Doctors Without Borders pulling out of eastern Libya: too dangerous to stay
Medical aid group withdraws team from east Libya
Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:13am GMT
CAIRO, March 16 (Reuters) – Paris-based medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres has withdrawn its teams from eastern Libya to Egypt due to heavy fighting between insurgents and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.
It will still help Libyans, mainly through sending supplies, MSF said in a statement.
Gaddafi’s forces have swept across a coastal strip into what was rebel-controlled territory, retaking several oil towns and moving as far east as Ajdabiyah, which lies about 150 km (90 miles) south of the rebel base of Benghazi.
“Amid fierce and ongoing fighting in Libya, Medecins Sans Frontieres has been forced to withdraw its staff from Benghazi,” the group said.
Its teams had now reached or were travelling to Alexandria on Egypt’s north coast.
“They will try to continue supporting Libyan health facilities, primarily through provision of medicines and medical materials,” it said in a statement received late on Tuesday.
MSF had made 33 tonnes of medical supplies available, but security conditions had made it effectively impossible for medical teams to travel safely to areas of fighting where there was the greatest need.
The group said that on two different occasions last week, an MSF team tried to reach the contested oil town of Ras Lanuf but was forced to turn back due to insecurity.
A team that went to Brega, another oil town, and planned to set up a small operating theatre had to postpone their activities as the frontline moved east, the group said. The surgical team is now also on standby in Alexandria.
MSF said a team in Tunisia was continuing efforts to cross into Libya from the west to provide medical and humanitarian assistance to people stuck or wounded in the fighting. It said the Libyan authorities had prevented that team entering Libya.
(Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
© Thomson Reuters 2011 All rights reserved
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I cannot understand how the thick-skinned leaders (bar France and England) can still face the assembly of “leaders”- shame and shame again
You could also see it as France and England raising false hopes in the the insurrectionists.
[Daphne – How negative and defeatist you are. So Maltese.]
Why? they shouldn’t have spouted their mouth off unless they were ready to follow through.
Cameron and Sarkozy have the reputation of their countries behind them. Some random blogger ruminating does not.
[Daphne – If I were just some random blogger, Joseph, you wouldn’t be hanging round my skirt 24/7. The prime ministers of Britain and France do not ‘shoot their mouths off’. They have batteries of advisers and every speech and move is scripted and planned.]
Sorry, I meant “blog commenter”. France’s foreign minister seemed to be unaware of the position Sarkosy took. That’s Germany’s foreign minister reporting. I hope you find him credible.
I’m sure there are junior officers who had some academic thesis on the theoretical upheavals and overtaking of Libya.
So Medicans Sans Frontiers doctors are moving out caring for their own safety while France wants us all to be involved to send our children to fight. That is a good one.
[Daphne – Send our children to fight? Children are not allowed to join the army.]
You know what I meant. If not, it means our sons and daughters.
[Daphne – All of whom are over the age of consent, join the military willingly and are not conscripted, and free to do whatever they please.]
I hate it when someone who does not know how to reply about a subject, uses grammar or any silly thing like that as an excuse. Any way maybe France will go and help the people of Bahrain now.
Well even you and me are not allowed to join the army and you know the reason why.
[Daphne – Yes, too old.]
Jahasra x’mentalita. Do you have children-soldiers, edward cassar?
John does America send children to war. Why do you have to offened, more still when you are in the wrong???
Iraqi women embrace mothers of U.S. war dead
By Yahya Barzanji – The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Sep 26, 2010 13:30:41 EDT
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — Nine American mothers whose children died fighting in Iraq were embraced Sunday by dozens of Iraqi women who lost their own children during decades of war and violence in a meeting participants said brought them a measure of peace.
Lastly why do you have to insult me John .????????
edward cassar, wars are odious, but sometimes it takes a war to rectify a situation.
It took G.W. Bush (and Blair) to rid Iraq from the terrible Saddam Hussein (gassed his own people, remember?).
The mayhem in Iraq now is not of America’s or Britain’s making, but of parties interested in a non-democratic and failed Iraq. Same as in Afghanistan. Churchill declared war on Hitler, remember? Millions died as a result of that declaration.
What would you have done?
America does not send children to war. America sends professional soldiers. Those soldiers enlist of their own free will. Nobody forces them to do it. Do you know that many, if not all, of these actually look forward to soldiering?
