I don't know what to think
A calm, serious image – Dr Gonzi on Malta’s role in Libya
by di-ve.com
Politics — 26 March 2011 — 11:20CEST
In the three days that the world media switched the cameras off Libya onto Japan, Gaddafi seized the opportunity to let his forces go berserk on Benghazi.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this was the final straw that convinced him that Gaddafi could not remain in power.
Speaking during an interview on Radio 101, Dr Gonzi said that the EU and its member states were standing ready to show their solidarity, especially with the countries most directly concerned with the Libyan conflict, such as Malta.
He said that, pressed by the crisis, the EU was putting more funds at the disposal of the Mediterranean countries , upping the limit of the European Investment Bank by €1 billion. During the EU summit this week, the Bank was authorised to increase investment and loan potential to address the crisis.
He said that due to the close ties between Malta and Libya, the employment of many might have become precarious, but insisted that those who had lost their jobs would be helped find new employment.
“Malta’s sensible – if unpopular – decisions helped it weather the storm better off than other countries. We should be proud of our role in Libyan civilian rescue operations. We have managed to project a calm serious image to the world, and I am proud to be the Prime Minister of this country.”
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The link to the story:
http://www.di-ve.com/Default.aspx?ID=72&Action=1&NewsId=82091&newscategory=33&cache=false
We have managed to project a calm serious image to the world: the face of a porn star just before the money shot.
Extremism is not the answer to any side of a story. Thank God Dr. Gonzi is our PM.
“I can’t stand extremists: they should all be taken out and shot” – Gaddafi 1972
Is this the same God who gave Gaddafi to Libya?
No. That would be a black-bearded turban-wearing god. The god that gave us Gonzi is bare-headed and has a white beard. They’re rumoured to be brothers, so if you shave off the beard the resemblance is uncanny.
Such rubbish is usually taken seriously by those of a literal mindset, so you have better explain that the christian God and the Muslim Allah is one and the same – hence ‘Alla’ in Maltese.
Oh dear, you’ve drawn me into theological arguments. My idea of ‘god’ is ‘the set of rules you live by’. In that sense, you could say that every man has his own god, and that they’re all different. So I wouldn’t say that the Christian and Muslim god are the same.
That ‘Alla’ thing is different. It’s the generic Arabic word for any god. That’s how we ended up using it. Christian Arabs also refer to their god as Allah. But you know this stuff and I don’t want to lecture you, of all people.
I’ll just say that it’s such an embarrassment for a nation claiming to be European.
here’s the soundtrack
http://www.thesixtyone.com/#/s/C7LIpgJNsfY/
chamone
There were no ‘Libyan civilian evacuations’. There was the evacuation of civilians from Libya. I don’t recall any Libyans being among them.
And for all the talk about humanitarian aid and the need to provide refuge…
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110326/local/malta-refuses-to-host-any-fleeing-eritreans-somalis-and-ethiopians
“I can’t stand extremists: they should all be taken out and shot” is a quote that would not be out of place if attributed to Gaddafi in 1972
What the hell do people want of Dr. Gonzi? Speak up and suggest.
How about pulling the same rope as the rest, with the same ultimate aim: that of getting rid of the Gaddafis for good? They are a danger to Malta, whether or not we are neutral in the situation.
It really is a crying shame that the government seems to be putting “the jobs” of a handful of people before the lives and security of millions of others.
He could stop banging on about the evacuation, for a start. And if it’s image that concerns him, he could take note of the image that Malta is projecting now – passing round the begging bowl expecting ‘the EU’ to ‘share our burden’ by taking on the legal, social and moral responsibility for immigrants who arrive here.
AND he could stop going on about Malta’s humanitarian role while also announcing that no more immigrants will be accepted. What’s he planning to do? Drown them?
And he could bury once and for all the “close ties with Libya” rhetoric. It’s just another country, for god’s sake. It’s not like we’ve shared the same foxhole (à la UK).
Seriously, it seems to me that the way things happen in Malta is more like how things happen in Libya than Europe – not what you know, but who you know, corruption culture among some civil servants, etc.
Maybe Dalli et al feel more at home in Tripoli.
Four square behind the Prime minister
That makes sixteen behind the Prime Minister.
That’s the proper place for a coward. A brave man would be in front.
It’s not as if he’s leading.
Some people lead from behind. That’s why they stink.
I am totally bemused. What did he have in mind when mouthing this? Has he totally lost it? Bouncing off walls does not make a leader. Better he stays in bed.
Now that it has been more than two weeks since the agenda seems set to criticize Dr. Gonzi’s decision not to offer Malta as a military base, may I ask what (a) is to be gained from all this, (b) Joseph seems to be on the same page and prefers to shut up rather than take a risk, so why no criticism is leveled at him?
[Daphne – Because he doesn’t call the shots, Angus. And yes, I have criticised him for his stance, but obviously, there are more grounds for criticising the prime minister because the buck stops with him. As to what is gained, these things are not done or said to ‘gain’ something. They’re done or said because there’s a little flicker of democracy still alive here. “I’ll say nothing because what purpose does it serve?” is the reason Malta ended up in such a mess, a mess it’s still crawling out of.]
It’s as if Malta is the only country which chose not to actively participate when the so called coalition has, within it, its own doubters and forced participants (US), eagerly waiting the minute to get the hell out.
[Daphne – Wrong. Everyone is eagerly awaiting the chance to get out, because nobody wanted in. It’s just something that had to be done, like pulling a rotten tooth or washing the floor.]
It is amazing how many people who were so appalled by the violence of the 70s and 80s, have suddenly acquired the taste of becoming participants in a situation which could very well have or may have dangerous situations for Malta.
[Daphne – Confused logic, sorry. It is PRECISELY BECAUSE we were appalled by the situation in Malta in the 1970s and 1980s that we can empathise with Libyans and insist that they should be helped, especially by sods like us.]
Hindsight is 20-20 and the eventual destruction of Libya’s air forces saved Malta’s bacon but when the coalition was dilly-dallying over what to do, if anything at all, such a situation could not be quantified in terms of success or failure and how long it would take to accomplish.
[Daphne – Ah yes, Libya’s air weaponry has been destroyed. But Malta’s stance hasn’t changed. We’re still shivering. What does that tell you? That our government is not scared of violent retaliation, but scared of something else.]
Dr. Gonzi insisted more than once that Malta was never asked to share its one airport with fighter bombers heading out to Libya and still continues not to be asked since the main objective seems to have been accomplished with no inconvenience to the coalition by Malta denying access to the coalition forces.
[Daphne – He was not asked, Angus, because he preempted any such request by declaring at the outset that he would say no. Or didn’t you get that bit of strategy?]
So, why point fingers at Dr. Gonzi alleging his ‘weakness or indecisions’ when deciding to keep Malta out of it, when he was never asked to offer Malta as a base?
Something smells rotten in the state of Malta.
[Daphne – You’re right. It does.]
You’re on a mission here, Daphne. On this one, it is pointless to argue because your mind is set.
[Daphne – I am not on a mission, no more than, say, you are. It’s my ‘job’ to discuss what is relevant, as opposed to what isn’t. My mind isn’t ‘set’. I have a clear opinion which will not change until the facts on which it is based do. That is unlikely to happen, and my opinion remains this: Malta has no right to expect other states to do a very expensive and extremely dangerous job from which Malta and the Maltese will benefit directly, without pitching in to help and being SEEN to do so.]