Monday, 30th March 2009 - 19:59CET
Muscat heralds 'new awakening' for Malta at Freedom Day commemoration
Calls for single, unifying National Day
Labour leader Joseph Muscat this evening paid tribute to the leaders who had realised the dream of the Maltese for freedom, and said their spirit and ideals were being rekindled through the awakening of a new generation.
Dr Muscat was speaking at a PL mass meeting held under umbrellas at the foot of the Freedom Monument in Vittoriosa.
He spoke of the courage of those who decided that Malta should, and could, be free. There was a lot of scaremongering at the time, he said, but the will of the son of a British services cook - Dom Mintoff, prevailed At just 33 years old Mr Mintoff had gone into government, swimming against the current, and he brought about the freedom which earlier generations could only dream about. And now Mr Mintoff was back with the crowd at Vittoriosa, where that dream had come true, Dr Muscat said to applause.
Dr Muscat said that he was only five years old at the time, and had followed proceedings on television. He was now proud to lead the celebration of this treasured achievement. As the son of the Republican generation, he could declare that the time had come for a new awakening by the people, who should appreciate the hardship of their forefathers to set a new course for Malta.
The spirit of Mikiel Anton Vassalli, Manwel Dimech and the first progressive movement was being rekindled. One could only move forward in full acknowledgment of the past. The time had come to forget divisions. The milestones of Malta's history were all important for the country - September 8; the riots of June 7, 1919, the achievement of Independence, the declaration of the Republic and Freedom Day made Malta a nation. All should be respected and celebrated, but there should be a proper debate to have a single, unifying, National Day, as political maturity demanded.
He was sure unity would be further promoted with the appointment of George Abela as President of all the Maltese, and he wished him and his family well.
Dr Muscat said the dream of the Maltese needed to be given new life within the reality of the EU. The Maltese needed to start believing once more in the ideals which united them. People should no longer be judged on the basis of their backgrounds. A free Malta meant a country which gave the same education, opportunities, equal and free medical care and job opportunities to all. A free Malta did not mean having an administration which hindered private initiative through bureaucracy and high costs of business. It was a country where consumers enjoyed their rights, where the environment was truly safeguarded not taken by speculators.
A free Malta acknowledged the problems of the Mediterranean, many of them created by the forces which also colonised Malta.Malta was ready to play its part for peace and prosperity in the region, but it could not carry more than it could. In illegal immigration, Malta could not give from what it did not have. And if help was not forthcoming, Malta should be prepared to fight for its rights. "We need to be firm with the foreigners, without shame, fear or rest."
Malta needed to shed its inferiority complex, Dr Muscat said.
The Labour leader said the new movement which Labour was leading would show the people that it would welcome back those who were returning or joining it for the first time. They had to show they had the ideas and the will to lead the country.
Free Malta needed to look to the future with confidence that it could be the best in Europe, formed of people of different beliefs who worked together.
Dr Muscat concluded his speech with the cry: Viva Malta Indipendenti, Viva Malta Repubblika, Viva Malta Hielsa u Maghquda..
Earlier, PL deputy leader Toni Abela said this Freedom Day was particularly significant because the current problem of illegal immigration was an opportunity for the government to exercise its political freedom and to take a stand in the EU on the issue.
Malta was in the EU to stay, but now that it was in the same boat as other countries in the EU, all had to pull at the oars. Malta rightly expected solidarity from the EU and the government should take a firm stand to demand its rights. Malta would otherwise not be respected but would be seen as weak.
In this special day, the government needed to shed its inferiority complex in its dealings with other countries and show the sort of courage which the Labour government showed in 1975 when it held up the CSCE Helsinki conference until it got what it was demanding.
Deputy leader Anglu Farrugia criticised the government over a deterioration in the state of public finances and living standards, including growing hospital waiting lists, rising prices and unemployment, saying this situation was threatening Malta’s freedom.
Dr Muscat then led the laying of flowers on the Freedom Monument.
Former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff was in the crowd for yesterday's celebration, his first appearance at the ceremony for many years.
