The capture of Muammar Gaddafi’s Tripoli compound by rebel forces signalled the collapse of the Libyan regime and a brutal 42-year-old dictatorship.

While pockets of resistance remain in a few areas of Tripoli and other cities, a new era has clearly begun in Libya and the world will definitely be a better place without Gaddafi.

What has been achieved in Libya has not taken place in any other Arab country affected by the Arab Spring: complete regime change. Unlike in Egypt and Tunisia, where the countries’ generals could convince their President to step down after mass public protests, the particularly brutal nature of the Gaddafi dictatorship made such a transition impossible.

A revolution and a total overthrow of the system was therefore inevitable and that is exactly what happened. The victory of the Libyan rebels will surely add momentum to the Arab Spring and encourage all those in the Arab world who are fighting for freedom.

Of course, the UN Security Council deserves credit for passing Resolutions 1970 and 1973 on Libya, and Nato, especially Britain, France and the US deserve particular credit for implementing these resolutions.

Those who were sceptical about Nato’s military actions have been proved badly wrong. Nato not only prevented genocide taking place in Libya but achieved its goal of destroying Gaddafi’s military infrastructure without causing many civilian casualties.

Nato’s decision to support those in Libya who were fighting for freedom was certainly not taken easily, but it was the right thing to do. The alliance rose to the occasion and can be proud of its role in helping to bring about regime change and protecting civilians in Libya, even though some of the large member states chose not to participate in military action.

Using air power to destroy the country’s military while allowing the rebels to do the fighting on the ground is a formula that worked and could possibly be used in other situations.

It is now important that the Libyan Transitional National Council establishes complete control of the country and restores security, without which there can be no stability. The immediate aftermath of a revolution is always a crucial period which can determine the future direction of a country.

Libya must not be allowed to descend into chaos, and the sooner a new police force and army are established – consisting of both rebels and remnants of the ousted regime – the better.

The Transitional National Council, led by Mustafa Mohammed Abdul Jalil, has promised reconciliation and pledged that there will be no revenge-taking. That is good, and the new government must make it clear it represents all the Libyan people.

It is also important that people who worked for the old regime are not in any way targeted or dismissed from their job. The lessons from Iraq are clear: dismantling the institutions of the state can only lead to chaos, instability and the creation of a mass of angry unemployed men who feel they have no choice but to resort to violence.

The overthrow of the Gaddafi regime is also good news for Malta, as we no longer have an erratic dangerous dictator who once sponsored terrorism in our backyard. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had the courage way back in February to declare that the end of the Gaddafi regime was inevitable and the Maltese government has handled a difficult situation very well.

Malta’s humanitarian assistance to Libya, the way it helped with the evacuation of foreign nationals as well as its cooperation with Nato in this conflict is something the country can certainly be proud of.

On the other hand, the Labour Party needs to come to terms with the fact that when in government from 1971 to 1987, its extremely close political relationship with the Gaddafi regime – the cornerstone of its foreign policy – was wrong, harmful to Malta and its image and represented a dark chapter in our history. Some soul-searching by Labour would be in order, as would be an admission that its links with Gaddafi should never have been allowed to develop so deeply.

Libya must now be allowed to determine its own future and its immediate priority, besides restoring security, is to provide basic services to its people and to lay the foundations for the establishment of a democracy based on respect for human rights and the rule of law. The fact that the UN has agreed to release $1.5 billion in Libyan frozen assets to help with immediate humanitarian needs is a step in the right direction.

Libya’s transformation will not be easy and the new government has to face many challenges, notably the fact that for the past 42 years there has been absolutely no trace of democratic institutions and practices or civil society, no respect for human rights, little investment in the infrastructure, and gross mismanagement of the economy. Libya’s tribal set-up is also something which has to be taken into consideration when bringing about a new constitutional order.

However, the international community, particularly the EU, has an important role in helping Libya rebuild its infrastructure and economy and guide it along the path towards a secular democracy.

With the right policies, oil-rich Libya has the potential to transform itself into a booming free market economy which can serve as a model for the Arab world. These are certainly exciting times for Libya and I am optimistic that Libyans will overcome their challenges ahead to build a brighter future which they so greatly deserve.

Of course, the sooner Gaddafi and his sons are captured and brought to justice, the better, so that Libyans can put this very unfortunate chapter in their history behind them.