The riots that erupted in Tunisia on December 18, 2010 were hailed as the Arab Spring that promised hope to many Middle East and North African countries. Sadly this revolution by the masses has only spluttered into winters of despair to millions of refugees in the Arab world ushering a migration crisis in Europe that is even putting the European Union in jeopardy.
This situation reflects the opening lines of Charles Dickens in his novel A Tale of Two Cities, when the smouldering embers of the French Revolution were being felt in London and Paris. “It was the best of times,” quipped Dickens, “it was the worst of times... It was the spring of hope; it was the winter of despair.”
In Syria, despite five years of violent pro-reform protests, Bashir Assad remains firmly entrenched in historic Damascus, propped up by Russian supremo President Vladimir Putin whose incessant bombing of the rebels at Aleppo has sent thousands scurrying for safety to the Turkish border. In Libya the overthrow and death of Gaddafi have not been followed by a democratic dawn but by great instability of warring factions and bitter rivalries, creating a highly dangerous political vacuum.
Like Nero, who fiddled while Rome burned, our Parliament is quibbling over breaches in our Constitution or wallowing in a Gaffe Arena while in nearby Libya, a declared failed state , IS is exploiting the power vacuum with the United Nations and NATO impotently looking on the impending global tragedy on our doorstep.
The rapid explosive reverberations of the Tunisian Arab Spring erupted violently in Libya, Egypt, Bahrein and Yemen fanning the flames of rampant IS, paradoxically a stateless Jihadist organisation that provided a fertile hotbed of radicalism threatening the security of the Western world.
If for CHOGM we rightly accepted security protection from friendly states, do we need the same professional surveillance now?
The savage cruelty, the crude barbarism in the form of crucifixions, beheadings and unimaginable torture make a complete mockery of the much vaunted civilisation of the 21th century.
Presently, thousands of Syrian refugees including women and children fleeing from the Russian bombing of Aleppo are facing catastrophic conditions outside the Turkish border, freezing in the extreme cold, without water and sanitation. As the situation worsens, Europe is tightening its immigration policies as the milk of human kindness, previously offered by Germany and Sweden, has gone sour in the face of protests.
Yes, Nero fiddles while Rome burns, as we witness this complacency and utter disregard by our political parties of this terrible scenario erupting in nearby Libya.
Libya is a large oil-rich country with over 140 tribes and a multitude of religious, ethnic and regional divisions which after the fall of Gaddafi are all in conflict. Libya has two rival governments, one led by Islamists in Tripoli and another in Tobruk that is recognised by the international community. Besides these divisions Libya is riddled with a number of armed factions, all fighting for control.
Recent echoes of this situation were quite visible in Malta and were even evident in our law courts. An escalation of these underlying currents among the thousands of Libyans on the island may not onlyaffect the peace and tranquility of our island home but also one of our major economic pillars, tourism.
Strict vigilance and discretion from our security forces are expected at all times as just one spark of indiscretion could have grave consequences.
The Guardian (February 9) reported a speech by Peter Ricketts, former security adviser to David Cameron, in which he stressed that IS in Libya poses a threat to Europe but support could only be given to help Libya stabilise when the people first form a coherent national government.
He hinted that there would be a remote chance that the UK would send combat troops as air strikes on their own havelittle effect.
Libya’s strategic geographical position as the favourite point for IS, with the possible expansion into the fragile states of Chad and Niger linking up with the Nigerian murderous Boko Haram, poses a real threat to European security. Which is the way forward for Malta in this volatile situation?
Do we need to update our constitutional neutrality clause? Are we sure that the arms trafficking recently discovered has not been going on for a long time? If for CHOGM we rightly accepted security protection from friendly states, do we need the same professional surveillance now?
These are questions to be discussedand answered by our Parliament in the national interest.