PN REACTION
The Nationalist Party in a reaction said Dr Muscat's speech was anchored to the past with no vision for the future. It said the Labour leader had failed to make concrete proposals to help Malta overcome the challenges it was facing.
He had spoken of a new awakening, without explaining what he meant.. He had already promised a new beginning, but he refused pairing and said no or was skeptical of the reforms the government had launched, including those of local government, MEPA, public transport and the shipyards privatisation.
He had also spoken of national unity, and then he had local councils join Labour Party activities, the PN said.
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Comments
I know enough economics to understand that private enterprise is what drives successful forward looking economies. Even China realised that ! Banks are being nationalised as a temporary measure and not because private banks are a failure.
It almost seems like you will only be too pleased to see this happen all over again in Malta. Well keep dreaming cos it ain't.
As for being sour and negative, mention one instant where I wrote an untruth !
History shames the MLP, and people like you are only too happy to have us forget.
@Mr.Forte: A, for the record, I was born in 1957. B, the crown on your uniform lapel was worn by a Maltese regiment not a British one. C, the flag of Malta was not the Union Jack. D, the British kept us back because people like you obviously supported Mintoff who favoured integration with the Anglos rather than independence. One thing I credit Mintoff for. He was a very smart cookie who duped many, including yourself. No wonder they called him 'Il-Kbir'!
@Peter Bonnici: I suggest you study history well and read about the two sides of the coin. Moreover, I suggest you learn some economics. Just to remind you that many countries are nationalising their banks and enterprises as they are in crisis to save them. Compare now and then!! Being a petty partisan one track minded won't lead you anywhere.
@Battistino: The PN was given a choice which they refused. So the NO PAIRING was inevitable and appropriate. We can't have a government to roll over everyone as a bulldozer. You are worried about the no pairing as you know that the PN is cracked and divided and is on the brink of collapsing. If you go back in time read some PN history on pairing too while you are it.
Ser nispjega ghala ghandu jkun hekk fl-oppinjoni tieghi. Ghahna l-insara dejjem gejna mghalma li Alla Huwa Tlett persuni f'wiehed( il-Missier, L-Iben u L-Ispirtu Santu)
Bl-istess hsieb nistghu nuzawh biex lill pajjizna nzommuh mghaqud ghall inqas darba fis-sena jiccelibra flimien festa wahda. Ghandna t-8 ta' Settembru ( Jum il-qawmien), 21ta' Settembru ( L-ewwel pass ghal Helsien totali ) u 31 ta' Marzu ( l-ahhar pass ghal Helsien totali ) jibqu festi publici . 13 ta' Dicembru hija l-uninka festa li mill-Parlament ghaddiet kwazi unanima jigfiri aktar minn zewg terzi tal-Parlamentari maltin, ghalhekk nippretendi li dan il-Jum ghandu jkun l-uniku Jum Nazzjonali.
You have conveniently observed just a tiny fraction of the agreement you mentioned. In 1971/72 the Mintoff government rejected an agreement by which the money given to Malta by Great Britain was partly in a form of grants (which Mintoff compared to charity from the strong to the weak) and, mostly, loans which the Maltese government had to repay with interest!
The rest of your comment shows that freedom from foreign occupation is something which we all want and enjoy.
@ Mario Gellel. Freedom to speak was granted after 1987 when YOU and I were able to apply for a TV and Radio licence. Before that you were thrown in jail, or had your printing press burned down ! REMEMBER 1979?
@ G Schembri. Police Commissioner De Gray was not Foreign!! even though it may sound like it. He may have been the first Maltese commissioner, i don't know ,but was installed in the 60's if i'm not mistaken. Then again I would rather have a foreign commissioner than a maltese who is accused and found guilty of MURDER at Police HQ !! Wouldn't you?
@Michael Neville Cassar. Cheeky perhaps, but faithful to the truth. If Mintoff introduced social assistance, then the PN bettered it. (A bit too much in fact). But robbing Peter to pay Paul is no basis for an economy, and thats what mlp goverments did. Taking over private banks, property, nationalising telecommunication.
