Malta should show some dignity and self respect and stop acting as if it were a colony of Libya, Alternattiva Demokratika said.

The Green Party said it was extremely worried at the planned oil drilling off the Libyan coast in the Gulf of Sirte by the beleaguered multinational company BP, which had a “disastrous” track record with regard to safety measures.

AD pointed out that about 60 per cent of Malta’s drinking water was obtained by treating sea water and if a major accident were to occur 500 kilometres away, the island would lose a major source of drinking water in a matter of hours.

“After the serious accident on the BP platform in the Gulf of Mexico, which has been traced to incompetence and decisions doing away with safety procedures, a similar accident in a BP-run oil rig is not an impossible happening,” it said.

The party appealed to the government and “the likewise subservient opposition led by Joseph Muscat” to demand from Libya that all safety procedures are in place before drilling starts.

It also called on the UK government, which defended BP with the US Administration, to ensure that the lessons learnt from the Gulf of Mexico disaster are acted upon immediately. AD said that an oil disaster would have long-term effects on the livelihood of Maltese fishermen and also on the tourism industry and the environment.