Gaddafi Malta visit hangs in the balance

G.Debono

Feb 20th 2010, 19:08

@IGalea

Yes of course - you can also state that if we're not party to the United Nations we would have less obligations as well. Like not put sanctions on rouge states like what is done with North Korea, Iraq etc..

Mr. Galea - Sorry, but in my opinion, your arguement, Schengen = EU = BAD does not hold much ground.

g.c.Forte

Feb 20th 2010, 13:59

@ Christopher Galea...........Hekku,... gejna bhal l-anglu tal festa u iridu jew ma irridux xorta nibqaw hemm fuq il pedistall.

Christopher Galea

Feb 20th 2010, 13:31

@ g.c.Forte:

The thing is YOU can do nothing about it mate!!!

g.c.Forte

Feb 20th 2010, 11:09

@ Christopher Galea........You have a very short memory........Who said that our salvation, is the E.U, who said that we need to import employees to come to Malta because we will be needing more than we have Maltese to work, when entering the E.U. Who said that in the E.U. we will be in heaven on earth. Like it or not, we are in,but yes if the sun do not shine,it is the because we entered the E.U., because we went in for the good and for the bad..And as M.P. Edwin Vassallo once said...........Once we are in.... we had to do what they ( The E.U ) order us to do. One last thing....If the E.U sneeze we will be the first one to take a flu.

Christopher Galea

Feb 20th 2010, 08:30

Some people just cannot stomach the fact that we are now EU members. Due to thier reasoning, if the sun don't shine, it's the EU's fault. Their solution: get out of the EU! You poor lost souls!! Grow up for goodness' sake.

lgalea

Feb 19th 2010, 22:44

Carmel Cilia
We cannot even be called a State Mr Cilia, because for a country to be called a State it has to have effective control in its territory, something that we don't have as we are under the control of the eu petty dictators. We cannot prevent foreigners from other eu countries from coming here, live here, work here etc. We are even lumping illegal immigrants and cannot allow them to proceed to other eu countries due to eu laws.
A State also has to have the capacity to conduct international relations, something that has been taken over by the eu with its foreign minister Catherine Ashton.
A State also has to enact its own laws as it deems fit for its citizens and needs without any foreign interference, something that we cannot do as we have to implement eu laws that are not made by our MPs who are now nothing more than rubber stamps for eu laws and any laws that our MPs can enact have to be in conformity with eu laws.
all these are apart from other considerations. As you can see we cannot even be called a State.

lgalea

Feb 19th 2010, 22:38

G.Debono
You are wrong Mr/Ms Debono. Whether it was the Libyan, American, Chinese or any other Head of State of whatever country it is Malta that should decide and not any other country. What had the eu got to do with Gaddafi's visit? It has a lot Debono, because if we were not in the eu we would not have benn in the SCHENĠENN area and no one else could decide whom we allow or not in Malta.

ASpiteri I am certainly not mixed up Mr/Ms Spiteri. Having my socialist beliefs has got nothing to do with exposing the PN for what it is, anything but Nationalist. Regarding illegal immigrants Gaddafi is not coming here as an illegal immigrant to live like a leech on our taxes. In fact he gave us the money to pay for the government employees wages because when the PN was kicked out of power in 1971 Malta was not only bankrupt but there was not even money to pay the workers their wages. As for your comment on Svizzera fil-Mediterran it is a totally irrelevant comment. Trust european alliances? now that's a big joke.

s. brincat

Feb 19th 2010, 19:05

malta can issue a schengen visa restricted to malta only, it is not the first time it had done it to libyan tourists even d type,

Ray Calleja

Feb 19th 2010, 18:35

Lets allow col Mumar Gadafi to visit our country.I am positivly sure that we will gain a lot from his visit.I work In Libya and on Sunday I was on that flight as well.I must say to all who has no Idea about Libya that yes we are all treathed very well and also prefered to other nationals.On Sunday we where the first people asked to enter Libya. I and all the other 19 Maltese where never shown any wrong Hostility towareds us.Please you people do not keep on writing such blogs as you do not know the harm you are doing.Hundreds of Maltese have heavily Invested in maybe the only country which still have investment and a lot of other Maltese are working here.Welcome Coll Gadafi to My country and I wish I will be there to cheer you up.

