Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this morning expressed satisfaction that destiny has given Labour the opportunity to organise Malta’s 50^th anniversary Independence celebrations.

“These will give us the opportunity to show that we have progressed as one people,” he said.

Addressing the annual general meeting of the party’s Paola section, Dr Muscat said Malta was an island country that lacked national resources but which managed to be independent for 50 years, a Republic for 40 years and a country without a military base for 35 years.

He acknowledged that it was ironic that these celebrations were being led by Labour as the Labour Party had, for many years, resisted, criticised and maybe tried to pit independence against freedom… These were comedies of the past and everyone, including the other side, was guilty.

He said that while it was easy for Labour to celebrate Freedom and Republic days, its challenge was next week, when it had to show that Independence belonged to the whole country and not half of it.

He encouraged everyone to have only two colours in next week’s festivities, not red and blue, but the red and white of the Maltese flag.

“This is what makes us rise above as one people… what shows that things have started to change, that we are not anchored in the past but are looking ahead.”

EU COMMISSIONER

Dr Muscat also spoke about Karmenu Vella’s assigned portfolio of Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, saying this was one of the biggest in the EU.

“It is a massive portfolio, the biggest a Maltese Commissioner ever had… Mr Vella will not be representing Malta but European interests. He will be there to make a name for Malta and to ensure that European rules are respected and implemented.”

In an obvious reference to the support Mr Vella will or will not get from Nationalist MEPs, Dr Muscat said the Labour Party did not expect anything from anyone but the people would make comparisons about how the Labour Opposition had behaved in the case of Tonio Borg and how the current Opposition would behave now, irrespective of the declarations being made.

Everyone, he said, would have to shoulder responsibilities.

IMMIGRATION

Photo: Kurt Sansone

Dr Muscat said that one of the new Commission’s major tasks was immigration.

Although arrivals in Malta were among the lowest this year, major tragedies were still underway, the latest over the past two nights.

People in this tragedy told the Armed Forces how they had been rammed by another boat and claimed 400 had died.

"And it is like nothing has happened," he said.

“This is a time of reckoning for the EU… This is the a message I will be giving  UNHCR Commissioner António Guterres tomorrow.... I will explain my plans and the help we need to implement them. For the human crisis in the Mediterranean remains,” Dr Muscat said.

EDUCATION

Earlier, Dr Muscat also spoke about the new scholastic year saying that many changes would be taking place that would make a difference to students now and in the future.

These included stipends for repeaters, less costly uniforms, the part implementation of the tablets project and moving closer to a coeducation system with boys and girls attending the same schools, as was the case in the private sector.

The Labour government would also rule with an iron fist on absenteeism. It would be tough on parents who allowed their children to skip school and they would have to be accountable.