Comments on: Our foreign minister and his shadow mark Mediterranean Day in parliament

By: Corinne Vella

Corinne Vella — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 12:53:11 +0000

In reply to Bus Driver. Tribal is not the opposite of secular, but Tonio Borg still has to find that out for himself.

By: Edward Caruana Galizia

Edward Caruana Galizia — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:29:12 +0000

In reply to Edward Caruana Galizia. Just to clarify: Tripolitania is the North West of Libya where there is the city of Tripoli and the like. Fazzan is beneath Tripolitania and is mostly desert. Cyrenaica is the East of Libya and includes Benghazi. There are rebels in all three and there is no hint of the revolution attacking one specific tribe. It is a battle between the Pro or Anti Gaddafi people.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:09:24 +0000

George Vella, the international community wants what ninety percent of Libyans want: the entire Gaddafi clan out of the country forever.

I have verified this myself over the years from professional contact with hundreds of ordinary Libyans.

The great pity is that Maltese politicians never associated themselves with any Libyans outside the tyrant’s circle of relatives, friends, friends of friends, sycophants, leeches and a whole assortment of hangers on.

Malta was never interested in Libya or the Libyan people.

In fact, most Maltese look down on Libyans as a nation.

Let us all be frank and admit we were all, to a greater or lesser extent, only interested in their dinars. It was relatively easy for us to lay our hands on them. Or so many people thought.

By: Corinne Vella

Corinne Vella — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:42:40 +0000

So tribes are religious entities, are they? That’s news to me.

By: Antoine Vella

Antoine Vella — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:29:21 +0000

Like John Dalli, George Vella also feels that he should not tell Gaddafi to go because “Libya is a sovereign state”.

Like many other politicians, he also thinks that Malta’s opinion of Gaddafi should depend on whether the dictator is defeated or survives in power. Principles? What are they?

Vella’s question as to what the international community really wants (I could almost sense the anguish in his words) betrays the dismay with which Labourites are watching their despotic friend get hammered.

I’m not surprised Labourites have a special place in their heart for Gaddafi: he’s a magnified version of Mintoff. He’s what Mintoff might have become had he been born in Libya.

By: Bus Driver

Bus Driver — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:27:19 +0000

Tonio Borg was quoted by The Times as saying that the revolution in Libya “is different from the one in Tunisia and Egypt because it did not start in the capital city and there is a strong tribal element. The Tunisian revolution was secular.”

Presumably, then, had the revolution ‘started in the capital’ he would have been up there with them, manning the barricades on the front line in Green Square’.

The guy is a complete waste of time in such matters.

By: Edward Caruana Galizia

Edward Caruana Galizia — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:15:46 +0000

The revolution in Libya is not being fought along tribal lines. This is not difficult to see, seeing as Tripoli, Misrata and Al Zawia are in Tripolitania (one of the three parts of Libya) and there are rebels there too.

The fact is that everyone wants Gaddafi out, regardless of which tribe they come from, although those who feel like it pays them to have Gaddafi in power might say otherwise.

This idea that the revolution is just tribal warfare was promoted first by Saif Al Islam, along with the idea that they are all Al Qeada and high on LSD which was put in their Nescafe.

By: PLO

PLO — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:13:54 +0000

Ara x’differenza fil-kliem ta’ Tonio Borg:

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110325/local/borg-condemns-attacks-on-israel

By: red nose

red nose — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:12:55 +0000

Really – tal-biki – in the real sense of the word – tears come to my eyes knowing that Gaddafi’s tanks are firing on a hospital in Misrata and our friends celebrating Mediterranean Day do not see the flow of blood into this very Mediterranean. Tal-biki.