Tonio Borg's immortal words: "I wouldn't say so."
Libyan foreign minister Mousa Kousa with Maltese foreign minister Tonio Borg at a meeting in St Julian's in January last year. Photograph by Darrin Zammit Lupi
The government of Malta can take all the praise it received for the evacuation effort and bury it.
All that seems like a lifetime ago already now. Three weeks is a really long time in politics.
Malta’s refusal to cooperate in coalition efforts to get rid of Gaddafi, its spokesmen’s unwillingness to condemn him or his actions – as distinct from the fuzzy-round-the-edges ‘all violence’ – have left us wide open to accusations of funny business.
Sky News had Malta’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister live on air this afternoon.
The interviewer opened with the statement:
SOME PEOPLE SAY YOU ARE SHOWING SOLIDARITY WITH GADDAFI’S REGIME.
I cringed into the sofa, cushion over my face, bracing myself for the response. I knew it wasn’t going to be a spirited and indignant assertion of Malta’s determination to get rid of the bastard. But how bad was it going to be?
And then it came.
“I wouldn’t say so.” Emphasis on the ‘I’.
That’s right. “I wouldn’t say so.”
Then Tonio Borg launched into a truly excruciating explanation of why he wouldn’t say so.
1. Malta hasn’t returned the Mirage jets to Gaddafi.
2. Why, Malta hasn’t even returned the pilots.
3. Malta is upholding UN sanctions.
4. Malta evacuated tens of thousands of people – including (you tell ’em, Tonio!) British nationals.
5. When Libya asked Malta to help enforce the ceasefire (at the time this exchange was taking place, people were being shot and killed around Benghazi), Malta told Libya that it would not do so unless the UN said so.
6. The prime minister “has publicly stated that the time of this regime is over”.
7. But this does not mean that we will allow Malta to be used to launch an attack on another country.
That’s right: he said an attack on another country. Not Gaddafi’s regime, but Libya. Ergo, according to Malta’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, the coalition forces led by the United States, Britain and France are attacking Libya.
But the coalition forces are not attacking another country. They are not attacking Libya. They are attacking a regime they have declared already to be illegitimate. They are protecting the citizens of that country from internal attacks against them.
Tonio Borg, minister of foreign affairs, can’t tell the difference or make the distinction. Would the pill-prescriber from Zejtun have been worse at this stage? You know, I’m beginning to doubt it. And that’s really worrying.
———-
The interviewer cut in: MISTER DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, ARE YOU SAYING THAT YOU ARE OPPOSED TO WHAT THE COALITION FORCES ARE DOING?
Oh God, I said, cushion at the ready again, please don’t let him say, “I wouldn’t say so.”
But he didn’t. Instead he offered up an apologetic “No, not at all. The fact that we are not participating does not mean that we are opposed to the resolution.”
And on it went.
What about Germany? Germany is not doing anything either. It is unfair to pick on Malta and say that Malta has a special relationship with Libya.
————
The interviewer interjected to make the point that Germany has said it will take on a greater burden in Afghanistan to make up for the fact that it is not doing its bit in Libya. WHAT WILL MALTA OFFER IN LIEU OF NOT PLAYING ITS PART?
Cushion at the ready, I shrank back. Tonio Borg giggled or sniggered, I am too wound up with annoyance to work out which, and said:
Malta is a small country.
We cannot offer what we cannot offer.
I removed my cushion to yell at the television: We cannot offer what we cannot offer, but we can offer what we can offer, and we’re refusing to do that.
But Tonio Borg hadn’t finished yet:
Malta is the sovereign state closest to Libya. (It is not. Greece, by virtue of Crete, is as close if not closer, and in any case Italy, by dint of Sicily, is just 60 miles more distant).
I yelled at the television again.
THAT’S THE REASON WHY WE SHOULD PARTICIPATE, YOU DUNCE, NOT THE REASON WHY WE SHOULDN’T.
The foreign minister was oblivious to the fact that the arguments and justifications which seem so ‘wise’ (Maltese meaning – ‘wajs’) in Malta come across as pathetic, cowardly and utterly fallacious in the context of international forums.
——–
The foreign minister then told a whopper (I will be charitable and not use the words ‘he lied’). He told Sky News that Malta can’t participate in the coalition because it is “militarily neutral”.
Militarily neutral, eh? That’s a new one. God knows why we have armed forces then. He conveniently and disingenuously avoided explaining that our neutrality does not come into play when action is mandated by the UN Security Council.
In other words, he hid behind neutrality even when the resolution of the UN Security Council last Thursday stripped that excuse right away, leaving the Maltese government with no other parapet beneath which to cower.