So I offended and insulted you? Where? Has France asked us (Maltese, I presume) to join in a war against Gaddafi? Did it cross your mind that there are Maltese soldiers who would willingly go to do what they are trained to do in Libya? Yes, edward cassar, I am sorry but I repeat, x’mentalita.
[Daphne – Children are not allowed to join the army.]
Unless you’re in Gaddafi’s army.
http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Child_soldiers_being_recruited_in_Libya_United_Nations-nid-80348-cid-1.html
Sometimes I wonder whether we (the Maltese that is) are actually descendants of those Maltese that were so much praised for their courage in World War II.
[Daphne – World War II? What the British mistook for courage and bravery was actually just stoicism and resignation. Heqq, xi trid taghmel, hu. Hawnhekk qeghdin. Given a choice, most of them would have fled or embraced Mussolini for a little peace. But they didn’t have a choice, did they.]
Something seems to have gone wrong somewhere as (sadly) Edward Cassar’s mentality seems to be the prevalent one among us, or at least among most of the people I encounter both in real life as well as on the media and the net. My only hope is that it can be explained by some heavy statistical bias in that regard.
Edward Cassar, France does not “want us all to be involved” but, as a matter of fact, we ought to be. And we don’t have to actually go and fight or “send our children” but we can at least support those who do.
What a stupid question in defence of blood money and cowardice!
Edward, when you join the army you become a soldier, and the last time I checked, soldiers fight wars.
EC, MSF are doctors helping the wounded. In fact they have risked much more than any soldier outside of Libya did. Soldiers’ main raison d’etre – as far as I know – is to fight. But the reasoning in Malta is that soldiers are only a symbol.
One objection to EU membership was that Maltese soldiers might be involved in conflict. If you don’t want to be involved in “wars” then why become a soldier?
To add to my last comment, because of the free and democratic world’s procrastination, the wounded in Libya will now be bereft of necessary medical help. Liberte, fraternite -ha!
The French are eager to engage the Libyan military because much of the latter’s equipment is French-made anyway.
[Daphne – Yes, Albert. It’s called setting a thief to catch a thief.]
Daphne will you volunteer one of your boys.
[Daphne – Edward, my ‘boys’ are grown men aged 22, 23 and 25, who don’t even live in Malta, and who make their own decisions. They are not in the army or the air force, but if they were, I would be proud to see them go, and they would be proud to do it. Unlike you, they are not the gutless offspring of a gutless parent (note to readers: Edward and I grew up opposite each other). Also, my father comes from a family of soldiers (his father was the only exception), all of whom saw active service, so I am not likely to share your attitude, but rather to regard it as cowardly and contemptible: not willing to fight yourself, but wanting others to fight to protect you. Il-vera heroes.]
Edward Fenech, that is an impertinent question. Why do you expect Daphne’s children to go and fight for a foreign country? Their allegiance lies in Malta not Libya. You are talking non-sense here, sorry!
What have they got to do with Libya? I am sure if push comes to shove they would fight for Malta, if Malta’s sovereignty is threatened.
Daphne, I don’t know why you bothered answer him. The question he made, comes with its own answer already!
[Daphne – I don’t agree with that statement at all. We all have a vested interest in getting rid of him, as David Cameron told parliament. Malta has even more of a vested interest in getting shot of him and his nasty family for good. A fight against Gaddafi is not a fight for a foreign country but a fight for us all. No one will ever be able to get on a plane with their mind at rest from here on in if he survives, for example. Nor will we be able to do anything if he stockpiles weapons of mass destruction with the help of his new friends Russia and China sanctions or no sanctions. Edward’s question was not impertinent so much as daft. Grown men are not in their mother’s gift. They make their own decisions. Those rebels fighting to free Libya are the same age, and they haven’t been ‘volunteered by their mothers’. One of the reasons I have such empathy for the cause is that they put me in mind of them. ]
A Latin author once wrote “If you wish for peace, prepare for war.” The adage is still true today.
Robert Heinlein’s vision outlined in “Starship Troopers” would cure this relatively recent Western pusillanimous attitude. You have to earn citizenship by serving your country – if you do not fight, you do not vote.
Edward Fenech, I have been wanting to say this for a long time. Nobody wants to see their sons/daughters killed in battle. But those who hide behind the ‘neutrality’ arguments only want to save their skin.
