The New York Times, 1989: Malta Ends Military Links to Libya

CLAMOR IN THE EAST; MALTA, SPECK AMONG NATIONS, ENDS MILITARY LINKS TO LIBYA

Published: November 30, 1989

After being bartered, seized or bullied by almost every power in the Mediterranean, Malta has turned another page, this one peaceful, in its history. On Sunday, it formally ended its military cooperation agreement with Libya.

Maltese officials insisted that the move was unrelated to the meeting of the American and Soviet presidents in the harbor here this weekend.

The treaty with Libya expired on Nov. 19, they noted, and Malta’s governing Nationalist Party has in any case been loosening its political and military ties with its neighbor over the last two years, turning to the West for protection and money.

”But one could call this a fortunate coincidence,” said an official in the Grand Master’s Palace, the seat of the Presidency and Parliament.

Two decades of close ties between this former British colony and Libya, 200 miles to the south, had annoyed governments in London and Washington, as well as conservatives in Malta.

But Prime Minister Edward Fenech Adami flew to Tripoli on Sunday to put the finishing touches on a revised treaty that would eliminate all cooperation with Libya on military matters.

Malta’s new pact with Libya eliminates previous clauses calling for the exchange of security and defense information, as well as the supply of Libyan military equipment and troop training.

The old treaty also had enjoined Malta from allowing its territory to be used for activities that could threaten Libya. During the American air attack on Libya in 1986, Malta’s then-socialist Government invoked the pact in warning Libya that ”unidentified planes” were heading its way.

Although economic and cultural cooperation with Libya will continue, the relationship will be cooler than the alliance initiated by Dom Mintoff, a socialist who served as Prime Minister from 1971 to 1984. Mr. Mintoff’s confrontational style has sometimes been compared with that of Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

As new military technology eliminated Malta’s strategic role in the Mediterranean, Mr. Mintoff sought to bolster his country’s importance by pressuring Britain to remove its bases. He declared that the future lay with Malta’s ”Arab brothers” to the south, particularly Libya.

Colonel Qaddafi responded by supplying discount oil, used military equipment and funds for agriculture and fishing. Libya invested in several hotels, joint business ventures and some small industries here.

Officials in Mr. Fenech Adami’s Government still seek to avoid offending Libya. Malta continues to allow Libyans to travel here without passports or visas and to work, open bank accounts and own property.

Some Arab officials say that such policies have in the past allowed Libya and terrorist groups to use Maltese banks and ports to plan subversive activities. American officials have expressed concern about the freedom of movement enjoyed here by Libyans and other Arab groups hostile to the United States.

But Maltese officials say they have closely cooperated with foreign intelligence agencies and carefully monitored movement in the harbor and at the airport since the seaborne summit meeting of the Soviet and American Presidents was scheduled.