Both the government and the opposition were servile towards the Gaddafi regime and needed to rethink aspects of their foreign policy, Alternattiva Demokratika yesterday said.

AD chairman Michael Briguglio also criticised the Labour Party for not uttering a “word of condemnation” against Col Gaddafi before he was clearly defeated.

Col Gaddafi’s brutal regime had refused to sign the Geneva Convention and blatantly disregarded human rights but different governments “saw no problem in having a privileged partnership with Libya”, Dr Briguglio said.

AD said it had supported the Libyan opposition from the very beginning of the uprising.

“While we and other organisations frequently showed concern about the brutality of the Gaddafi regime, others frequently boasted of their good relationship with the dictator,” Dr Briguglio said.

Now that both political parties joined AD in denouncing the Gaddafi regime, it was time to rethink Malta’s foreign policy.

“The government should also support calls for solidarity with democratic forces of opposition to such a regime,” he said.

Party spokesman for migration Robert Callus said the government, with Labour’s support, should stop turning a blind eye to human rights abuses, citing in particular Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s invitation to give extortion money to Col Gaddafi to keep immigrants in inhumane conditions.

It was also important that Malta actively supported the UNHCR so that it could be allowed back into Libya and work in a safe environment, he said.