So…we really look like a**holes, don’t we? And the prime minister actually thanked Italy for showing us up.
Published:
August 7, 2013 at 10:11pm
Il Sole 24 Ore, one of Italy’s most influential newspapers, has run a story about dastardly, petty Malta and do-the-right-thing Italy, with the headline:
Italy welcomes/receives the 102 migrants (among them an infant of four months and four pregnant women) who Malta held at bay for three days
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http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2013-08-07/litalia-accoglie-migranti-bimbo-073304.shtml
Kemm ahna cwiec min jaf jarana.
Is-sabiha qajjem pandemonju biex dalghodu xorta dahlu mal-mitt ruh.
Ahjar ghaqqad mitejn u jirbah giehu, li ma kienx bahnan.
Even Euronews highlighted the fact that Italy had accepted the poor sods which Malta rejected, leaving an impression of an inhumane country.
Have you spoken to your average Gahan? It’s not only an impression now is it?
It’s not an impression; it’s a sad truth.
Glenn Beddingfield would tweet: Malta resolved the problem of 100 passengers on a ship.
Who’s the real pastizz now, Glenn?
Maybe even this stranded tanker issue is a quarrel about a pastizz.
Muscat’s toast.
Nowhere is it ever mentioned anywhere there was some instruction by Italian authorities to the ship to turn back.
Let alone some facsimile transmitted to Malta. Jista’ jdum jifrah Mallia.
Of course they’ll report Muscat’s gratitude, makes him the hapless git.
And if anyone starts thinking plot, Letta’s Aspen, Trilateral and Bilderberg.
Where’s Kev?
In the meantime, Malmstrom or the EU commission, are closing an eye:
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_09/07/2013_508335
Apparently Greece has the unofficial go ahead from the EU, for it brought the argument that it fears Turkey destabilising it by Muslim migrants. But if it is bad for Greece, it should be bad for Malta.
This issue divides the world in two. Both sides see the other as a**holes and there is no convincing the other side.
Muscat is an arsehole because of his handling of the whole affair. In his limited world view, he’s a hero. In an international context, he’s nothing short of inept. For all his pretensions he has zero understanding of how this looks to the outside world.
Yesterday I’ve went through some of the comments in some of the major Italian newspapers, including La Republica, the Messagiero, La Stampa etc. etc. and out of hundreds of comments, only few gave fault to Malta. The chorus was that Malta is already full up, and this from Italians, and that the EU has left Italy and Malta alone. Go and see.
Also, the political class at the helm of the EU is divided on this issue, if not totally recognising Malta’s limitations. And recognition does not simply mean ‘yes you have a problem, but…..’ So probably it is not Muscat who has zero understanding.
But again, what did you expect, that we allow them in, just because Ms. Malstrom squawked from her desk?
[Daphne – Your mentality reflects that of the typical Maltese inability to distinguish between the person and the role, or the system. It is not ‘Mrs Malmstrom who squawked from her desk’. Mrs Malmstrom is an EU Commissioner. She represents the European Commission. It is the European Commission’s instructions with which we must conform, and not ‘Mrs Malmstrom’s’. And why must we do that? Because we are part of that organisation, though we think and behave as though we are sitting outside it.]
Muscat jara biss sal-ponta ta’ mnieħru. U dik ħaġa perikoluża fi Prim Ministru.
This is what Australia has been doing, why not Malta? Unlike Malta, Australia is massive.
Human traffickers are benefiting.
[Daphne – Australia is neither a part of the European Union nor a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights.]
Unlike Malta, Australia was never part of the anti-Western camp. A country’s reputation is built over centuries. The Republic of Malta has been around for about fifty years. For much of that time, it was led by an anti-European government, and it is now. For much of that time, it acted against European interests.
You people have phenomenally short memories. Unlike most EU officials.
Now the very same man who led the anti-EU campaign has the ruddy nerve to demand that the EU solve his problems.
Even if Australia breaches the European Convention on Human Rights, to which it is not a signatory, it will be respected by the court of world opinion. And its neighbours will seek to understand its actions and confront it, should they choose to, through quiet diplomacy.
We did everything in our lifetime to stick two fingers to the European continent, calling its people ‘the evil ones’, ‘swine’, pitting ourselves against them and generally making a nuisance of ourselves. Now we expect the Europeans to respect and understand us.