Carmel Cilia

Feb 19th 2010, 18:19

Domenic Fenech is more than right. This is a golden chance to uphold our independence. Let those who went out of their way to join us to this bandwagon show us now how independent we are. Our parliament has been reduced to a local council. The big decision are taken by France Germany England and the rest. No our prime minister has been reduced to a village major. We have become a subordinate little state. Imagine how much our word would count if there is a world conflict. Mhux se taghti kasna il-Germanja jew Franza tghid. Tradejtu lil- Malta dak li ghamiltu.

J Brincat

Feb 19th 2010, 18:17

Cannot really understand all the fuss about Gaddafi's visit.

Are we expected to throng to the airport with flowers in our hands if he decides to come?

Who can forget the saga when he sent his gun boats agisnt us when we tried to search for black gold - and this at a time when we used to boast that we are blood brothers. Blood brothers indeed!

g.c.Forte

Feb 19th 2010, 17:56

@ G.Debono......I never said that I will like it , if the President of the U.S. or any other President will cancel a visit to Malta, Every body is welcome,as long as they do not come here and throw bombs on our innocent country, like they did in the last world war two.Some times I believe that it will be better for us that we have no oil of our own, because many counties will look at us in a different ways. As for President Gaddafi, he surely take care of his oil territory. Every body do like that, but we never heard that Libya invaded an Arab country killed innocent people for the sake of their oil.

Matin Cassar

Feb 19th 2010, 17:37

Malta-Libya’s relation is the envy for Europe.

Malta’s very first diplomatic relations were boosted to both Libya and China: Libya means money and China means power.
Look at how things developing:
-The financial earthquake predicting capitalism’s failure and soon a death certificate would be issued thanks to USA useless wars.
-The G8 is already a term from the past. The future of the dollar is controlled by China and the ball is no longer in Wall Street’s ground, now heading to China.
-The USA slowly but surely losing its political, economical and military muscles [ running after Bin Laden] and soon no longer be counted among suzerain countries in the international arena.
-China has stripped Europe's largest economy of its top exporter title. Data released by the German Federal Statistics Office showed the country's exports fell by 18.4 percent in 2009 when compared to the previous year.
-In 2008, the EU27 contributed 44 percent of FDI inflows while 30.3 per cent originated from Turkey alone.
-Is smart city an investment coming from the EU?

When the west goes bust one must look at the East and south.

@ ASpiteri-Are you hearing?

g.c.Forte

Feb 19th 2010, 17:11

@ A.Spiteri...N.Calleja...How wrong you are..........So if your friend makes you a BIG favor when you really needs that favor....Like giving you a BIG capital to start your business, and after the business makes you rich and comfortable to raise your family in a very well life, give good education to your children................THEN I dump this friend when I do not need him. Mind you we still need that friend, that is why both governments kept good relationship with Libya. We are living in 2010, these people respect we should give them especially the President Muammar Gaddafi.

Joseph Grech-Attard

Feb 19th 2010, 17:10

Does everybody realise that neutrality (whether we like it or not) forms part of our Constitution? Voted by more than 2/3 majority in parliament? Then why should we side with Libya or Switzerland? We should side with what is good for us. When are we going to remove once and for all our servitude, colonial mentality and work together for the good of our little Island?

James De Giorgio

Feb 19th 2010, 17:02

I'd rather Gaddafi never came, he's the one who sent tugboats at Mintoff's plans to dig for oil in OUR waters south of Malta. Mintoff learnt his lesson and called them "our worst enemies", a couple of years after he declared them to be "our blood brothers".

If even Mintoff learnt not to trust them and Gaddafi, why should we?

I've been to Libya and their attitude towards us Maltese is one of ubearable superiority, arrogance and abuse.

Justin Spiteri

Feb 19th 2010, 16:08

I say welcome the Colonel, it's him who allowed and still does hundreds of Maltese to earn salaries they'd never ever even dream about in our tiny island, or in any place in the EU... Big Oil, just a 55 min flight away from our homes is an opportunity we shouldn't throw away to please people who don't give a flip about Malta!

ASpiteri

Feb 19th 2010, 15:59

@dominic fenech...it is indeed a golden opportunity...but to cut once and for all any preferred status with libya and look for new european alliances whom we can truly trust!

N.Calleja

Feb 19th 2010, 15:41

We do not owe anything to Gaddafi and the Libyans. We buy fuel and do not get it for free. When Gaddafi was thought to be our friend he sent his vessels to stop the Saipem oil exploration. Even Mintoff became furious and ousted the Libyans living in Malta! He is still adamant about any Maltese exploration for oil nowadays!! To show that he is Malta's friend he should allow Maltese citizens to enter Libya, at least those with a visa!!