What I need to know from you is this. Who do you think waits back home for the body bags of soldiers, whether they are American, British or any other nationality? Soldiers are human beings who leave families behind. You don’t want your children to fight but then it is fine for those of other nationalities to do so.
Edward, we don’t have compulsory military service. So, if we have soldiers we EXPECT them to be soldiers and not ‘operetta actors’ like Mintoff once said. We don’t have conscripts in our army.
Thatcher once sent the British Navy to defend the Falklands and a lot (even some members of her cabinet) criticised her like you are doing, Edward, and her answer was in the line “Why do the British keep the Royal Navy?”
World leaders are in a dilemma; if they attack Gaddafi, armchair critics like you say that it was done for oil; if they don’t attack you say that they don’t give a damn about the Libyan people.
VIVA GADDAFI dak ragel bidejn soddi mhux bhall GONZIPN mitruh min sidru li ghadu kemm ha tkaxkira fill parlament u kif qal hu it is time for gonzi to go as he lost his leggitimacy to govern this island and i tell you again VIVA gaddafi and i hope god gives him the strenth to keep on in LIBYA long live Gaddafi
X’gara, Tony10, Joseph Muscat gie upstaged minn Gaddafi issa? Dawn l-ideat tieghu fuq moderati u progressivi ma joghgbuniex? Irridu ragel bil-bajd bhal Gaddafi?
Are you serious? You are actually comparing Gonzi to Gaddafi? You are such a sorry ‘person’.
Hallsek sewwa, mid-dehra.
Tony10 – you are vile, twisted and evil, I rarely use such strong language with anyone.
Gaddafi is paying foreign mercenaries to suppress and butcher his own people, Gaddafi stole money from his own people and using the stolen money to pay foreigners to kill his own people.
…and what has GONZIPN got to do with this? Is the PL not just as bad?
You seem to be from the Mintoff lot, whose only language they speak is violence.
Bdew Hergin il-cockroaches. Fejn hu il-Pif Paf?
Il PifPaf baghtnieh kollu il-Libja biex naghmlu in no flajs zown.
Pif Paf is not effective with Gaddafi.
With Gaddafi, what we need is a very targeted air Raid.
tony10, so you are one of the supporters of a mass murderer who is wanted by the International Court of Justice. You are a disgusting person who hides behind an anonymous name but will soon be celebrating Gaddafi’s victory in Valletta behind KMB and his coterie.
I think you badly need a good Maltese/English spell checker and one for grammar too.
When will we be rid of human excrement such as yourself?
Wonka I answered to your question; “How exactly am I (willywonka)spineless?
http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2011/03/13/heres-another-brilliant-
http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2011/03/13/gaddafi-is-working-hard-for-that-ceasefire-of-tonios-and-josephs-by-killing-off-the-other-side/
I think you are proving my point.
tony10, had a bad day today?
You should have said ALLAH not God,I doubt whether our GOD would go out of his way to give that monster Strength.
[Daphne – It’s the same God…..and here I resist the temptation to add a comma followed by ‘moron’. Judaism, Islam and Christianity share the same God, the one of the Old Testament. It’s on other matters that we part company. Besides, I can’t imagine how after a lifetime in Malta you failed to notice that our God is called Allah too.]
sorry I was to rush to answer Tony10. You are right it is the same God, but I was so angry at what he wrote that I was too rush.
Dan tony10 x’jahbat?
Sorry Daphne, I don’t know of an expression in English that says this as succintly as this one. Sometimes I wonder how distorted minds function and the expression ‘skorfina nieqsa’ becomes so very real.
Daphne, isn’t life, at the moment, depressing enough without having to be exposed to idiotic comments as the above?
Tony10’s comment expresses sentiments and attitudes that are actually very common among Mintoffjani.
I’m so glad to see tony10 is back. Sometimes I think that this blog needs to be a bit more representative of the Maltese population, in the sense that it would be good to let some morons, like tony10, vent their views here. We should be allowed to have a laugh every now and then.
[Daphne – If this comments-board were to be representative of the Maltese population, it would be like timesofmalta.com’s, which really is representative. So no thanks. It’s the online equivalent of being at the Trade Fair on a Sunday evening.]
