Martin Galea’s plight: The Washington Post
Published:
July 25, 2014 at 7:58pm
The abduction of Martin Galea in Libya has been disseminated by the Associated Press news agency and is on The Washington Post already.
Meanwhile, the prime minister sees no need to give a full-on press conference telling us how seriously his government is taking the situation and that they are doing all they can to find Martin and rescue him.
That sort of thing is reserved for a two-cents decrease in the price of petrol.
What priorities. So much for the solidarity of an island population with one of its own.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/oil-company-worker-from-malta-is-abducted-in-libya/2014/07/25/c588974e-1413-11e4-ac56-773e54a65906_story.html
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140725/local/update-3-no-assurance-that-abducted-maltese-man-is-alive-pm.529200
Issa jghidilna kollox Peppi Azzopardi fuq Xarabank halli noqoghdu nibku.
Kif tista’ tghix b’din is-sarima ma’ halqek ?
Isthi Peppi jekk taf kif.
Whatever happened to this git ?
Muscat treats those seeking to buy a Maltese passport from him far more better than the actual citizens of Malta.
That’s right. We had them protected (from journalists) using full contingent of police.
This is a delicate issue. Leave it to the pros. I am sure our prime ministers, whoever they may be, are well advised when such things happen. And we are also sure that with or without a full-on press conference, the government is taking the situation very seriously. Anything more than that is exhibitionism.
[Daphne – Unlike you, Floater, I watched a live transmission of the government of Malta handling a crisis involving an Egyptair passenger plane which had been hijacked and was on the runway at Luqa airport.
I watched while the Maltese prime minister and his hopeless ministers, including one who is today special envoy to the World Tourism Organisation and another who is Malta’s perm rep at the World Trade Organisation, ‘negotiated’ with the hijackers. It was excruciating.
I watched until the point where the government of Malta ordered the storming of the plane by Egyptians commandos after refusing help from US special forces (most of the passengers were American) because we were anti-American in those days. Then the Xandir Malta transmission went blank.
They killed most of the passengers and left the hijacker alive. So forgive me if I don’t have confidence in their ability to handle these situations.]
The idiot was informed last Sunday and on he went lecturing Brits on their taste in food.
Are you serious?
Floater. Nice moniker by the way, although I suggest you check out all connotations of the word. It’s your nonsensical blind faith in the ‘authorities ‘ that put that put this truly ridiculous, shameless lot into power. Stop it.
Reading today’s reports in this case alone, what possible sense of conviction spurs your unwavering trust in the shambolic lot?
Hi Floater. Did you see that left jab and uppercut from Daphne coming?
Think not, but I enjoyed watching it.
Here we go again. The government knows best.
You know what, Lawrence Gonzi would have loved you. He always knew best. So does Joseph Muscat. That’s why the former, at the height of the Libyan crisis, was getting his advice on geopolitics from a businessman. And that’s why the latter is, in all likelihood, getting it from the very same people.
Some businessmen – not necessarily the same ones – are probably making lots of money out of this.
Didn’t one Shiv Nair’s companies handle the logistics of the Malta-Misurata supply line, financed by Qatar?
Really,
and wasn’t China caught red-handed shipping container loads of weapons to Ghaddafi’s troops?
I hope it’s not the same one. The Libyans want that one’s head on a stick over the affair of the expired medical supplies.
Speaking of which, how’s the Dalli clinic doing? Must be busy, what with the fighting and the shelling and all. The best time biex indawru lira, heqq.
And didn’t those weapons later turn up in the Adrar des Ifoghas, along with piles of blank passports?
And who’s that they call China’s secret weapon in Africa?
If my memory serves me right the Egyptian commandos stormed the hijacked Egyptair plane without any “by your leave” from KMB & Associates.
At one point Xandir Malta jubilantly announced the safe rescue (not true) of the passengers by the Task Force when the horrendous truth was a massacre of unprecedented proportions with the last surviving terrorist escaping from Luqa to St Luke Hospital mixing with the surviving passengers until exposed by one of them.
Those were the golden years ……remember ?
