Comments on: A man of principle: the prime minister of Mauritius pulls out of hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and in this video interview published on Saturday, he says why

By: Evarist Saliba

Evarist Saliba — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 18:30:09 +0000

Joseph Muscat must have thought that CHOGM will bring “investment” to Malta like the sale of citizenship and passports.

Of course, there will be money going into the pockets of persons selected to provide the necessary services and infrastructure.

By: Augustus

Augustus — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 00:56:47 +0000

In reply to Pontius. Pontius, what I mean by,"I don't blame Muscat" is, that if those idiots who voted for him didn't do it, then he wouldn't be in the position to do what he's doing.

By: ciccio

ciccio — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 23:36:47 +0000

In reply to Manuel. Joseph Muscat's only foreign policy is to sell EU citizenship to individuals from outside the EU for Eur650 "Big Ones."

By: bob-a-job

bob-a-job — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 23:24:27 +0000

In reply to Pontius. 'He reminds me of the boy emperor of China or Tutankamen the boy King' More likely that kind hearted kid the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

By: Francis Saliba MD

Francis Saliba MD — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 22:46:56 +0000

The Prime Minister of Malta laps up what the Prime Minister of Mauritius had just rejected. And his followers applaud enthusiastically.

By: MG

MG — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 21:38:00 +0000

Joseph Muscat has tarnished a reputation which the country enjoyed during the last 10 years. I have lived on the other side of the world and when you mention Malta, there used to be that mutual respect based on the fact that we had the best reputation ever.

Muscat has achieved his goal…he has prostituted Malta in no other better way and the Financial Services are hanging on a thread. We will lose everything if we carry on like this.

By: carpediem

carpediem — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 21:36:20 +0000

The stand of Prime Minister Rangoolam, in this specific instance, is most commendable indeed. This being said, Mauritius has yet to boycott other international fora of which it is a member, especially the African Union and SADC, since many of the other member states of these 2 organizations are known for systematic violations of human rights.

Also, let us not forget that 70% of the population of Mauritius originated from the Indian sub-continent, including a sizeable Tamil minority and i presume the pressure from the Mauritian public opinion could not be ignored. All in all, PM Rangoolam did the right thing.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 21:35:17 +0000

In reply to Jozef.

The amendment to the law to publish the names of those who apply and obtain citizenship is a masquerade.

If Gaddafi’s son applies for citizenship using a fictitious name, say Paul Pott, then it is only Paul Pott who would appear to have acquired citizenship.

Drug trafficking, illegal arms trading, money laundering and all that will happen or continue unimpeded.

The local organised crime syndicates must be rubbing their hands in glee.

By: Tida

Tida — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 21:08:39 +0000

I only ask will Malta ever recover from this disaster?

By: Francis Saliba MD

Francis Saliba MD — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 20:44:22 +0000

In reply to Mikiel.

No! This time Joseph Muscat would not have to plead ignorance once more. He will produce a mercenary argument that the fewer Commonwealth members who would accept the invitation the cheaper it would be for Malta to host the meeting with a reduced attendance.

However, up to now the mentioned countries do not have a valid reason for boycotting the Malta venue – except of course an increased aversion to be seen in the company of the Sri Lankan government.