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The video is here:
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/Video-Maltas-Deputy-Prime-Minister-Tonio-Borg-Talks-To-Sky-News/Video/201103315956001?lid=VIDEO_15956001_Video:MaltasDeputyPrimeMinisterTonioBorgTalksToSkyNews&lpos=searchresults
“Saturday, 19th March 2011 – 23:15CET
Mediterranean turned into ‘battlefield’ – Gaddafi
AFP
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said the Mediterranean has turned into a “real battlefield” after Western air strikes today and opened arms depots for his people to defend the country.
Gaddafi, in a brief audio message broadcast on state television, condemned the allied Western attacks on Libya as “barbaric, unjustified Crusaders’ aggression.”
He vowed to retaliate with military and civilian targets in the Mediterranean, warning that the interests of Mediterranean and North African countries were now “in danger.”
“The Mediterranean region has become a real battlefield,” he said. “Arms depots have been opened and all the Libyan people are being armed” to defend the country against Western forces.
British, French and US forces earlier today launched strikes from the air and sea against Gaddafi’s forces under a UN Security Council resolution to impose a ceasefire in a month-long showdown between loyalists and rebels.
US and British forces fired a barrage of at least 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libya against Gaddafi’s air defences, the US military said. France said it carried out an initial four air strikes.”
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110319/local/mediterranean-turned-into-battlefield-gaddafi
Uncanny coincidence (especially for Obama):
“The commencement of the allied military campaign came on the eight-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. On March 19, 2003, President George W. Bush addressed the nation at 10:16 p.m. from the Oval Office, telling Americans that coalition forces “have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein’s ability to wage war.”
Why should you cringe at the words of a Sky News hitman?
Is exercising our right to pursue peace through non-military means “showing solidarity with Gaddafi’s regime”?
I wouldn’t cringe. I would send him to Coventry bil-pulit.
The Sky News “hitman” wasn’t prepared enough on the neutrality clause. He should have reduced Tonio to tears while shredding his future international credibility to bits.
Pursue peace with Gaddafi? You must be taking lessons from your hero, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici.
Ah, now I get it. Kev aspires to the Nobel Peace Prize.
C’mon, Kevvy. The guy backed off. He was dealing with a dummy.
He should have skewered our ‘Deputy Prime Minister’.
Does the Maltese Constitution state that this guy is only one heartbeat away from the PM’s job? Although the incumbent isn’t doing that well at the moment.
Some targets for Gaddafi: city gate, ‘zobb’ monument, Armier boathouses, any part of sheepshagger country (Gozo), the tax office, er …,that’s all for now.
If Gaddafi attacks us, we can attack back with Twistees. The Germans sent a Lufthansa A380 to take a full load from Luqa today.
Let’s liberate the embassy in Balzan.
A380 plane-load of Twistees – Germany’s ‘special contribution to NATO initiatives in Afganistan’, perhaps? Germany’s sop to the participants in the coalition for failing to do its bit in protecting the Libyans from Gaddafi’s excesses?
Sorrier still is that Malta could not get near to doing even that for the Libyans.
Malta has yet to get round to calling Gaddafi by his name in its condemnation of the atrocities he is perpetrating there.
Malta has not yet even come round to speaking of atrocities, but refers to violence or, more accurately, ‘violence on all sides’, and the prime minister’s ‘atmosphere of violence’ last Friday, thereby equating defensive action with unjustified aggression.
Min mhux kontra taghna, huwa maghna. By failing to fullfil its obligations as UN member, Malta is not being neutral, but is firmly on the side of Gaddafi – yes, the very man who Malta is even now too afraid or ashamed to mention by name.
Tonio borg, I have voted PN in every election since 1987 and will do so again in 2013 – but only because there is no credible alternative.
Having said that, I will tell you now that you should be ashamed of yourself for speaking the way you did on Sky News, and the prime minister should be ashamed of himself too for being so spineless, so chicken-licken, when faced with the possibility of doing something concrete to get rid of a brutal murderer.
Somebody should play a sound bite of Tonio Borg a few weeks ago when he said that before taking any action, he wanted to wait to see “how the situation would develop”.
You needed a huge amount of foresight, didn’t you, to see how “the situation would develop”. Typical political speak, veru chicken, sit on the fence, non-committal load of rubbish.
And while you were waiting to see how the situation developed, Tonio Borg, only God knows how many people were murdered and how many families ripped apart for ever.
We’re really spolit for choice in this country, aren’t we, with Tonio Borg and Johnny Dalli on one side and George Vella and AST on the other. No wonder more and more people lose faith in all politicians.
As for PM Gonzi, the image of him embracing that scumbag just weeks ago must go down as one of the most embarrassing moments in his political career. Though they’re the last to be in a position to talk, if I had anything to do with the Labour Party, I would already have photos of Gonzi hugging Gaddafi ready for the next election campaign.
