Christian Peregin
Libya can boom and ‘absorb’ immigrants
A petrochemical installation in the oil-rich town of Ras Lanuf, some 150 kilometres west of Sirte. Oil-rich Libya could become a hub for Maltese investment. Photo: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP
Malta’s immigration woes are likely to dissipate if Libya opens up its economy under a serious and fair government, according to foreign affairs shadow minister George Vella.
Libya could become an investment hub, “the Dubai of the Mediterranean”, and it could also capitalise on its white sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters to become a front-runner in the tourism industry, he said.
Throwing into the mix its oil riches and small population density, if Libya opened to free trade it was bound to begin “absorbing” immigrants rather than remain a stepping stone into Europe, Dr Vella argued.
He was interviewed on One Radio, where he also gave his analysis of the recent developments in Libya.
“Many are saying the revolution will end once Gaddafi is found. I think this will be just the beginning,” he said, outlining some of the difficulties the new Libyan leaders will face.
He pointed out that Muammar Gaddafi had dismantled all the structures of the country, ensuring total control. The new leaders must ensure human rights, freedom and democracy were all safeguarded.
He stressed that Col Gaddafi should be tried in a civil court when captured so that he could respond to the many allegations made in his regard.
Although saying “I’m not too in favour of Nato”, he admitted that if it were not for the UN resolution, Col Gaddafi’s attack on Benghazi would have resembled the Srebrenica massacre in Yugoslavia. “We know this because we know what (Gaddafi did) in the past,” he said, referring primarily to student hangings.
However, Dr Vella said Western countries had always been motivated by their own interests, including personal political interests and the economic interests of their countries. Malta, throughout history, also had to look after its interests, he said.
“Malta did not choose its neighbour. Love or hate Gaddafi, we had to do business with him. No one ever agreed with his politics. We are democrats not dictators,” he said. All administrations had to remain close to the Gaddafi regime.
“What did the PN do in the past 26 years to diminish its relationship with Libya?” he asked, responding to the criticism made in recent days by Nationalist MEP Simon Bususttil.
Since the beginning of the conflict the Labour Party had supported the Maltese government and would not even have objected to military involvement, once there was a UN resolution. “But we were not consulted,” he added.
Dr Vella stressed that, as far as he knew, in his 12 years as deputy leader of his party, the Labour Party had never received donations from the Libyan regime. The Labour Party has already denied that the current administration ever received funding, as some have claimed.
The PN’s newspaper Il-Mument on Sunday published a declassified CIA document which says that in 1989 Libyans arrived in Malta “to assist with the Libyan-funded Malta Labour Party ‘Give Peace a Chance’ gathering”.
Answering questions by The Times, the PN said it had never received any funding from the Gaddafi regime.
“On the contrary, the Nationalist Party was on the receiving end of several Gaddafi-funded Labour campaigns including the campaign against EU membership,” a party spokesman claimed, adding that the CIA document proved one of the instances of funding.
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Mr Robert Calafato
Aug 30th 2011, 21:03
The only type of "boom" the Libyans will be having now , and in the foreseeable future is of the "high explosive" type!!!
Ms Maria Vella
Aug 30th 2011, 15:53
No why didn't the PL elect Dr. Vella as their leader - dan ghandu naqra sugu, mela Joseph Muscat!
M Schembri
Aug 30th 2011, 17:42
Ha Ha Ha, mela nsejt kemm kontu tghidu kontrih meta kien deputy leader ta' Alfred Sant. Pull the other one.
Mr Tony Camilleri
Aug 31st 2011, 09:10
Ms Maria Vella ma dak li qallek tajjeb M Schembri, biex imbagħad toqgħodu tgħidu li l-mexxej huwa xih u zmagat kif kontu tgħidu għal Mintoff?
j brincat
Aug 30th 2011, 14:11
@Joseph E Briffa
You are conveniently forgetting that Dr Gonzi went to visit the Colonel only last February. In fact he was the last western dignitary to do. If this is NOT telling,then I don't know what is!