Allow me to correct one point, Daphne. Before the Xandir Malta transmission went blank, an announcement was made – during the sports news – that all passengers were released safe and sound.
The sports commentator congralutated the Maltese Armed Forces on their success.
Not much later, an Italian journalist who was in Malta – Enrico Mentana – went live on the RAI Uno news bulletin with the words: ‘Parlo da Malta. Qui c’e stato un massacro’.
We’re back to those times it seems, the real news comes from foreign sources.
The first interview on Xandir Malta was with a Filippino woman who’d been released.
Her interviewer’s icebreaker was “how many womans was you?” She replied say that she and her friend were out but their husbands were still on the hijacked plane. “That’s good. That’s fine,” the interviewedpr said.
Some time later, the plane was blown up, killing most of the passengers on board.
The interviewer’s name was Reno Bugeja, now Muscat’s head of news at PBS.
I wish him a speedy and safe return. My thoughts to his family and friends.
SHAME SHAME SHAME not only on Muscat and Vella but all those who are sticking up for them.
Absolutely revolting especially when one reads comments like ‘They shouldn’t have been there’ as though these people went there on holiday.
Mela, mhux huma emmnu lil Gorg Vella.
Tara jekk jizloqx minnha.
AFP is running the story too, but Muscat wants us all to shut up because we might put Martin Galea’s life in danger.
He shelters an ousted Libyan prime minister, shelters a current Libyan deputy prime minister, provides them with accommodation and a armed police guards, but we’re supposed to believe that speaking about Martin Galea’s kidnapping puts his life in danger?
Well, f*ck him, who the bleeding hell does he think he is?
Meanwhile, the fat arsehole cruises between Valletta and Burmarrad in his own chauffeur-driven car rented to himself out of the public purse and flanked by police outriders and a carload of bodyguards.
Superlike
I’m not the sort of person who repeats what others assume.
How was it established that Martin was abducted?
Did anyone witness the abduction?
Some reports are saying that he was driving the car by himself because his driver did not turn up.
If he was being driven by a Libyan driver, what happened to him?
Ares wrote here “Actually Mannie Galea, returned to Libya, through Tunisia, last Saturday or Sunday.”
Is Mannie, Martin Galea? Is he a health and safety officer?
I wish this guy a safe return journey home.
[Daphne – Mannie is short for Manuel, not Martin. Mannie Galea is not Martin Galea.]
I found out that he’s the ambassador.
Why do I have this niggling feeling that he is being protected.
To avoid any misunderstandings , further to La Redoute’s comments , I mean Joseph Muscat is being protected, at someone else’s behest.
If someone wants to kill our prime minister, shouldn’t we know who that is, and why?
But the prime minister could not hold a press conference here.
It was more important for him to be in London and Glasgow for photo shoots with the prince and the athletes. Amen
Don’t talk about it, Muscat says.
http://www.newsrt.us/news/oil-company-worker-from-malta-is-abducted-in-libya-1529164.html
http://lancasteronline.com/news/world/oil-company-worker-from-malta-is-abducted-in-libya/article_e0f3b342-476e-591e-b2c9-bb5b96c121cd.html
http://world.einnews.com/article__detail/215541900?lcode=kEeKS3zIG2AH5PZD5oFRYA%3D%3D
http://news.nom.co/maltese-man-is-kidnapped-by-libyan-10962304-news/
http://www.gotnewswire.com/news/new-clashes-between-libya-militia-at-tripoli-airport
http://www.wral.com/oil-company-worker-from-malta-is-abducted-in-libya/13840776/?comment_order=forward
http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Oil-company-worker-from-Malta-is-abducted-in-Libya-5646751.php
http://main.omanobserver.om/?p=98097
http://www.stltoday.com/news/world/oil-company-worker-from-malta-is-abducted-in-libya/article_7d6c0120-dad4-5585-95bc-9691b0ac8f76.html
http://timeli.info/item/2141462/Fox_News_World/Maltese_man_is_kidnapped_by_Libyan_rebels_on_Tripoli_s_outskirts___Fox_News
http://www.omaha.com/news/world/oil-company-worker-from-malta-is-abducted-in-libya/article_95b71ddc-a542-57e2-bc0c-4d132cd45ecf.html?mode=jqm
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/9a539feab7d943129a3ed50fc370f3a5/EU–Malta-Libya-Kidnap
@floater and Dardir Malta reported that all passengers were saved until the truth came out.
