Around 250 Libyans protested outside their embassy in Attard prompting three staff members to walk out and join the incensed crowds calling for an end to the Gaddafi regime – a move that made international headlines.
The protesters held placards saying “Game Over”, “42 years of hell”, “Gaddafi is a criminal” and chanted anti-regime slogans, going so far as to say they wanted their leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi dead.
They also wrote a letter to Ambassador Saadun Suayeh asking him to step down, join the protests and replace the “unconstitutional” green Libyan flag on the embassy with the “true” pre-revolution green, black and red flag.
One of the protesters, Seddik Souqi, 30, delivered the letter to the ambassador who promised to address the media in the evening to give an official update on what was going on in Libya.
But speaking to The Times, the ambassador simply called for an investigation into the “regrettable” deaths of anti-regime protestors that were being reported in Libya. He, however, refused to step down and said Col Gaddafi should remain in power.
“His presence for the time being is definitely a guarantee for the country’s unity,” the ambassador said.
Meanwhile, protesters claimed that the ambassador was on their side but could not say so because he was afraid of Col Gaddafi’s “mafia” who would take revenge.
The protest began at 11 a.m. with about 25 young men but the crowd quickly swelled around noon when women and children joined in as police set up barricades.
“This is our reaction to (Gaddafi’s son) Saif’s threats... Gaddafi has finally been exposed to the whole world, his brutality is being exposed and he has to pay for it,” shouted a Libyan woman, who said she had been living in Malta for decades.
Protesters were particularly angry at reports that Col Gaddafi’s government had brought in tens of thousands of African mercenaries to kill Libyans.
The protesters were joined by youth activist group Moviment Grafitti and the green party Alternattiva Demokratika, whose representative Arnold Cassola called on the government and the opposition to use their influence in Libya to stop the bloodshed.
When three embassy workers walked out of the building and joined the protests they were greeted and embraced by the jubilant and emotional fellow Libyans.
The workers told the press they had effectively quit their jobs and jeopardised their family’s well-being but this was a sacrifice they had to make for their country.
“I am pure Libyan but I have been living here for 15 years. Psychologically, I couldn’t just ignore the will of the people. I too want to have a home,” he said, poignantly hoping he could one day have a government he did not fear.
The protesters said they were very worried about friends and family and were finding it very difficult to keep in touch with them because of disrupted networks.
One protester claimed his brother had been shot in the leg by Col Gaddafi’s forces, which then invaded the hospital and stopped people from being operated on.
Others said there was an urgent demand for blood since the government stopped blood donations from being taken. There was also a shortage of medication.
The protesters also used the opportunity to complain about abuses by the Libyan embassy in Malta, where they said their passports were often retained for months on end, preventing them from travelling.
At one point, a Libyan official walked out of the embassy and was escorted to his car. The protesters spat and screamed at him, later saying he was a close ally of Col Gaddafi.
One of the protesters also hurled insults at Maltese police officers, saying Libya would hold them to account for every time the Maltese authorities deported immigrants back to Libya to be tortured.
The protesters, who also chanted “Allahu akbar” (God is great) stopped for midday prayers but carried on protesting till after 3 p.m.