Also, EFA honoured him with the highest honour possible.
So, GonziPN cannot possibly dissociate themselves form the dictator.
[Note: according to John Dalli's missive of yesterday, one has now to distinguish between the PN and GonziPN - regrettably, I cannot fathom this confusion]
(jb)
Mr Charles camilleri
Aug 30th 2011, 15:44
Libya happens to be our neighbour and the Nationalist Govt had to have bilateral relation with this country.. But it never stooped so low as to shower Gaddaffi with praises as Labour used to do and never invited him into this country like Labour did for 6 times.
Mr Richard Caruana
Aug 30th 2011, 16:00
And you are conveniently forgetting that Joseph Muscat's first foreign visit on taking up the helm of the then MLP was to meet Gaddafi in Libya!
How 'holier than though' can one get!!
M Schembri
Aug 30th 2011, 17:48
Charles Camilleri the last invitation Gaddafi ever got was to visit Malta, I believe he had to come in June.
Why don't we stop this silly bickering. All leaders lapped up to Gaddafi as they will lap up to the new administration. Libya is one of the richest countries, and it's ineveryone's interest to be in their good books. Neither the PN nor the PL have said anything about the murders being committed Syria, since Syria is not as rich as Libya.
Darren Portelli
Aug 30th 2011, 13:59
Keep on dreaming Malta!
This reverse migration will not happen, because the new leaders of Libya are much like us Maltese; do not like Africans. They will not hire African migrant workers because of a race and because they do like the AU's past relationship with Ghaddafi
angelo cilia
Aug 30th 2011, 17:30
Yes, keep on dreaming Malta is right . And the fact that sub saharans want to come to europe, preferably on the continent and the UK for the good and easy european life just full of juicy social benefits waiting to be picked.
guido cutajar
Aug 30th 2011, 11:44
Inpoggi dan il kumment mal kumment l-iehor fuq l-istess gazzetta jew ahjar " Sas sena 3000 il gens Malti ser jispicca ?" Fl`opinjoni tieghi ( li zgur mhux ser inkun ghawn ) nemmen li iva, jekk bit tkabbir zghir li qeghedha tikber il familja Maltija, ser ikun ghawn problemi kbar. Nemmen li ser ikun ghawn hafna tahlit ta demm li sa dak iz zmien id demm purament Malti jispicca. Jekk ma dawn l-emigranti legali u illegali li qeghed jigu mill l-Afrika, nghoddu lil dawk l-Ewropej specjalment tal Lvant,li qeghdin jinfiltraw fil familji taghna, iva nemmen li il Maltin ser jitilfu l-identita taghhom. X`ghandu isir ? Kull min ikun fil gvern ghandu jara li il mara Maltija ma ikolliex ghal fejn tohrog tahdem bilfors " FULLTIME " biex tlahhaq mal hajja. Ghandu jara li meta titwieled tarbija, ikolla beneficcji kbar bizzejjed sabiex il mara ma ikollhiex ghal fejn tmur tahdem. Per ezempju ...Tiehu il paga minima ghal l-ewwel tarbija u tkompli tizdied pro rata ghal kull tarbija ohra. B`hekk jinholqu aktar opportunitajiet ghat tfajliet u xebbiet. Din opinjoni fqira tieghi u mhux ta xi partit., dawk mohhom kif ser itejbu il pozzizjoni taghhom u mhux taghna ic cittadin, staqsu lil P,M, halli taraw li sewwa qeghed nghejd.
Joseph J. Borg
Aug 30th 2011, 14:23
Din tad-demm purament Malti minn fejn sibta? Ghax jekk hawn poplu imhallat sa ruh ommu hu dak Malti. U dawn il-flus biex izzomm lil martek id-dar minn fejn se jigu? Mis-sema?
