Some 200 people this morning walked from Christ the King Monument in Floriana through City Gate to Castille in Valletta, protesting against the “forced integration of foreigners in Maltese society”.

Holding placards saying “EU we are not your puppets” and Kemm fadal incarcru demm ghal vera helsien (how much more blood do we have to shed for real freedom), “No more illegal immigrants” Favur il-push back, Il Futur ta’ Uliedna Mhedded (Our children’s future is threatened) and “Multiculture no thank you, the protesters shouted that Malta belonged to the Maltese and not foreigners.

Alex Pisani from the Ghaqda Patrijotti Maltin, which organised the protest, warned participants not to be disrespectful, or racist saying the organisation wanted to put pressure on the EU and not the government.

Those who met for the protest, he said, were the true Maltese, they were patriots who loved their country and are proud to be Maltese.

“We don’t agree with integration and multiculturalism… There are so many immigrants on Malta that we will soon lose our identity… They are infiltrating our society little by little.”

Mr Pisani said that apart from illegal migrants, others from outside the EU were also settling in Malta.

Moreover, when Malta joined the EU, it lost its independence and freedom. The country was now in danger of losing its identity.

“If need be, we are ready to shed our blood in future,” he said.

Henry Battistino noted that forced integration had failed in the rest of Europe and had brought about fear.

“We are in a position where we are still able to prevent this from happening… We are backing our authorities to put pressure on the EU,” he said

They ended the protest with shout of Viva Malta and the Maltese national anthem.