Borg Olivier's government acquired statehood for Malta. At the same time the British and NATO were allowed to remain here and use this country for their own benefit. Malta still had extensive areas of its territory under the direct control of the British military. Malta was not accepted in NATO. Many Maltese people still had a servile attitude - convinced that they were somehow less than the British and the other "Western" powers and they had to "obey" them and the church.
The legal status of independence was there but Malta was still largely dependent (politically and economically) on the presence of foreign military forces. Mintoff's government during the 1970s ensured that Malta became a truly independent country by gradually freeing all its territory from foreign control and freeing the minds of its people from the inferiority complex instilled in them after generations of domination.
This complete independence means freedom. Getting it was not easy but we made it. This is what I celebrate on 31st March.
Mr Borg never heard of the "Malta Irredenta" Nationalist Party foreign policy? it meant that Malta would become part of Italy where its mission and vision -according to the P.N -lay! We would have been an other "LEMPEDUSA" or" LINOSA" an abondoned rock in the middle of the Med, inhabited by a few poor fishermen. Look this up in the history books and in the Times Archives and you will get the truth and not the half lies and half truths.
As for Independence, how can we call 21st Sept 1964 as FULL Independece, when the Central Bank was British, the currency British, the Rediffusion ( Local radio) British, the Head of State British, the Governor British. The foreigners commanded who enters our ports, M,xlokk, who lands at Hal-Far, Ta Qali who lands at Luqa! St Andrews British, Marsa, Mosta,Mtarfa too. The British servicemen had diplomatic immunity, they paid no taxes, no customs duty, we even had Birindelli a fascist Admiral enoying and giving orders to us! Malta was not defended by Britain, did not want to help us in case of invasion ( vedi Cyprus invaded by a Nato country-Turkey) .Was this Full Independence?
Our infrastructure was still in its initial stages and Malta was still held to ransom by the British Government with Nato.
In my view it was similar to newlyweds being told and ordered by in-laws of what these should do. In a word Malta was still under the colonial influence.
It was the Labour Party under the Leadership of Mintoff, that the infrastructure and basic elements for our future were achieved.
The fibre morality of a Nation was formed in iron.
Malta didn't even have one penny in 1971, not even to pay for Parliaments envelopes, let alone wages or for infrastructure. Britian & Nato thought that in this way it will bring Malta to heel.
It didn't. By its own monies we managed to build what was required to be economically and structurally able to decided our own future.
Lino DeBono
".....He was sure unity would be further promoted with the appointment of George Abela as President of all the Maltese, and he wished him and his family well....."
......its so easy to kindle the masses from the podium...but come crunch time.......no to pairing !
There was no horror in the 70s. The 70's saw the awakening of true Christianity in Malta when the old and the poor were helped to a better standard of living. This was the time when begging was no longer needed.
Both PN and Labour were guilty for the 80's horror. Let us not forget that the first victim was Karin Grech, she was murdered because her father tried to help the Maltese people during the doctors' strike. The doctors striked because Mintoff tried to reform the Public Health Service, in those days to get into St. Lukes hospital you had to pay the surgeons privately to jump the queue. Mintoff also wanted to introduce free health care.
1. Before Malta gained independence, it has to "fight", politically to obtain rights. So achieving Independence from Nothing was the daunting task. Once Malta was independent, it only needed a Parliamentary vote to become a Republic or ask the British troops to leave. No fight for freedom surely.
2. When the Govt in 1964 signed the Independence Treaty, it also agreed with the British that their troops would leave by 1974 - ten years time. (Freedom). That was a PN Govt. What Labour, Mintoff did was to extend that agreement by a further five years, 1974 to 1979 - so what actualy Labour did, not only it did not negotiate this freedom itself but rather it asked the British to stay for a FURTHER 5 years.
