Foreign Minister George Vella rejected criticism that the embassy in Tripoli was not helping Maltese citizens.

He defended the statement he made last week that the situation on the ground in Libya was not very serious and that there was no need of an immediate evacuation of Maltese citizens.

Dr Vella said the abduction of a Maltese citizen by rebel militias took place after his declaration and no one could have predicted what was going to happen.

Speaking in Parliament last night during a debate on an urgent motion tabled by the Opposition to debate the ongoing and evolving crisis in Libya, he admitted there were days last week when the Maltese Embassy in Tripoli was closed due to unforeseen circumstances.

However, his ministry was dealing with all requests made by Maltese citizens in the North African country and all the necessary assistance for their repatriation to Malta was being given.

Dr Vella said that the opportunity of special flights arranged by the Maltese government to bring back Maltese citizens was taken up by only a few Maltese because many still preferred to remain there.

We are monitoring the situation by the hour

A special crisis unit was set up within the ministry and this was maintaining contact with all the Maltese in Libya.

“We are contacting all Maltese still in Libya on a regular basis and we are monitoring the situation by the hour.”

The Maltese Embassy in Tripoli was now back in business with experienced staff in place.

“Until now, more than 3,000 phone calls and contacts have been made with Maltese nationals in Libya and we are advising them on what they should do,”

he said. According to Dr Vella, about 100 Maltese citizens remained in Libya, mostly in Tripoli and a few in Benghazi.

He said the situation on the ground was not the one being described by newspapers, which, he said, were being alarmist and unfairly critical of what the media deemed to be lack of assistance by embassy staff.

Dr Vella said Maltese diplomats were risking their lives and making big sacrifices to give the best possible service to Maltese citizens.

Opening the debate, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil asked whether the government had a real plan to deal with the crisis because it seemed that the government was not as organised as it should be on the ground.

He said the Opposition could not understand the government’s reluctance to discuss the evolving situation in Libya and to inform Parliament about the real situation and how it was dealing with the unfolding events.

Dr Busuttil said the Opposition’s main interest was that Maltese citizens were fully protected by their government and that Malta would be prepared as best as it could to deal with the situation in all possible circumstances.