Why Labour keeps mum about Gaddafi (2)
In September 2009, the Labour Party held a conference to mark 40 years of bilateral relations between Libya and Malta, when what it really meant was 40 years of chumminess between Muammar Gaddafi’s regime and the Malta Labour Party.
This is not to say that the Nationalist Party in government had no bilateral relations with Gaddafi and his regime. On the contrary, much to our gathering disgust, it had rather too much.
But the Malta Labour Party thinks of Muammar Gaddafi as its personal property and believes it has a monopoly on sucking up to dictators for 10 pieces of silver.
Perhaps that might be changing, hence the embarrassed silence.
And so at that conference there was no mention at all of the fact that Labour is not in government and so not in a position to conduct bilateral relations with anyone.
Which is why, I suppose, they didn’t have much to talk about except mutual back-slapping and then international secretary AST made an appeal for all those with photographs, letters and mementos of special moments in the long history of relations between Malta and Libya to hand them over to the party for inclusion in the Golden Years catalogue.
The photographs of the conference are rather interesting, though. There’s a lovely one of Toni Abela, Anglu Farrugia and the man they used to call Hu Bastjan Dalli.
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Unbelievable! What was Johnny doing there? Shame! Shame! Shame!
[Daphne – He does business in Libya. But now that he is EU Commissioner he is at arm’s length, of course. His daughters do it.]
Yeah I know he does business in Libya, but this was a conference organized by the PL and I am not so convinced that he should have been present. Not many commissioners were there for sure!
Not only does he do business there, he also owns a house (villa by our standards) on the outskirts of Tripoli.
But what really inrigues me is this – and I wonder if Daphne can answer. What was a man like Guido de Marco doing befriending a tyrant like Gheddafi? We are talking about Malta’s foremost politician advocating human rights. A person known on the international stage to support the Palestinian cause because of human rights abuses by the occupying power of Israel.
So, how such a champion of individual fundamental freedoms and civil liberties call Gheddafi his friend is beyond me.
What sort of business do they do in Libya?
Every dictator sooner or later finished up in his own ” Piazzale Loreto”.
Lovely. Hw can we trust these Shylocks to make Malta’s foreign policy when they’re up to their necks in business interests?
Imbaghad niftahru bl-indipendenza. Ahjar immexxi minn Whitehall milli minn dan il-cabal.
Neutrality..my a$$
Looks like AST stole the show.
The banner says “40 sena” – well, that was in 2009, and would now be 42 years, which is the entire duration of the Gaddafi regime. Will they be celebrating again any time soon?
Anglu Farrugia’s favourite tyrant is hanging by a thread.