Dominic Fenech

Feb 19th 2010, 15:19

Here's an unrepeatable opportunity for Malta to restore its preferred status with Libya. Let Gaddafi know that he is welcome to visit, Schengen or no Schengen. Let's see then who is going to tell us that we are not free to host a foreign head of state.

Joe Anastasi

Feb 19th 2010, 15:03

I'm 100% with Switzerland on this. Switzerland has every right to withold entry into it's country for any undesireable persons. The Swiss Government has guts.

Does Government know the meaning of the word hypocracy ?

ASpiteri

Feb 19th 2010, 14:59

@lgalea...first of all i represent no one but myself. luckily for me ‘my party’ has nothing to do with this present political class!

The quotes u chose to put up clearly show how gonziPN betrayed their original nationalist roots. Coming from someone who proclaims to be a stanch anti-immigrant like urself, you should at least concur with Enrico Mizzi, unfortunately being so brainwashed with your socialist fables, you’re quite in a mix up. Before u continue in ur continuous rants, let me give u a humble advice my friend - educate yourself on the relation between the immigration problem ur so threatened of and the socialism u desperately love!

@forte...we owe nothing to the libyan state if our country made it’s way through. We only owe it to maltese hard working and creative individuals!

And the only national day that i recognize with is OTTO SETTEMBRE. Independence/Freedom Days were only the fruits of gaddafi’s influence over dom mintoff. He exploited is-salvatur simply to get rid of a British base just under his nose.

martin saliba

Feb 19th 2010, 14:37

All goverments should ignore this move by switzerland and should propose that it is expelled from this agreement. Malta should challenge " tisfida " Switzerland and allow whoever it wishes into Malta. Our economic interests are more important that Switerland's polititical reasons.

sandro pace

Feb 19th 2010, 14:12

If one country in the Schengen area can unilaterally block people and even decide who enters in other sovereign member states, then it's mechanism is totally wrong and flawed. But serves right for whoever designed and accepted it this way. Nonetheless, this anomaly must be redressed.

However, irrispective of our opinion on the Libyan leader, only Malta shall decide who is accepted in Malta, and no Swiss. Switzerland may have its reasons for its diplomatic behaviour with Libya, but we shall not accept being dragged into it, as much as the Swiss does not care of our disputes and relations with Libya, and never intervened on our behalf.

Once announced, Gaddafi's visit should go on, blacklist or not. This would be a political sign of goodwill with our neighbour, even if it breaks schengen rules or whatever. The more so appreciated. Italy and France would have done so anyhow, I have no doubts about at.

Unless this govt. would insists in being legalistic even at the expense of national interest. (as in most cases).

g.c.Forte

Feb 19th 2010, 14:10

@ ASpiteri......I do not know your age, but I can guess that when President Gaddafi helped Malta financially, you were either not being born or you were with the titi in your mouth sucking the "children allowances" that your mummy use to get from the M.L.P.governments with the help of our brothers the Libyans. President Gaddafi is a patriot because he bended to no big country. Regarding making new friends in Europe, yes why not, but I surly agree with IGalea, if I had to vote again for 100 times I still vote against the E.U. We are coming prisoners in our own country. You can`t do that, you can`t go there, you have to pay for that, you have to pay for this. You praise the Independence day 24 Sept 1964............Deep down...are we still Independent ? As Mr. Edwin Vassallo M.P.once said.......".We are in ,and we have to do whatever they tell us". Smajta din, jew le.

G.Debono

Feb 19th 2010, 13:50

@Igalea and Forte

I suppose if it was going to be a visit by a US president than it would be ok to cancel. This is like Graffiti's protests of British and American warships visiting Malta but then ok when Russian warships visit and no protests are held by a few youngsters with scruffy hair.

What's the EU got to do with the visit Galea? Shall we go out of the EU to accomodate Gaddafi's visit with camel, tent and a herd of women brandishing machiene guns?

If the Swiss government is using Schengen as a political issue, than the swiss (they are not part of the EU, silly!) have an issue and not the EU which should be solved.

Wow - just imagine Sant put us in the Svizzera fil-mediterran - than we would surely be in trouble with Gaddafi. (T.I.C)

Ramon Casha

Feb 19th 2010, 13:50

@ASpiteri: No. I merely believe that the dispute between Switzerland and Libya should remain between Switzerland and Libya.

