The paper was out on the street as usual the following morning, reduced in size but a triumph for freedom of expression"
The truth hurts my friend! I ask you 1 question. I dont think you know enough! Read more ...
I dont think you know what I'm talking about ...
To all the women posting hereunder - If it wasn't Mintoff you wouldn't even have the right to vote and the PN was against women vote at the time. you wouldn't even have children's allowance, maternity leave, free schools for your children and free health services to all. And he was able to achieve this also with the financial aid from Libya.
To all those who try to quote history only from the 80s onwards - The political split in this country came way before the 80s and it came along thanks to the beloved uncle of our present PM.
Mintoff is truly the father of our beloved country.
For he was a true Maltese and a Nationalist in all its senses. He did not fight for Malta to become independent to then in later stage sell out to to a baseless European vision.
If he was here today he may have agreed with Malta joining the EU but surely conditions would have been negotiated - perhaps keeping Libya in mind too..............
He was not perfect (far from perfect I would dare say myself before the "that's an understatement" choir starts belting out their usual number), and yes he had his faults, but
yes, he did rid Malta of poverty
yes, he did elevate the worker to give him (some) dignity and
yes, he gave the common man a fair chance to make it in life whether you were the sons/ daughters of a welder, dustman, lawyer or doctor.
and no.... I don't remember any of you ever flushing your children's allowance and pension cheques down the toilet.
If Mintoff were to feel ashamed of some aspects of his premiership, equally you should feel ashamed of demonising him without at least acknowledging the fact that he took this nation out of the dumps and the grips of poverty.
What was the alternative in 1971? Borg Olivier & Co? Mass emigration? Hallina minkom l-ahwa....
I am 49 years old and have revered Mintoff since I was 13 . I'm old enough to appreciate that if it weren't for him, our population , even those who boast of their impeccable pedigree , would to-date still be licking British boots. Maltese people who are younger have had it very good (except for going without Mars and Pepsodent) and so cannot possibly appreciate the lot of the working classes before Mintoff . People like me will always ignore their biased comments against Mintoff .
Nationalists forget today, that they would not have come to power in 1987 if Mintoff hadn't deliberately chosen to alter the rules of the political game in 1981. It was Mintoff's name that the Nats. chanted outside Castille when they won the 1987 election .
Unfortunately for Malta there has never been a leader with the vision of Mintoff .
To me all those who came after him were presumptuous yes, but definitely nondescript .
"many of them (MLP supporters)were also buried in the rubbish dump ( mizbla ) for supporting such a party."
The 'mizbla was not a rubbish dump as the labourites would have us believe. it was a burial place like any other with the difference that it was not consecrated ground. The church has since apologised for its actions. When is the great leader Mintoff going to apologise for HIS wrongdoings? I know he was regarded as a god in his time(before he turned into a 'traitor' overnight) but he must have done somethings wrong in his day.
Is this a joke?
I have no doubt that Mintoff did some good for Malta but that his administration was not the saintly lot they are made out to be.
Wise old Il Perit remians silent, letting it all go over his head. But such a figure would not venture to suggest he was perfect, because he knows that all politicians bear some element of guilt for those things which did not perhaps go according to plan as well as justified pride for those things which did benefit the people equally.
He was presiding at the time of the BICAL scandal for instance. Why did his administration not step in to prevent the unjust imprisonment of those involved and since cleared? Just one example out of many!
You can’t pick & choose with history, and once you start talking about the 80s, it’s inevitable that we respond by talking about the 60s.
What is so daft in referring to the 60s?
Is it perhaps because you are one of those who still believe that Labourites have no right to be buried in consecrated ground?
Or that they should not have the right to be married in front of the alter, not the sacristy?
Or that they should not have the right for a job?
Talk to people who lived the 60s to see what hatred was sowed against Mintoff in those days.
And who said something about not being able to read the papers you wanted? Most of us still remember Pawlu Borg Olivier, as Minister of Health banning Labour papers from government hospitals. He was taken to court lost and kept going up to the privy council, wasting tax payers' money where he lost again.
