The freezing of €377 million worth of Libyan assets has spurred Labour MP Luciano Busuttil to ask whether Malta should simply hand over the money or “think about the Maltese who lost everything” in Libya.
Dr Busuttil, the Labour Party’s European affairs spokesman, posted the comment on his Facebook group page yesterday.
“Should we just hand them back or should we think about the Maltese who lost everything? Should we, before handing them back, assure ourselves that our oil drilling rights will be finally respected by the new Libyan government?”
The PL was quick to distance itself from Dr Busuttil’s comment with a spokesman saying that was “his personal opinion”.
When contacted, Dr Busuttil insisted he was only posing a question. He said the assets had to be returned to the Libyan people because they belonged to them. “I am making it clear that it was a question and not a statement. Had it been a statement I would have been stupid because these are not things that are done.”
Dr Busuttil reiterated his belief that the assets should be returned when it was pointed out to him that the question implied that Libyan assets should be held as ransom until Malta got what it wanted from the new Libyan government.
“God forbid we arrive at a stage where we threaten neighbouring countries in this way,” he said, adding that he felt the need to raise the question after reading some of the comments posted on timesofmalta.com.
However, he called on the government to take note of the hardship endured by those people who lost their job and investment in Libya when negotiating with the new Libyan government.
“I am not saying the money should be kept as ransom but the government should do a lot to establish good ties with the new Libyan authorities so that Malta will not fall behind other countries when stability returns,” he said.
Dr Busuttil played down the impact his comment could have and insisted he lived in “a free country” where Labourites should not be scared to ask questions.
'Grave lack of substance' - PN
In a reaction, the PN said Dr Busuttil was free to "ask questions", but that did not give him the right to make a fool of the country.
"It is a given that his online 'comments' on whether Malta should actually consider not handing Libya's frozen assets to the Libyan people are plain stupid but they are also extremely worrying because Dr. Busuttil happens to be Labour's European Affairs spokesman," the PN said.
"With Labour at the helm Luciano Busuttil will be calling the shots and taking decisions that affect Malta's EU and diplomatic relations. His online comments do not augur well at all – with such reasoning there is no doubt that once in charge he'll make a huge mess – at Malta's expense."
The PN pointed out that Dr Busuttil hails from the same party whose leader has a track record of giving, time and again, the wrong advice such as when he vociferously campaigned against Malta's EU membership; his strong opposition to the euro and his advice that Malta should use the veto on migration issues.