If indipendence for you means that the occupying nation still holds control of the currency, radio, TV, airports and financial services, and keeps disposing of the country in whatever way suits him, then unfortunately for you you need to learn the literary meaning of the word "independence". That's what happened here in September 21 1964. We became independent, but only on paper.
At that time Malta was still relying its economy on military services to the crown, rather that basing its economy on tourism, financial services, etc. That was all achieved after 31st March 1979, when the greatest leader this country had, Mr. Dom Mintoff, chucked the British out. An achievement that in all their years of government the Nationalists weren't even capable of thinking of, let alone achieving!! Instead they chose to remain "waiters" of the British government.
Joseph Muscat is preaching unity but is practising Firda Totali, worse than his predecessors.
To those who where not born in the 60's and only see bad of PL,should ask their parents
from where they got the freedom to speak
P.N.'s statement was a negative one. It confirmed their hatred and arrogance.
Our way forward is clearly a dichotomy from our turbulent recent past without denying it or ignoring its costly lessons and without anyone hankering back to the horrors of the 70s and 80s. There is no evidence of that yet in the absence of a genuine new beginning from the MLP/LP. Today we should accept a single unifying National Day - evidently Independence Day – and a new spirit of collaboration inside Parliament so that it could function smoothly in the common interest.
Yes PN does have an inferiority complex - where foreign politics is concerned.
Way back in the 60s, Borg Olivier wanted the Queen to remain Head of State - he believed no Maltese person could become Governor General of Malta. It was Mintoff who made the first Maltese Governor General - Sir Anthony Mamo who later became the first President of Malta.
The commissioner of Police was also foreign. Borg Olivier swore to obey the Queen in his Independence speech.
Now they are bowing their heads their EU masters.
Amanda Mallia, that is a very interesting observation. I wonder why the government saw fit to agree to this 'burden sharing' scenario. Could it be that the government is "thus proposing that we "share the burden" with such countries" or has government "not thought about the possible effects of such burden-sharing?"
Who has the answer?
Ultimately, IF according to the PN the opposition will bring out concrete proposals, the pn would make them their own and they would have it seen as an achievement from the 'energetic government'
Just one last note; Just because Muscat is leading the party with the new generation, does not mean that from now onwards the PL would say yes to everything the Govt would propose- I think muscat was quite clear: the Pairing was not awarded because of the arrogance shown by the government, with specific ministers in particular.
Joseph, please do not let this happen to you. Be your own man and stick to your own guns.
How old are you? do you just remember the negative things labour supporters did? Not to mention that during the era you are mentioning the PN supporters had their wrongs as well. LEt me remind you that before it was a disgrace to be Labour cause the church wouldn't let you marry, bury or confess!!! Because during Labour meetings PN supporters used to ring church bells to disturb meetings and when Labour supporters arrived in Gozo they were welcomed with stones. Do you remember, know or chose to forget these facts? What's wrong is wrong for all sides. If you want to go back and continue living in the 70's than make an extra effort, and remember a little before as well.
Both major political parties should agree to NOT politicise the immigration issue, however tempting it might at first appear to be. Admittedly this is not an easy call, but voters have recently steered clear of extremist positions.
The truth is that the world, not just Malta, is facing an unprecedented challenge on a scale quite unlike anything experienced before. The combined death toll of the financial, health and environmental crises may not fall far short of the 80 million fatalities of WWII, over a similar time frame.
Ultimately, Malta will have to start earning it's keep and when it does become competitive it will be asked to help struggling member states, just as Malta is being helped at this point in time, and a good thing too. Wake up Malta.
How I pity you and those with closed mind like yours!!
Toni Abela stated facts after all. As reported in the media (by the way not all media!, if you watch / hear only that!) also Verhuegen acknowledged this a few days ago.
Stop being cynical and bitter towards anything related to Labour. Yes, Governments can suffer from an inferiority complex and be subservient to other countries. Governments reflects the personalities that guide them. For example Nerik Mizzi was NOT subservient to the foreigners, and Mintoff knew this so much so that he called him a great Maltese patriot. The South of Ireland was not subservient to the British and gained their Freedom for half of Ireland; the North is integrated with the UK, even though a minority in the North oppose and the majority oppose as well such integration.