Teo, the problem is that the Labour Party has worst pictures and they are even worse fence-sitters than the PN.
Unfortunately, our foreign affairs dealings are really well below zero. Most probably, this is due to the generation of youngsters brought up under the lackey, bowl-begging Mintoff time.
“If you treat all sides equally, if you draw a moral equivalence between victim and aggressor then you are just a step away from being neutral, and when you are neutral you are just a step away from being an accomplice” – Christiane Amanpour
And that, D.Zammit, says it all.
She’s a hell of a journalist. She left CNN and now, I think, works with ABC.
‘exercising our right to pursue peace through non-military means ‘ eh? Pursue peace? Through NON-military means? With Muammar Gaddafi? kev is either a nitwit, or he plays the part to perfection.
Both.
kev is just a rebel without a cause.
DCG, we’re usually on the same page, but not today I’m afraid. It’s a double edge sword and our PM and his ministers (or some of them) veered on the side of cautiousness. Kudos to them.
We would needlessly be placing our people at risk if something goes terribly wrong (say in the exceptional case of bomb going off, for example) and what would we get in return for turning our country in a military base? Praise? Respect? Ahh, but that’s more important than the safety of our people!
I don’t see the benefit of taking risks here…Too tired to go on…
[Daphne – Lucky for you (and me) then that other countries are willing to take the risks that will ultimately benefit us, without asking us for anything in return. Oh and incidentally, here’s the prime minister, asking for help with a hypothetical refugee crisis – help from those countries whose coalition he refused to help in turn. ‘No, we won’t help you try to get rid of Gaddafi and avert a refugee crisis, but if you fail, and the refugee crisis ensues, then we expect you to help us deal with the fall-out.’ http://menamagazine.com/?p=3670 ]
Compare and contrast:
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Video-British-Forces-Are-In-Action-Over-Libya-Prime-Minister-David-Cameron-Confirms/Article/201103315955468?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15955468_Video%3A_British_Forces_Are_In_Action_Over_Libya%2C_Prime_Minister_David_Cameron_Confirms
Lucky that our planes were not shot down during the evacuation. Lucky that our ships were not sunk either.
[Daphne – Why would they have been? And why ‘our’ ships and planes in particular and not everyone else’s?]
Maltese nationals were heroes and for our size we did our part (although some believe we had no option). We could have left our planes/boats here, but we didn’t. These were not on autopilot…they were manned by our nationals.
[Daphne – Look, let’s be realistic. That wasn’t a war effort. It was a paid rescue effort. And ‘we’ didn’t do anything: commercial companies did. The work ‘we’ did was on the ground here in Malta, organising things and whizzing people through. Supremely well organised, yes, but in retrospect I’m beginning to think it was deliberately overhyped and blown out of proportion with an eye to butting out of doing anything else. And no, we didn’t have a choice. You can’t hide behind neutrality and refuse to use Malta as an evacuation point.]
Re: others willing to take risks. Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t. We have no fighter planes and no navy. No real experts (although some would like to believe otherwise)…yes, maybe cowardly we rode the wave, but did so safely. We will emerge unscathed!
[Daphne – Physically unscathed and with our reputation and credibility in tatters. Fabulous deal.]
“No real experts.”
In what? Geopolitics and defence issues? Then we stop the charade and hand back our independence, because we lack the building blocks of government.
We have to stand up and be counted. What if Britain, the United States and France were neutral too? Where would Libya (and Malta) be then? You can’t be neutral with a regime that has been butchering people for 42 years.
Is this the PN we fought for in the 1980s? Where is our pride and our integrity? Where is our sense of doing what has to be done for the sake of justice and what is right, even if it means making sacrifices to do so?
I am ashamed to say I am Maltese. We are not a nation without balls, dear Prime Minister, so please do not speak as though we are.
I am not even bothering to look at what the Labour leader is saying, or not saying.
Utterly embarrassing.
How can any Government Minister or diplomat answer a question about whether he supports a regime that kills its own people with an “I wouldn’t say so”? FFS.
In a normal country, he would have to resign. This was the first time in decades that a Maltese foreign minister had the opportunity to say something on the world stage. I doubt enough people in Malta appreciate how badly he has damaged our international standing and reputation.
Does he even have a communications specialist to advise him on how to answer journalists’ questions? He is lucky the Sky News journalist wasn’t more probing.
Ironically, soon after the interview Sky News broke for ads. Guess what? There was an MTA add promoting Malta as “Truly Mediterranean”.
I’m not surprised that the MTA is filling in for the Maltese High Commission in London and is issuing statements on behalf of the Maltese government. Do they really think they can salvage the tourism industry by avoiding participating in the enforcement of the UN Resolution?
Daph, have you noticed that Moussa Kousa’s assets were not frozen?