And what about the Nats being allied to the curia monsinjuri in making it a sin to vote labour.
No we have not forgotten.
People of my generation and older, Mr Zammit, DO NOT need to read about KMB and Mintoff. We remember what they did to ruin many of us, having experienced the effects of their so-called leadership first-hand.
Not all of us are ignorant, adoring fans, blinded by hatred for people who we consider to be better than ourselves,as many here seem to be.
You had a good argument why did you have to spoil it with the HONEY bit
Please don't open a can of worms, because I am sure that - with all the people willing to contribute - the moderator of timesofmalta.com would be working day and night on this (non) news item alone.
Which one of LG's uncles was ever Prime Minister?
As Dom Mintoff stated in Parliament in what was to be his parting shot - "Ma nhaltghux il-hass mal qarabghali."
our nation has never been divided as much as it is to day. You know what made me laugh yesterday is when I met an old friend who happens to be a PN supporter and she told me that she spent all hot summer with the airconditioner turned off because of electricity surcharge.
WELL DONE PERIT and i am proud to be a Mintoff supporter and a big thanks to KMB for the nice words he said about Mr Mintoff.
How true. Let us hope not.
"He was one of the GREATEST LEADERS of THE WORLD"
Must be a pretty small world that T.B. lives in.
"... and the prize he won now is enough to see HOW GREAT this Person is. "
TB, very evidently, you have no clue as to Gaddafi's savage reaction to the recent arrest of one of his sons by the police in Switzerland, an arrest that was fully justified.
On that score alone, any person with the minutest vestige of decency would have refused 'the prize' and would have publicly stated his reasons for so doing.
TB you may have been blinded by the shiny plate and the money - but to Malta and the Maltese it was a day of shame.
""He deserves our gratitude and I'm sorry to remark that we have been parsimonious and trivial in recognising his contribution. The award is recognising what we haven't," a visibly moved Dr Mifsud Bonnici said." - KMB, not all of us have got rose-tinted specs on like the ones you seem to have had on for more than the last two decades. Gratitude? You must be joking? Gratitude for what he did to Malta and to so many individuals in his heyday? Some of us know better, honey.
"Mintoff has been a controversial figure throughout his life" - You can say that again. that is yet another hell of an understatement.
"A gilded frame of Mr Mintoff in his heyday ..." - I could think of far worse images of Mintoff in his heyday. 1970s footage would probably have been more appropriate.
"he received the medal and $250,000-prize to loud applause." - Ignorance knows no bounds!
"Dr Mifsud Bonnici said Mr Mintoff planned to use the prize money to set up a fund to build and promote a global movement for peace." - Plausible indeed, but unbelievable, coming from somebody who sowed so much hatred when in his prime . Trying to redeem himself with - and compensating (partially, at least) - the many he ruined in his heyday would have been more fitting.
'Splitting' of the nation is the correct term.
Yep! That would certainly have made Ben Bella' day.
"Yesterday it was a great manifestation for the MINTOFFJANI."
That just about sums it up - it was a great event for mintoffjani, but not for anybody else. That event was an insult to all who have suffered and striven, and who still do so for the full observance of human rights. It is only the blinkered mintoffian minority who find delight in such circus acts to which KMB was a fitting ring-master.
Out of nothing, Mintoff manage to build Malta. By that time we were, and actually still, the dustbin of what’s known now as the EU. If it wasn’t for Libyan financial aid to Malta, probably things would have been much shoddier. Obviously, young people don’t recall this. While the Media is demonizing Libya and Libyans in Malta.
History repeats itself.
Today, our NAT government is following the same steps Mintoff made decades ago. Maintaining good relations with both China and Libya were the very first diplomatic relations independent-Malta had with outside world!
With China to gain global support and with Libya to get financial aid.
Only to those who read history correctly, we should never let our disliking of leaders (Col. Gaddafi, Dr. KMB, Mintoff) ignore facts on the ground.
