The movement in Libya is strong enough to show that the people do not want Muammar Gaddafi to lead any longer and at some point he will have to give in, former Prime Minister and President Eddie Fenech Adami has told The Sunday Times.
“I think that with the news coming out about the massacres, action needs to be taken. The first thing that comes to mind is some sort of sanctions but the EU and beyond have to make clear that they cannot tolerate such a happening in this day and age,” Dr Fenech Adami said.
He spoke in the wake of more reports of violence coming from the north African state, which since February 17 has been gripped by a protest movement which managed to overtake most of the country despite a brutal crackdown by the regime.
Labour’s Foreign Affairs spokesman George Vella also urged international action to “restrain” the regime. “However, we have to see what sort of action. I am against sanctions which were in place in the past because the ones to suffer the most from them were the civilians.”
If the UN imposed sanctions, Dr Vella insisted, they had to be targeted, monitored and reversible. “In the sense that as soon as it becomes clear that people are being affected more than the regime, they should be halted.”
Still, he would not be drawn on whether Mr Gaddafi should stay or go. “No, I will not commit to something like that... Our moral obligation is to go through international channels like the EU and the United Nations, where there is the mechanism to deal with this kind of scenario where someone goes beyond what is acceptable.
“Beyond that, however, you have no right to decide for the Libyan people. The Libyan people are expressing what they want and God willing what they are asking for will come to fruition. Who are we? It’s not a question of agreeing today or not agreeing.”
Both Dr Fenech Adami and Dr Vella defended Malta’s relations with Libya, as did former President Ugo Mifsud Bonnici.
“After the event and after recent happenings I think it is difficult to pass positive judgment. But one cannot ignore that we are talking about 40 years and in those 40 years there were positive developments in Libya as well,” Dr Fenech Adami said.
“I think that with Malta, successive governments tried to keep relations on an even keel, which was beneficial to Malta.”
Similarly, Dr Vella said: “The fact that you have close relations with a country like Libya doesn’t mean you approve of the regime’s system. If we did we would have tried to adopt it.”
Dr Mifsud Bonnici also insisted that Malta did not support Libya, but was taking care of its interests. “We never said Mr Gaddafi was doing wonderful things, we passed no judgment. And that was the duty of Maltese governments.”