Malta must withdraw from the Schengen area immediately because the arrangement is nothing more than another form of colonialism, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, chairman of the Campaign for National Independence, said today.

Referring to the Swiss decision to blacklist 188 top Libyans, and the Libyan retaliation of stopping all Schengen area visas, the former prime minister said this was yet another example of how Malta was back under the yoke of colonialism.

Malta, he said, was being forced to abide by decisions which were not in its national interest.

This blacklist had been in place for months, he said, but the Maltese government had not acted promptly to safeguard the national interest. Indeed, it even invited Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to come to Malta when it knew that that such a visit was not possible for as long as the blacklist remained in place.

The Schengen arrangement was flawed because the decision of just one country was binding on all the others, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said. As a result, hundreds of Maltese workers in Libya were living through tense times as their jobs were in danger.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said it was obvious that Libya would retaliate to the Swiss blacklist, and had Malta been in the Libyan position, it would have done the same.

He insisted that Malta should revert to the pre-2004 position of allowing visa-free travel between Libya and Malta, a factor which would also boost tourism.

VIOLATION OF THE CONSTITUTION

Dr Mifsud Bonnici also criticised the government for the AFM's participation in EU and Nato-led military missions, the latest being plans for participation in the Somalia anti-piracy operation.

The Constitution laid down that Malta was neutral and non-aligned, he said, and those provisions had to be respected.