As the Libyan community in Malta yesterday celebrated the end of Ramadan and the start of a new era, Ambassador Saadun Suayeh said he had been misunderstood by some who thought he did not support the Libyan people.

“That was not the case. I’m proud to say I did lots of things behind the scenes. I met with National Transitional Council representatives and the Maltese government. We were doing things behind the scenes for the revolution. I’m also proud to say that no shipments of oil or petrol ever left Malta,” Dr Suayeh added.

“I kept in contact with members of the Libyan community, encouraging them to be patient, assuring them the flag will be changed… and there it is now,” he added, indicating the three-coloured flag waving high above the embassy in Balzan.

The crowd of Libyans smiled and hugged each other as they sung or hummed the national anthem Libya, Libya, Libya, known as “Oh My Country”.

“It was every Libyan’s dream to see the independence flag flying on the embassy. Today’s celebrations mark the end of Ramadan and the liberation of Libya. We managed to rewrite Libya’s history in six months and we’re grateful for those who sacrificed their lives for Libya. Young Libyans are the lions behind this chapter and we owe our freedom to them,” Dr Suayeh said in Arabic to the cheers of “Allahu akbar” (God is the greatest). “But let’s be the solution and not the problem,” he added in a more sombre tone.

“Let’s not waste time on frivolous things but rebuild a new Libya and join our representatives, the NTC. The embassy, including its people, will not change overnight. However, there’s no place at the embassy for people who have stained their hands with Libyan blood,” he warned.

Dr Suayeh described the new era as “a feeling of joy, liberation and relief”.

“It has been a long time and the Libyan people felt the time for liberation had come. We hoped we would achieve this through peaceful means. Personally, I am a pacifist and would have preferred a Martin Luther style revolution but he (Muammar Gaddafi) forced it on us and the people had to take up weapons and fight,” he told The Times.

Dr Suayeh described the past months as difficult for him personally: “My role was not easy. In a way, we still had to maintain an open channel with the government in Tripoli because the Maltese government did not recognise the NTC fully… I was worried for myself, other people and my daughter, who was in Tripoli. So I had to try to speak my mind in a very careful way.”

Dr Suayeh’s role for the coming weeks would be more practical than political, making sure ships loaded with water and food supplies arrived at their destination. Later on, he would focus on strengthening Malta’s ties with the “new Libya”.

“Malta did a lot and I hope a new era is opening up for Malta as well,” Dr Suayeh said.

He noted that pockets of resistance were still present in Sirte and Sabha.

Sirte, from where Col Gaddafi hails, is a hard nut to crack for the freedom fighters. It houses a military base and an airport. However Libyans who spoke to The Times appeared confident about the takeover of the coastal city.

A 24-year old woman from Sirte, who spoke to Libyans at the reception on the phone, said there was a lot of excitement because of the “liberation of Libya”.

She reported fears that Col Gaddafi’s loyalists could use civilians as human shields when fighting erupts, which is “bound to happen any time soon”. But she also appeared confident that Sirte might topple like Tripoli did without the expected bloodbath.

Lying halfway between Tripoli and Benghazi, some government departments had been relocated to Sirte from Tripoli in the past years. The city has always been close to the dictator’s heart, who had proposed creating a “United States of Africa” administered through Sirte.

Asked whether they were scared of a bloodbath, Youssef Lamlum, who has been in contact with people in Sirte, said the situations was “stable” and civilians hoped the Tripoli “smooth victory” would be repeated in Sirte.

“He (Col Gaddafi) will not be able to win Sirte, not even if he had 20,000 men, as is being reported. He lost Tripoli notwithstanding the fact he had all those weapons. Some six tribes are based in Sirte and they have always tried to take the middle road, even though a couple of them are against him (Col Gaddafi).

“It seems that the coalition of tribes wants to negotiate a peaceful way out of this and the tribes do not intend to fight their way to the end but would rather see justice done at the magisterial courts,” Mr Lamlum said.