M Schembri
Aug 30th 2011, 17:57
U int verament tahseb li hawn xi hadd li hu purament Malti? Il-Maltin ilhom mijiet ta' snin jihaltu ma gnus ohra- Arab, Spanjoli, Taljani, Griegi, Inglizi, Francizi u ghaliex le Afrikani. Jekk biss thares lejn il-Karnagjon tal-Maltin tara kemm hemm varjeta kbira, kull kulur ta' gilda, ghajnejn, xaghar(mhux biss mizbugh), u figura.
Tista wkoll thares lejn il-varjeta ta' kunjomijiet, li jfisser li dawn kellhom missirijiet baranin.
Issa se noqoghdu ninkwetaw ghax ser tispicca ir-razza Maltija elf sena ohra?
Ms pat muscat
Aug 30th 2011, 10:43
I still remember the times when Mintoff stood to Gaddafi because of oil exploration and Fenech Adami went full speed ahead to Libya to befriend Gaddafi. Some history these Nationalists try to re- write for us, as if we don't have ears to hear and eyes to read and see, and memory to remember!
Mario Mifsud
Aug 30th 2011, 11:47
Int ok jew??? Let me refresh you memory just in case you think we all forgot history. Lm50 for the minister to get you a clour TV, no water, no electricity, months before you can have a telphopne installed, deserta chocolate and hobson's choice. Enough jew trid aktar studjuza tal-istorja? Eh bilhaq tiftakarha lill-Mary Rose Mallia tkanta R-Rghajes tad-Dezert? Tghid ghal-min kienet dedikata dik il-kanzunetta?
Carmel Cilia
Aug 30th 2011, 16:54
Ghandek ragun mija fil mija Mr. Mifsud hawn min qeghed jghid li l-ahhar ritrattli Mintoff ha ma gaddafi fi Frar li ghadda mhux ta mintoff izda ta Gonzi Kif ihawdu kollox dawn tal P.L hux? Faqqalhom ghax haqqhom.
M Schembri
Aug 30th 2011, 18:03
Mario Mifsud qed thallat il-hass mac-cikkulata. What Ms Muscat said was true, all the things you said have nothing to do with Dr Fenech Adami meeting Gaddafi when Mintoff called him our enemy, because he sent a gunboat for our men who were digging for oil. In those days Dr Fenech Adami put his hunger for power before our National interest. This is history you and other PN appologist wish to forget. No amount of mud slinging can change it.
Louis Galea
Aug 30th 2011, 10:02
During these months of turmoil on Libyan soil, up to my knowledge no one recounted the day when Gaddafi threatened us with his torpedoes when our tiny nation was trying to explore for oil in our territorial waters!
It was 20:20 hrs, when then Prime Minister Mr Dom Mintoff addressed the nation on the National TV station and recounted how the exploration rig 'Saipem II' had been warned by a Libyan submarine to stop its operations and was granted 24 hrs to leave the area - otherwise it would be torpodoed!
That evening Mr Mintoff declared that the Libyan people and their leaders are Malta's worst enemies.
All airstrips inlcluding Luqa, Hal Far, Hal safi andTa Qali were blocked with tanks filled with stones because of fear of being invaded by the Libyans! The three bofor guns at Luqa barracks, the only source of defence against Libyan air fighters were mobalised in case of an air attack by Libya.
Gaddafi, at that time contested that since Libya's coast was several hunderds of miles longer than ours, Malta had no right to explore for oil in these waters. He further insisted that we (Malta) were on his continental shelf.
Eventually we or him took the matter to the International Court where it was decided in favour of Libya.
This was the man who once told the Maltese Nation that we were blood borthers and who declared (at B'Bugia) that he would help the Maltese even by giving us weapons to fight for freedom.
Anyone recalls these events?
Mrs Pauline Abela
Aug 30th 2011, 12:50
I do recall some of those events, though somewhat vaguely, as I was still very young then. I didn't recall that the International Court found in Libya's favour. In my view, that's a typical outcome as whoever is the strongest normally gets the benefits - whether or not that decision is fair.
I believe that had Malta had the might of China, things would have been different. I support discussion around whether Malta should be considered for compensation either out of frozen assets or other means as I believe that Malta has had to forgo income which it had a reasonable chance of getting and which has probably gone to Libya instead.
