Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and leader of the Opposition Simon Busuttil agreed yesterday that last Friday’s attacks in Paris were an attack on the European lifestyle that should not be countered by a siege mentality.
In a ministerial statement, Dr Muscat said that Malta joined the rest of Europe in mourning the victims of the terrorist attack on Paris. Although it did not appear that any Maltese was injured in the attack, this act of war remained a heinous one.
He said the recent spate of attacks in Turkey, France, Tunisia, Lebanon and others should not be linked to Islam, as this would play to the terrorists’ tune.
Acknowledging the spontaneous, generic reaction of anger and fear directed at immigrants, Dr Muscat warned this is exactly what the terrorists wanted: immigrant marginalisation which would create generations ripe for radicalisation and induction into terrorist cells. This must not be allowed to happen, Dr Muscat stressed.
The Prime Minister reiterated that there was no indication of any threat on national security for the upcoming CHOGM. He warned against the development of a siege mentality and said that €100 million of EU and national funds would to be invested in the coming years to beef up national security. The suspension of Schengen, he said, was already in force in some countries but it was vital to ensure a balance between security and freedom of movement.
Attack placing in jeopardy the freedom of movement Europe fought so hard for
Dr Busuttil expressed solidarity with the Paris victims, adding to the list the recent attack in Beirut, Lebanon, where at least 40 people died. The Paris attack, said Dr Busuttil, was Europe’s 9/11 and would definitely lead to changes in people’s social behaviour.
Islamic State had become enemy number one, he said, and concurred with the Prime Minister’s analysis that the terrorists were aiming to curtail people’s freedom of movement and lifestyle while simultaneously pushing society to marginalise immigrants and create a fertile ground for training terrorists.
Dr Busuttil said that the attack was placing in serious jeopardy the freedom of movement which Europe had fought so hard for. He said that while Malta could not yield to the threat raised by terrorists, the Opposition was concerned at the sale of visas by the present administration and said that better controls, checks and balances needed to be put in place to mitigate these threats.
He criticised the Prime Minister for not appointing an independent inquiry to investigate and take necessary action to remove the concerns raised by the Opposition.
Dr Busuttil said the CHOGM was the Prime Minister’s responsibility to call off or retain. He said this was a serious issue and called on Dr Muscat to unequivocally assure the people that Malta was up to handling the situation and that no threat existed. Dr Muscat took exception to the leader of the Opposition’s remarks on the issue of over 7,000 visas granted to Algerian nationals over the past year and insisted that the French government has confirmed it had no issue with the release of visas to Algerian nationals.
This is not a time to isolate the Maghreb but to reach out to avoid playing into the hands of the terrorists, Dr Muscat said. He added that there was no indication of any threat to Malta’s security. If there was, he would not hesitate to take all necessary decisions, including calling off the CHOGM.