It is indeed a great pity that the glorious history of the Labour Party in Malta has been hijacked by pro-PN writers and is today presented in a distorted manner to downplay the achievements of the PL and to magnify its defects in the eyes of first-time voters who do not remember much of Labour's past.

I was recently speaking to the old PL stalwart, Reno Calleja, who is the Secretary of the Association of ex-Members of Parliament. Mr Calleja deplored the distortion of PL history and urged initiatives to remedy this situation. In fact, I have followed his advice and a radio programme with the participation of some of the leading actors in the political events of the Fifties, Sixties, Seventies and Eighties will now be aired on the party radio. In this way, I hope that justice will be done to the truth about Labour's past.

A peaceful revolution

What many people tend to forget is that from 1971 to 1987, Labour's most criticized period in power, a revolution occurred in Malta. This historical period saw great political, social and economic changes. It was a period of progress and great achievements. Malta became a Republic, the British military base was closed, the economy was diversified, the emancipation of woman became a practical reality, the disabled started being integrated into Maltese society, the infrastructure was strengthened, national entities such as Air Malta and Sea Malta were created, the Welfare State was also created, the list is endless.

Rapid change, however, comes at a cost. In its eagerness to get things moving, the Labour Governments sometimes clashed with the reactionary forces in Malta. These were the privileged few who belonged to social groups which were reluctant to lose their hegemony over the rest of Maltese society. Perhaps Labour Governments, for their own sake, could have shown more tact and prudence in the way they handled these reactionary elements. What is sure is the fact that this would have slowed down the rate of progress at the time.

A condemnation of violence

In no manner whatsoever am I trying to justify violent political incidents that occurred in the past. However, I think that justice should be done to the facts as they actually happened. To keep on insisting that most of the political violence of the past was Labour's fault is not a correct interpretation of historical events. Labourites were victims of both physical and psychological violence in the Fifties and Sixties. Those who lived through those times will never forget them.

Who can forget the violent attacks of De Gray's police on Labour supporters in the 1950s and 1960s? In which democratic country do you have the Leader of the Opposition thrown down and dragged in the dust as happened to Dom Mintoff during the Labour Party protests against the form of Independence granted to Malta in September, 1964?

Now, remember, this incident was a direct result of police violence during the Borg Olivier administration of 1962-66. And let's be honest, Labour did have its violent elements in the 1970s and 1980s but so did the Nationalists. Labour also had its victims because pro-PN writers conveniently forget innocents victims like Karin Grech when they write about the violence of the Seventies and Eighties.

The lessons of the past

It is imperative that we correctly interpret violent political events of years gone by if we are to learn from the lessons of the past. Thanks to Alfred Sant, political violence has almost been totally eradicated from Malta although some minor incidents still occur.

I am sure that nobody wants violent political confrontation today but extremists are found in every aspect of politics and the rest of social life. Joseph Muscat's Labour Movement of progressives and moderates is a guarantee of a better future for our country, built on cooperation in the national interest and the elimination of the political polarization of the past. It is up to the Nationalists now to seize this opportunity to initiate a new and better style of politics in Malta.

The goodwill is there, what is needed is to build upon it. We owe it to our younger generations to provide a truthful evaluation of the mistakes committed in the past so that both we of the older generations and the members of the younger generations can learn from them and avoid repeating them.