"The more we stay away from this terrorist state the better for our own good. "

Although I do not condone Switzerland's action, I don't think it's fair to describe it as a terrorist state :)

Joss Galea

Feb 19th 2010, 13:22

Agree with A Spiteri....what baout the illegal immigrants issue. Is Libya doing anything to help us?

Evarist Saliba

Feb 19th 2010, 13:14

It is irresponsible for anyone to think that outlandish comments can help in this difficult situation.

lgalea

Feb 19th 2010, 13:00

ASpiteri
My answer is that the British, Italians, French, Americans and other investors includign their governments are certainly not of your opinion.
Perhaps you want to go back to when your party called Gaddafi and the Libyans and Arabs all sorts of names Spiteri. Here are some examples.

The PN Leader Enrico Mizzi wrote in "PATRIA" 30.10.1948 "Għall-grazzja t'Alla l-poplu Malti mhuwiex u qatt ma kien Għarbi".

Dr George Borg Olivier 4.6.1971 "Mal-Libja ma nagħmlux trattati"

In-Nazzjon Tagħna 29.5.1971"jekk jitla Mintoff emigrazzjoni sfurzata għal-Libja u pajjiżi Għarab. Ħafna Maltin jistgħu jsibu ruħhom imkaxkra fil-gwerra bejn i-Lhud u l-Għarab".

In-Nazzjon Tagħna Editorjal 21.1.1972 "Ma nistgħux nistennew illi r-rabtiet li għandna mal-pajjiżi demokratiċi tal-Punent jistgħu b'xi mod jiġu sostitwiti bi ħbiberija mal-Libja, igħid x'igħid Gaddafi fil-messaġġ tiegħu. Tajjen li huwa jkun jafli l-poplu Malti ma jixtax iħares lejh u lejn il-gvern tiegħu b'simpatija għaliex huwa dittatur u qiegħed iżomm il-poter f'idejh bis-saħħa tal-forzi armati".

Do you want some more Spiteri?

N.Calleja

Feb 19th 2010, 12:53

Veru kaz li Gaddafi qatt ma baghatulna shun! Tiftakru li anki ma Mintoff fettilha u baghat l-vapuri kontra s-Saipem.. u tiftakru kemm Mintoff tfantas u rrabja ghal Gaddafi?. Kull meta xtrajna z-zejt hallasna ghalih u l-istess Gaddafi qatt ma halliena nfittxu ghaz-zejt fil-territorju taghna. Habib tal-konvenjenza biss! F'dan l-argument Gaddafi ma ppreferiniex lil Malta u lil Maltin u mhux qed ihalliehom jidhlu lanqas!

ASpiteri

Feb 19th 2010, 12:10

@galea, casha, forte and all those who thinks the same way...you’re all mad simply because Gaddafi is threatening to cancel his state visit over here?! What’s the aim of the whole visit after all?!

The more we stay away from this terrorist state the better for our own good. Sometimes neighbors can turn to be ur own worst enemies. Gaddafi literally manipulated our country through his massive influence he hade on Mintoff. Unfortunately, since is-salvatur old days were finally over, the following administrations wanted to keep this ‘special relation’ with our so called cousins.

Now that we’re in Europe, it must be much easier for this country to develop new alliances that is so pivotal for a country’s foreign policy. The only problem is that we have pathetic politicians on the helm of this nation!

g.c.Forte

Feb 19th 2010, 11:14

It will be a great pity if the visit of President Muammar Gaddafi will be canceled. The President is a real and true friend of our country. The saying that goes like this really fits." A friend in need,is a friend indeed ". In difficult times that our country had.. way back in the 70`s, it was the President that helped us. Even so, that there were Maltese that tried to mess things up. They even use to call our brothers the Libyans, names, do you remember P.N. apologists, or you have a short memory. These are facts and part of our history, that makes you a shame of yourself.

Ramon Casha

Feb 19th 2010, 11:02

Here's an idea: How about Malta blacklisting the Swiss government?

lgalea

Feb 19th 2010, 10:23

This is another negative aspect of eu membership and more so of the SCHENĠENN agreement.

Why should we as an independent sovereign country be stopped from doing what is in our own and our country's interests and be forced not to allow a foreign Head of State to make an official visit because some other country put him on its black list?

If there was any need to show how eu membership causes a country lose its independence and sovereignty this is it.

LET'S GET OUT OF THE EU AND GET BACK OUR INDEPENDENCE, FREEDOM AND SOVEREIGNTY AND TO HELL WITH THE EU AND ITS COLONIALIST DICTATORSHIP.