This is why Malta cannot afford to emulate Australia. Mintoff wrecked forever our diplomatic manoeuvring space. And some of you still regard him as a geopolitical genius.
May he rot in the deepest, hottest circle of hell.
You’re not concerned about human traffickers any more than Australia’s bigots are. People willing to risk their lives at sea are escaping from a worse experience than death by drowning.
Ah, so now we narrow the ‘attendant consequences’ to Europe, not the world.
Floater, one has to choose whether to be part of the EU with all of its benefits and costs, or go it all alone.
We made that choice in 2003. If you cannot understand this simple fact, then no wonder you’re a floater.
@Paul Bonnici
In recent years, Australia has neither been sending back boats with refugees(push-back), nor giving orders to ships to divert their route to other countries when persons in need of urgent assistance were on board.
Truly, there was one incident in 2001 involving a Norwegian ship – the MV Tampa – where a ship carrying refugees rescued from sea in international waters was not allowed to enter Australian waters. The case was in a way very similar to the Salamis one.
The Tampa affair, as it became known, led to a diplomatic incident between Australia and Norway, with the latter reporting the case to the United Nations.
However, Australia has a system of mandatory detention for unauthorised arrivals of asylum seekers, while respecting international law on refugees. Besides, Australia has an immigration policy which allows annual quotas of immigrants into the country.
Fi zmien li l-PN kienu fil-gvern , kienu jaslu Malta eluf ta’ immigranti llegali u qatt u hadd ma kien kiteb lil Malmstrom, jew ikkummenta fuq gazzetti jew blogs, b’dan il-mod tant arroganti u vulgari.
Kemm irridu noqghodu attenti x’nghidu PM. L-ezempju jkaxxkar.
Tahom l-arja u ħaduha.
I might sound extremely cynical in my observation.
Muscat has handed over to Letta the political mileage he needed to get the EU on his side, especially given the current problems that Italy is going through with the whole Berlusconi debacle. Letta has managed to come out a hero.
As opposed to Muscat who in the space of two weeks has managed to alienate a number of the international players. What difference did these 102 immigrants make in the scheme of things, had we housed them? As opposed to all the negative press that we have received over the last two weeks for Muscat’s extremely right wing actions. Does muscat not have any advisers? Where is kurt Farrugia in all of this? Where is the ministry of foreign affairs?
I think the rumours that labour had outsourced it’s electoral marketing campaign to saachi and saachi is true, because I am certainly not seeing any good PR in any of this.
And before anyone thinks that people looking to do business in Malta do not also take this into account, think again. I know of multinational that did not come to Malta because of our hunting laws, God knows what the implication of this incident will be.
You’re not being cynical at all. You’re showing geopolitical acumen that even our top experts lack.
Yes, FDI (that’s foreign direct investment, “investiment barrani”, Joseph) also depends on holding the moral high ground. Next time Italy asks the EU for a bailout, it will find the Europeans that much more accommodating.
Do you think, for instance, that Malta would have been chosen as European Capital of Culture if the selection had taken place this summer?
No love lost for Dr Muscat. He’s going to sleep well tonight knowing that, although it looked like horse trading, it still gave him a victory.
If you consider this to be a victory, then I don’t know what you would consider to be a loss. As long as Muscat continues getting this warped feedback that he has won because the majority of the Maltese are racists and this will get him votes, he will continue with his actions.
The fact the a number, albeit relative large number, of people put those comments up, does not mean that the majority of people agree with him. What it does mean is that the majority of people are apathetic.
It is time for the PN to stop thinking that they are still in government and to start thinking like an opposition.
Simon Busuttil keeps talking about ensuring that the controls are in place to check the government in it’s actions.
Supporting the government in this incident was a very bad mistake. Don’t tell me even they did not have the foresight to see what the international repercussions would be? Unless they are slowly sharpening the blade of the proverbial sword.
Muscat is obsessed in appeasing people from ir-Rukkella (Hamrun), L-Ghaxqija (Birkirkara), l-Mandragg (Valletta) l-Biccieni (Zabbar) and other people from similar places because it is very easy to manipulate and get their vote.
Europeans don’t vote him in, so what the hack! He is only concerned about himself.