One of the pilots who defected to Malta after he was ordered to shoot at Libyan people at the start of the revolution believes he would not be alive if it were not for the Maltese Government and God.

All we were sure of was that we did not want to shoot our people

“When we disobeyed the regime orders and headed to Malta we put the Maltese Government in a very difficult position.

“We will never forget what the Maltese did for us,” Ali Faraj al Rabty said on a visit to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at Castille to mark the second anniversary of the revolution.

Colonel al Rabty and Abdullah al Salheen flew to Malta on February 21, 2011, after defying Muammar Gaddafi’s orders to bomb a small village, only days after the Libyan uprising began.

For seven months the pilots were given refuge in Malta.

“There were Libyans who defected to Arab countries but were repatriated and executed by the regime,” Colonel al Rabty said, adding that on their way to Malta the pilots were unsure of what reception they would get, because of the relationship between Malta and Libya.

“All we were sure of was that we did not want to shoot our people.”

The pilot described Dr Gonzi as “courageous” because apart from knowing what Gaddafi was capable of, no one could predict whether the revolution would be successful.

Dr Gonzi recalled that 24 hours after the pilots’ arrival in Malta, the Libyan regime had sent an aircraft to collect them. The Maltese Government, however, stood its ground and protected the pilots.

Later, the Dutch authorities asked the Maltese Government to request the release of three Dutch nationals who were being held hostage in Libya.

The regime told Malta they would be released only if the pilots were repatriated.

“Malta again stood its ground and told the regime this was unacceptable, and we still managed to ensure the release of the Dutch nationals some days later,” the Prime Minister said, adding he was proud of the decision Malta took.

During the meeting at Castille, Col al Rabty was accompanied by his son Abdul Rahman, who has been studying English in Malta for the past year, and chargé d’affaires Mohamed Elghirani.

Sporting a lapel pin with the new flag of Libya, his 21-year-old son said he chose Malta for his studies because of what the island had done for his father.

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