Manwel Dimech is the man of the 19th century Malta and Mintoff is UNDOUBTEDLY the man of the 20th century Malta.
Unfortunately we have not historians that write our recent past history without blinkers.
Awguri Perit
Clean up your act man!!! I don`t need anyone to remind me...those days are imprinted in my mind...and they were really DARK!!!
Apologies ,if any,serve as a lame excuse! Surely you know that much!!!
What a daft comparison you chose to make re 60`s!
Unfortunately for him and us, his last years where not of a good example..
But the way he fought the British, the way he build up a social welfare system which was really needed in those days and the foreign investment he got to our country, is something which we cannot forget.
If today he was Prime Minister we surely would have got an obligatory burden sharing from the EU on illegal immigration and not a voluntary one.
Surely Malta will have a much better relationship with Libya and China which are the future when it comes to investment.
Europe is becoming the home for the lazy, illegal immigrants, and Bureaucracy where those who want to work in peace have to go and work outside the EU.
Both our major political parties have a DARK and shameful past, and it is important that we never forget ALL that our past generations had to go through, remembering only one side of our history means condoning the injustices that took place by the hands of that one party.
Comic relief
"Yesterday it was a great manifestation for the MINTOFFJANI."
Yep , that statement says it all. You guys were never for Malta but for Mintoff. (PS what's a manifestation? did some miracle occur?)
@Carmen Caruana
" Socialism is alive and kicking, we were right on many issues and now that the system is failing we are on the winning side,"
Really? I don't see Russia turning Communist, I don't see China going back to the old ways. On the other hand I see a lot of starving Zimbabweans thanks to one of Mintoff's great and close friends Mugabe. But then again, its not Mugabe's fault, its all Britain's fault. Echoes of the past maybe?
@Jeremy Camilleri
" Ouch.....it hurts them so,.....Well done Perit!!!!"
Why would it hurt me? If anything it would hurt the Libyans. Its their money Gaddafi is dishing around, not mine. It's no surprising that Gaddafi and he are pals, so why should they not pat each other on the back.
Now if Mintoff got the Nobel prize for ridding the world of Nuclear armaments.. lol...
Apart from the bad things you say about this hard working man yes the man who re-structured Malta after the fracas left by the Borg Olivier era - he was the one who made university for all, built schools for everyone and made it obligatory and free, introduced children's allowance etc etc he gave your mother the right to vote, you call that undemocratic?
Dark Days what? Have your Mama & Papa told you what Malta was going through in the 60's?
Look my brother better be quiet, at least our current leader had the decency to apologize to those who were hurt during those "Dark Ages" unlike your PM who we're still waiting his apology on behalf of his dear uncle.
...and our beloved leader of the opposition's too i would presume!
Actually it doesn't hurt that much, considering that it takes 'one' to pick 'one', just relieved that these guys form part of or PAST.... and sometimes these occasions remind us all and teach the younger generations that these were the Darkest PAST of which some, unfortunately have some reminiscence
Unfortunately this feeling was also triggered a few days ago when Alex was sitting near Joseph coming back from Libya!!
Exactly. Congratulations Perit
Ps..Still waiting for the results of our beloved President's visit to Libya...
Security, peace and prosperity - except in our own country.
2. 'I never dreamt I would be asked to accept this award on his behalf, and on behalf of Malta.'
On behalf of Malta? Certainly not on MY behalf. What a ventriloquist this man is!
3. '...one Maltese personality who has contributed to the building of the nation...' A divided nation, he meant, I think.
What a veritable charade!
We still love our Maltese Comandante, who brought this country to its success. Now some rightists are destroying everything.
Socialism is alive and kicking, we were right on many issues and now that the system is failing we are on the winning side, it's a pity that it's always the working class that suffers.
Long live Mintoff and all our comrades!!
I'm also visibly moved. Makes me want to grab my handkerchief as tears are starting to roll down my eyes.... with laughter...