The Maltese government yesterday said it considered the Benghazi-based Libyan Transitional National Council as the “sole legitimate interlocutor of the Libyan people”, making Malta the third EU country to officially sever contact with Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.
According to the statement, this decision was taken by Cabinet on Monday and was communicated to the Council by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi on Tuesday.
However, hours before the statement was issued, the spokesman of the Foreign Affairs Ministry told The Times no such decision had been taken. Asked yesterday about reports that emerged on international media and Twitter on Tuesday evening, spokesman Melvyn Mangion said: “The information, as reported, is not correct.”
He added that Minister Tonio Borg would today give an update of the situation during Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee at 12.30 p.m. But the government’s Department of Information released the information in the evening.
According to the DOI’s statement, Mahmoud Jibril, the chairman and head of international affairs of the Council, described this as a “very important step forward” which the Libyan people would never forget.
However, Dr Jibril pointed out that the move fell short of “full recognition” which he hoped the Maltese would eventually opt for.
France was the first country to fully recognise the Council and send an ambassador to the Benghazi. The move was followed by Qatar.
In April, Italy too recognised the Council as the sole interlocutor and, more recently, the Council received recognition from Russia, Turkey, Jordan and a number of African countries.
Dr Gonzi last Thursday met the Council’s emissary to the UN, former Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalgam. Mr Shalgam thanked the Maltese for their support, primarily in the form of humanitarian aid, and promised to build the future together.
It is understood he also appealed to the government to officially recognise the Council. The meeting also took place in the wake of pressure by Maltese businessmen for the government to set up a representation office in the council’s stronghold of Benghazi.
Dr Gonzi reiterated Malta’s call for Col Gaddafi to step down and allow a peaceful transition. He said Malta had done its utmost in terms of humanitarian assistance and applied the UN sanctions to the letter. Meanwhile, French celebrity writer-philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy visited the besieged city of Misurata via Malta in the past few days together with a high profile European delegation.