In his contribution to this newspaper titled Chains Of An Unrequited Friendship, Simon Busuttil claims that while fingers were being pointed towards the Maltese government, the EU or Italy on the issue of migration prior to the revolts in Libya, “there was an unspoken pact not to criticise Col Gaddafi”.

Together with columnists like Mark Anthony Falzon (whose article’s title Dracula In Charge Of A Blood Bank on The Sunday Times says it all), Alternattiva Demokratika has repeatedly condemned not only the Gaddafi regime and his threats and extortion tactics but also the hefty amounts of money given to him by the Italian government to keep sub-Saharan immigrants from leaving Libya.

This is a position that had been welcomed by Dr Busuttil’s own party. Even Joseph Muscat’s PL were full of eulogies for the Italian government.

Too add insult to injury, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi even supported Col Gaddafi’s requests for annual financial contributions from the EU to Col Gaddafi’s regime to help Libya seal its own borders, though he didn’t specify the amount of money involved.

Alternattiva Demokratika on the other hand has consistently opposed such appeasement towards the tyrant colonel. This could only have come through dirty deals that would have been unaffordable for the Maltese economy, incompatible with human rights legislation and last but definitely not least a shameful display of weakness towards the most despicable bully in the Mediterranean.