Sorry. Did my comment sound so serious?
tony10, no person in his right mind would reason the way you do.
Inti mohhok sew?
The level of empathy and coherent logical thought displayed in this comment suggests the stereotypical Labour voter.
However, I am confused – is he suggesting that Gonzi should deal with the opposition (PL) in the same way Ghaddafi deals with his opponents so as to merit the title of “bidejn soddi”?
Tony10, go and hide yourself amongst pigs cause that’s where you belong.
Sarkozy gambled on the rebels when he was the first leader to officially recognise them. He lost.
[Daphne – No, he didn’t. This is not a game or a competition. You sound like the t**sers over on the Labour websites, crowing because Gaddafi is winning and proving people like me ‘wrong in attacking him’.]
Yes he did and it is well documented. I believe some of your family lived in Libya and have lost the gamble too.
[Daphne – ‘Yes he did and it is well documented’. You can’t document an opinion. You can only document facts. Bad luck for your thesis, Reuben, but the rest of the European Union has followed suit: http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n244694
“I believe some of your family lived in Libya and have lost the gamble too.” Nobody in my family ever lived in Libya, whether under Gaddafi or under King Idris. Nor does anybody in my family have business interests or property in Libya, or work there. You are confusing me with somebody else. Or listening to Chinese whispers. No doubt, it’s the usual story of Maltese people being unable to understand that money or vested interest are not life’s sole motivations. Unable to rise to the occasion themselves, to stand up for what is right, they attribute ulterior motives to those who do, and this makes them feel better about themselves, less craven.]
tONY10 You haven’t got the guts to say who you are. Come out in the open and say who you are.
I thought he was Gaddafi’s new ambassador to Malta.
tony10, I’m sure the ’10’ doesn’t represent your IQ.
What we know about tony10’s IQ size is that it is smaller than his shoe size.
Nobody would blame these doctors for leaving Benghazi. How heroic it must be then for the Maltese born Bishop Sylvester Carmel Magro to stay in Benghazi as the Gaddafi troops advance. Further reading of his recent interview can be found in the radio.vatican.org.
[Daphne – He has a special place in my heart. When he was but a lowly monk in a cassock and sandals (on a Vespa, as I recall), the nuns at St Dorothy’s drafted him in to teach religion to a class of 30 bemused 13-year-old girls, me among them. I spent the year satirising him, and to his credit he never got cross, raised his voice or dispatched me to the headmistress. I suppose that year in a convent school with 400 bitchy girls in blue checks was good training for Benghazi 2011.]
Is Tony10 for real?
I think it was just a sarcastic comment of some sort but I don’t quite ‘get it’.
A note to your readers. I have managed to obtain some direct feeds from Benghazi in order to better assess the situation given that there seemed to be no more news coming from the opposition side.
Apparently the situation is not as bleak as we were thinking it was insofar as the rebels are concerned. They’ve made some more inroads, a suicide pilot has helped their cause immensely in Tripoli, and defections are continuing in their droves.
I have come around to the idea of not being in favour of a NFZ, but instead prefer targetted air-strikes and arming the rebels. In fact I don’t think that a NFZ would help the rebels given that the deadly gunfire isn’t coming from the air, but from the ground.
See what Steve Clemons has to say about it:
http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/2011/03/supporting_a_no/
and then this guy:
http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/2011/03/supporting_a_no/#comment-181179
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110316/local/clinton-admits-libya-urgency-as-gaddafi-hits-back
The sickos are out in force I see. They need a reminder that this is not timesofmalta.com.
Oh no, now Bunky seems to be following Joseph’s advice:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110316/local/un-chief-calls-for-libya-ceasefire
Just what is needed for order and normality (Gaddafi style) to be restored in Libya.
See this article:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110316/local/japan-s-tragedy-may-leave-tuna-industry-reeling
Is it me or have we lost sight of what is really important? WIth so many people dead or feared dead in Japan, we worry about the tuna industry?
Broadly speaking, that article isn’t about the tuna industry. If it were, it would have looked at supply as well as demand.
Situation in Bahrain is far worse.
[Warning: Extreme Gore]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMQPNz45Oqo&skipcontrinter=1
Up to a week ago I was pretty certain the western world would intervene in Libya in some way but now I have lost all hope. I really believe the tragic events in Japan have provided an escape clause for governments to look the other way long enough so that the problem in Libya would sort itself out.
