Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi condemned the violence in Libya and expressed concern for the victims of the attacks.

However, speaking at the end of a Cabinet meeting yesterday morning, Dr Gonzi said Libya’s territorial integrity had to be respected even though the people’s legitimate aspirations had to be met.

The unrest in Libya was on the Cabinet’s agenda with Dr Gonzi saying the government was doing all it could to help Maltese workers and investors who were still in the country.

In the evening Dr Gonzi held a meeting at Auberge de Castille with the major Maltese investors in Libya to discuss the unfolding situation and the safety of the 300 Maltese workers in that country.

Also late yesterday, a crisis coordination team met at the Office of the Prime Minister, attended among others by the heads of the police and armed forces.

Earlier, Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg, attending a scheduled meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Brussels, said the government had set up an emergency committee to help all Maltese in Libya wanting to get out of the country.

Dr Borg said that until yesterday there were about 300 Maltese in Libya, mostly workers located in the Tripoli area. He said he was very concerned about the fate of about 11 Maltese who were in Benghazi, which had been taken over by anti-government protesters.

“We are doing everything possible to facilitate the logistics of Maltese citizens. However, those in the Benghazi area are very difficult to reach,” he said.

The Brussels meeting was dominated by the Libyan revolt, with ministers discussing how best the EU should approach the sensitive situation of Libyans taking to the streets to protest against Col Muammar Gaddafi, who at 68 has been in power for 42 years.

Dr Borg yesterday stuck to the EU’s general approach to the unfolding events in Libya while warning that breaking up Libya into two or three different countries might not be in the interest of Malta or the EU.

While some member states argued for a full-blown condemnation of the Gaddafi regime, others, particularly southern member states, in particular Malta and Italy, took a more diplomatic approach, fearing repercussions from the Libyan authorities.

Col Gaddafi has already threatened to open the floodgates of illegal immigrants to the EU if any of its member states took the protesters’ side. Malta and Italy would be the first to bear the consequences of such an eventuality.

Admitting Malta was treading “a fine line”, Dr Borg said Malta wanted Libya to initiate a national dialogue on the future of the country but warned it might not be in the interest of the EU to have an “Islamic state” on its doorstep.

“We have argued that in the best interest of Libya and the EU there should be a Libyan-led national dialogue to settle the current situation and come up with reforms in the country,” he said.

“However, it is not for the EU to lecture Libya on the way forward and we think it is up to the Libyan people themselves to decide their destiny.”

Dr Borg said the situation in Libya was very confusing and apart from the threat to the ruling government there were also tribal and separatist movements.

Intervening during the Brussels meeting, Dr Borg warned that dividing Libya into a fragmented state could be “very problematic” to the EU.

“There are voices speaking of Libya being divided in two or three countries. It is not in the interest of the EU to end up with an Islamic emirate nearby so we have to encourage dialogue and a peaceful settlement in the interests of the Libyan people,” he said.

During the meeting Dr Borg offered member states Malta’s help in the eventual evacuation of EU nationals from Libya.

Agreeing on a set of conclusions following the meeting, EU ministers condemned the violence “on all sides” and urged all parties to show restraint.

“The Council condemns the ongoing repression against demonstrators in Libya and deplores the violence and the death of civilians. The Council calls for an immediate end to the use of force against protesters, and for all parties to show restraint,” EU ministers said.

“Freedom of expression and the right to assemble peacefully are human rights and fundamental freedoms of every human being which must be respected and protected.

“The legitimate aspirations and demands of people for reform must be addressed through open, inclusive, meaningful and national Libyan-led dialogue that would bring a constructive future for the country and for the people. We strongly encourage all sides in this respect.”

During a press conference following the meeting, the EU’s High Representative Catherine Asthon refused to comment on the threat made by Col Gaddafi that EU support towards the protests would open the Libya’s floodgates to illegal immigrants.

Ms Asthon would only say the EU was “very concerned” and would keep monitoring the situation as it unfolds.

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