I just wish that Maltese people stop blaming the PL and the PN for whatever the misdeeds of the past were and start working together for the benefit of Malta as a whole instead. Lately, it seems that many people are hell-bent on proving that the 'other' is 'bad' or 'wrong' rather than working together to find the best outcome for Malta.
Mr Joe Spiteri
Aug 30th 2011, 13:07
Please refer to KMB,s article of 22nd August in this column. In my reply to Mr. Mark Borg's comment, I did mention Gaddafi's naval threats to our oil exploration attempts, Libya's claim that Malta was an extension of Libya, and also the daily Libyan helicopter patrols along our shores and subsequent expulsion of Libyan armed forces personnel by Dom Mintoff. Its a shame that these and similar events are allowed to fade away.
MALCOLM SEYCHELL
Aug 30th 2011, 09:17
How Naive from George Vella. Doesn't he know that the rebels are killing blacks simply for skin reason??
angelo cilia
Aug 30th 2011, 18:00
They are killing them because Gaddafi hired a lot of mercenaries with the help of Israel to fight the rebels.
Most of these mercenaries happened to be from sub saharan nations, and as far as Libyans not liking sub saharans because of their skin colour , I would say that is a false statement as black people have been in Libya, in different capacities, for centuries. A few Libyans are even of mixed blood and their ancestry is partly from the sub sahara.
Mr Joseph E Briffa
Aug 30th 2011, 08:59
It's only natural for Labour to try to dissociate themselves completely from their erstwhile bosom friend, now that the fugitive Libyan leader is in hiding or on the run. . George Vella is now calling him a dictator unlike their democratic ex-leader. But the Matese were not born yesterday, there are still hundreds of thousands who lived in Malta in the seventies and eighties and I am not so convinced that they go along with what GV is saying. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, Alfred Sant was in the habit of saying. Furthermoe he adds that as far as he is aware Labour never received a penny from Gaddafi. We can therefore set our mind at rest. QED
Frans Aguis
Aug 30th 2011, 08:54
And this is why the EU should now make sure Libya emerges out of this as a free democratic nation and if need be send "financial aid"(investment).If Libya does come out of this as a prosperous country it will benefit all of Africa and Europe.I'm sure other African countries will follow Libya's example decades down the line
Mr Joe Gatt
Aug 30th 2011, 10:13
Frans Aguis
`if need be send "financial aid"
`Why not release Frozen Libyan Assests` The wealth is there already, but simply withheld for various reasons.
Libya cannot be compared to a Poor Bankrupt Country, not with the resources present there.
Should the Libyan People themselves manage their own interests, in an efficient manner, and the wealth generated is used for the common good of the relatively small Population, each Individual would be a Millionare.
Beleive me, the potential and prospects for the Libyan People is quite bright indeed, this is in sharp contrast, to our dept ridden situation. But necessary debts as we do not have mineral resources.
The depts that each and everyone carries, will have to be paid back in full, plus Interest, by us and our Future Generations.
M Schembri
Aug 30th 2011, 08:29
This PN spokesman - whoever he may be - mentioned only one instant where the CIA said that Libya had funded a Peace activity held by the MLP in 1989. All other accusations where just allegations, the usual PN babaw. Why doesn't this PN spokesman come out and say these allegations publicly, so that he will have to show proof of his allegations. With regards to the CIA document, I wonder how truthful this is, after all they also had no proof, the CIA did not even know that terrorists were planning the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, let alone where the MLP got its funding.
Ms Louise Vella
Aug 30th 2011, 07:29
Not a bad idea. All the illegal immigrants we have in Malta have come from Libya. They can now go back to Libya.
Anthony Mangion
Aug 30th 2011, 12:54
MHUX LI KIEN MINN FOMMOK GHAL FOMM ALLA
Mr Joe Gatt
Aug 30th 2011, 15:12
Tend to agree with you here, and with luck and good management on the Libyan side,
They may even have better prospects over there too.
In Xa Allah