I really am sick to the gills thinking of the consequences of so many ordinary Libyans protesting so openly – in Malta as well – who by now must feel that they are marked men and women. As for any Maltese hailing the return of the new, more-than-ever-unpredictable Gaddafi…well I am left speechless
They hail in vain.
http://www.rferl.org/content/commentary_qaddafi_could_resume_wmd_program/2340596.html
If Libya’s Qaddafi Hangs On…
After “cleansing Libya” of the “rats, cockroaches, and drug addicts” he says have risen against him, will Muammar Qaddafi turn his attention to the foreign countries he believes fueled the rebellion against him?
“Gaddafi’s forces have swept across a coastal strip into what was rebel-controlled territory, retaking several oil towns and moving as far east as Ajdabiyah, which lies about 150 km (90 miles) south of the rebel base of Benghazi.”
Tony10 aside, could it be that Gaddafi has now extended his forces enough to expose his defence of Tripoli?
Tony10 is Tony Blair in disguise. Blair as we all know is a war criminal and mass murderer.
For you info my grandfather fought the Nazis in north Africa with the rank of captain in the British army.
That is not the argument. The argument is that it is very easy for you to advocate violence when nobody in your family will come back home in a body bag.
[Daphne – Only captain? tsk tsk. Either way, you serve his memory ill. You start off from the assumption that if my sons were in the British army I would think and speak differently. That assumption is wrong. Hence your entire thesis is flawed.]
As for the comment on my father….just proves once again that fundamentally when challenged you resort to the personal and the offensive …Hamalla is the word that comes to mind!
[Daphne – Only those who are use that word, Edward. I find it interesting that you believe your question as to whether I would volunteer my sons for war to be less personal and offensive than my retort about the craven nature of your upbringing. You are what you are because your father is what he is: one coward raised another. You asked for it, Edward, now piss off.]
Tony, I think you need a shrink.
Tony10 ghandu ragun, u Alla se jzomm ma Gaddafi u jghinu kif qed jghin lil Joseph.
Gejtu fi kliem Johnny Dalli; DAK jifhem fuq il-Libja. Issa dak il-kumpaniji kollha Maltin bix-xoghol fil-Libja se jkollom jibghatu ‘il-haddiema taghhom il-Libja jahdmu bhas-soltu ,jekk le jinnazzjonalizawlom kollox u jibqghu b’xiber imnieher.
Sa xahar iehor immorru l-Libja u nahdmu fir-rikostruzzjoni u naqilghu id-dinari, bla ma nhallsu taxxa bis-sahha tal-Habib KBIR taghna Muammar Gaddafi.
Kif waqqahom ghan-nejk kollha bi Clinton b’Sarkozy u Cameron b’kollox.
Sas-sibt il-Libja tkun business as usual ……inkella barra!
Another sorry specimen of a PL/MLP supporting cockroach is bleating victory; Baygon please.
My God, the unthinkable may happen and the monster may stay in power. What he will do to anybody his psychotic mind perceives as an enemy is beyond my imagination.
Immediate foreign military action, even if some innocent lives are lost, is required… now.
I am not sure whether my memory serves me well but didn’t you, Daphne, criticise AD because they said the Maltese government should have nothing to do with the tyrant? Your argument was that it is one thing to be a pressure group and another thing to be governing. Again, If I am not mistaken this happened several weeks ago before Gaddafi suddenly became the target of international opprobium.
[Daphne – I haven’t written about AD since, I believe, the last general election.]
And the news in Malta is that we are now going to be a true European country because of divorce…
“Flanked by Evarist Bartolo, a co-sponsor of the Divorce Bill, and Marie-Louise Coleiro, who is opposing divorce but backed the motion for the holding of a referendum, Dr Muscat said this was a free vote and a first step for Malta to become a true European country.” – timesofmalta.com
Bonju Malta – now we will be a “True European Country”
There’s no doubt that, on this issue, the Nationalist party are on the wrong side of history.
The revision of Maltese history currently under way at the Partit Laburista headquarters will now have it as: Joseph Muscat idahhal lil Malta fl-Ewropa wara li jirbah ir-referendum tal-2011.
P.S. and the Labour Party is giving its followers a free vote.
I think there is more than meets the eye in the West’s reluctance to intervene Libya.