If you think that you should get your property back, sue!
I sued the Government because I was cheated out of my hard-earned cash for VAT on Registration. Will you do the same.....or is your comment just an empty echo of other GonziPN apologists who populate these pages?
Unfortunately I don not follow local TV. I get my facts from reliable sources such as 'The Times of Malta', which incidently was burnt to the ground by none-else but labour thugs in the now infamous year of 1979 !
Anglu Farrugia - At least people - yourself included - can live in relative peace and prosperity.
As for my children's generation - well, they are free to attend the school we have chosen for them to attend, and not have it closed by the government of the day. Neither do they need to attend protests to have their school re-opened, with the fear of getting arrested in the process.
U tajjen jekk tkun L-Indipenza u tajjeb jekk jum il Helsien iz 2 poltici ghandom ikunu responsabbli li jattendu l-attivitajiet ta xulxin ghax emm isem Malta fin nofs!!
Toni Abela - What are you proposing regarding the immigration problem? Do please enlighten us!
In case you hadn't thought about it, burden-sharing, for example, would work both ways, and would not simply reduce the number of immigrants in Malta. Other European countries - the borders of which are far wider than ours - are certainly inundated with much larger numbers of immigrants than Malta has currently got. Are you thus proposing that we "share the burden" with such countries, or had you not thought about the possible effects of such burden-sharing? What do you propose as a solution?
As for inferiority complexes, the government (which is not a person, incidentally) cannot and does not have one to shed. As for the average labourite, well, that's an entirely different kettle of fish.
Joseph's speech was brilliant and wish, hope and pray that all politicians from both sides use the same "melody" and aim for unity.
To those who are blinded by the past hatred, could you please back off and keep quiet?
Grow up joseph. Give us some solutions for the problems you are mentioning.
The new awakening is not done by getting in old faces of the 80's back in the mlp.
God forbid if we see mlp back in government with the same people that were in power in those terrible days.
One must remember that when mintoff brought freedom day in 1979 Eddie Fenech Adami's house, the times of malta, the curia, PN clubs etc. were attacked
There was a great freedom in Malta at that time. Freedom for mlp hooligans to do what they want.
Can't Joseph be more original?
His 'new' Qawmien Gdid sounds so much like last election's Bidu Gdid and all the other 'old' Gdids of the past.
New awakening = Appreciate what our past generations had gone through and what they did for Our Country
New awakening = Be confident in yourself, have trust in our nation
New awakening = Do not let yourself get dragged by global issues but respect your national identity
New awakening = Respect your heritage
New awakening = Respect your country and its nation
New awakening = Do not fool your country and your nation
New awakening = Fight for your rights and do not leave others pass over you
New awakening = As other Europeans all our rights shall be respected by both our government and the European Union - we need to have a sound voice and not a weak one
For those who do not have a vision, failed to understand the meaning of this great speech and are engulfed in the usual scaremongering, this is what Joseph Muscat meant with 'new awakening'.
To see what Mintoff did to achieve Freedom I invite you to watch the repeat of a documentary tomorrow at 20.30 on ONE TV which was aired yesterday . This should enlighten your Buffled thoughts .
Well, does Joseph Muscat know that in the mid-to-late 50's Mintoff was actually fighting for Malta's integration with Britain?? Or did he mean that whilst the Maltese were trying to free themselves, he swam against the current and tried to integrate us with GB??
It seems to me that Mintoff did go swimming, and let the whole of Malta get washed away with the currents. Currents of violence, state sponsored crime, unemployment, state-controlled media, state-requisitioning of private property for MLP's benefit....U name it !
Shame on you Joseph for calling that time a time of freedom!
It seems that you understood neither the speech nor the above article!
Was the groundwork not done and established in the Independence Constitution of 1964 ?and reinforced in the Constitution of the Republic in 1974? These are the 2 all-important dates in our history in my view.