Bear in mind that Israel had single-handedly knocked out the Egyptian airforce during the Six Day War in a matter of few hours. The French and Royal Airforce can easily knock out Gadaffi’s planes in a few well planned attacks.
It seems that the guilt of colonialism may be occluding their decision making, orelse there is something else. Whatever it is, Europe looks like a teethless old granny that admonishes everyone while people giggle behind her back.
As I said before, the inaction has nothing to do with the inability or difficulty of doing it. There is no such limitation and it would indeed be very easy to defeat Gaddafi’s militarily. Even a single US aircraft carrier could overwhelm Gaddafi’s airforce and shortly after also his ground forces (his navy isn’t even worth mentioning).
What is lacking is just the will to do anything. They seem more concerned with being called names in the media and giving ammunition for anti-western rhetoric than with the consequences of inaction.
tony10, Gonzi ha tkaxkira fil-parlament?
Mela nibdew, Gonzi ghadu Prim Ministru u Joseph ghadu il-kummidjant.
Gonzi ragel li jzomm kellmtu imma Joseph ma halliex lid-deputati Laburisti jivvutaw bil-liberta (free vote).
Kien hemm tnejn jew tlieta li ddikjaraw publikament, shansitra fuq il-televixin nazzjonali li ma jaqblux mad-divorzju imma Gowzef gaghlom jivvutaw ghall Private Member’s bill.
Int miskin bhall kumplament tal-merhla li ssegwi lill purcinell leader li ghandkom.
Inti u shabek partit tal-gheneb qares. Inthom partit ta ‘losers’ telliefa u bla sinsla.
Jekk ghandek tghid xi haga ohra, ahna ma nibzghux naghtuk risposta. Ahna nghidu l-verita u mhux gideb u ma nqarrqux bil-poplu u nwieghdu rohs fid-dawl u l-ilma meta il-prezz taz zejt qieghed xi $100 il-barmil u mhux $12 bhal zmien parrokki meta gholla l-kontijiet ghal izjed milli huma llum.
B’rispett ghal dan il-blogg u l-ispazju, nieqaf hawn ghax mhux ta min ihaqqaqa ma njurant u li milli jidher ghadeu b’halib ommok fi snienu w m’ghandhux ideja il-hajja kif kienet taht id-dittatur Mintoff sieheb Gaddafi, u l-apologista KMB (Dr.Zero) difensur ta Gaddafi.
Some dictators are benevolent to start with. Perhaps Gaddafi was too when he started out 40 years ago. But the old saying that power corrupts… and that absolute power corrupts absolutely holds strong.
Unlike many people here, for example, I believe that Mintoff was good for Malta in his first few years. But then the madness took over.
Of course Mintoff was good for Malta.
Had he had his way, today we would be flying the Union flag. When that eluded him, he did a 180 degree turn and went for independence – his way.
When the Nationalist government achieved independence combined with an economic agreement, Mintoff got mad and proclaimed independence as a fake (taparsi).
When he gained power in 1971 he wanted more moolah from the Brits and they said nay, nay. Whether they were right or wrong is another matter altogether.
He took the opportunity not to renew the defence and economic pact with Britain when it EXPIRED in 1979 and called it ‘Jum il-helsien’. Mintoff did NOT throw the Brits out, they left as they had planned well before 1979.
Britain’s diplomacy fell short of stating that it had freed itself (helset) from Mintoff and hence Malta. It was Britain freedom not the other way round.
Instead Mintoff went to China, North Korea and many other Communist countries, cap in hand begging here and there. Here is the man who many say that he eradicated poverty in Malta taking up the role of one himself.
He reddened our faces wherever we went and Malta became known as Mintoff’s little island or Gaddafi’s satellite state. From a British lover, he became a British hater. Such was/is the stability of Mintoff’s mind.
I wonder how many elections (to this day) Gaddafi financed for the Labour Party. Blood money, for sure.
His successors were/are just as bad or worse. Mintoff was not ‘good for the first few years’. Mintoff had a pre-conceived agenda and executed it abetted by ignorance, violence, fraud worthy only of a two bit dictator, who, “jigi jitnejjek mill Kostituzzjoni” (his words not mine) whenever it suited him. Some leader.
Mintoff’s successors cannot even make their minds up, or maybe in hindsight only.