Gidiebin kienu ghadhom u jibqaw ghax il lupu sufu jibidel u mhux ghemilu jghid il Malti
Just pray for Martin Galea.
Where’s the toad’s Madonna?
We all know that we have a government of clowns and liars who excel in deviousness and opaqueness.
Announcing this obvious fact to the four corners of the world will not help Martin one iota.
I dread to think who is leading the negotiations, if any.
I sincerely hope that the CIA and SIS have been involved, at least.
There are a handful of Maltese citizens who would be able to contribute in the difficult circumstances but none of them is taghna lkoll.
In the meantime let us all pray for this poor compatriot of ours.
It is the least we can do.
“If ye shall ask anything in my name I will do it” (John 14:14).
Our prayer has to be a prayer of faith, not a sham.
Are we still not allowed to talk about the kidnapping? Even China’s picked up the news.
http://www.china.org.cn/world/Off_the_Wire/2014-07/26/content_33061670.htm
I don’t know how to say this without sounding insensitive but I think that Simon Busuttil needs to say it. Whilst Mr Galea’s situation is very unfortunate, and that the government must do anything in its power to help solve the issue, we need to understand that these people know that what they are doing is dangerous and they get paid very well for the risks they run. In fact just a few months after Mr. Galea’s difficult exit from libya, he was back there doing his job. Now i understand that nobody should be abducted, but if you go to a war zone and are paid handsomely to do so, don’t be surprised if you get shot at, it goes with the job. I’m saying this because if im not mistaken last time round, the government was even helping businesses who had investments in Libya. Same concept applies. Businesses know that the investment in such countries involves inherent risk. For this risk they get very high reward which is profit. They should be aware of this and therefore there should be no burden on the taxpayer when things go belly up.
[Daphne – What a stupid and horrible thing to say. I’m appalled. What next – watching while tourists drown at Ghajn Tuffieha because they ignored the red flag and so we can’t justify the expense of a helicopter rescue squad? Refusing to treat people with lung cancer because they brought it on themselves by smoking? Disgusting. This man was doing his job. Payment for doing that job does not involve the risk of being abducted and possibly killed. You should be ashamed of yourself.]
I think all that Claude was trying to say is that platitudes from both political leaders won’t help.
There is also some debate in many Western countries about the cost, both financial and political, of rescuing their kidnapped citizens (including paying a ransom) when they knowingly go into high-risk areas. This is new for Malta. But other countries have had this sort of thing of ages. Should governments pay ransom money to terrorists and non-state actors? Some do. Some never do, as a matter of policy. Should they attempt a rescue manu militari, and risk having hostages killed?
The issue is highly emotional, but in the end, a successful conclusion requires rational choices.
Perhaps we should postpone the debate until after Martin Galea is released.
I hear what you’re saying and hope Muscat does too.
What’s so secret about a secret rescue mission if Muscat blabs about it in parliament, as he did last night?
There will be no secret rescue mission. That’s the stuff of movies, or the stuff of the handful of countries with the capability to carry off that sort of thing.
The first thing any government would do is to contact the kidnappers. So Malta is already woefully ill-equipped at Step One of any rescue attempt. There are over one thousand armed groups roaming about Libya. It’s chaos over there. It will be hard to even identify the group that kidnapped Martin Galea.
The second step is to wait for a ransom demand, or offer one, and then negotiate. There is no precedent for this sort of thing for the Maltese government. I’m quite sure it would turn into a Maltese farce, with the Xarabank crew prancing about in some telethon to collect funds for the ransom.
The Baxxterian method would be this: offer the Libyan Deputy Prime Minister, who is being protected by the Maltese government, in exchange for Martin Galea.
I didn’t make that up. Unlike Muscat, I don’t talk out of the seat of my pants.
This is what Muscat said in parliament last night, in the same breath as saying we shouldn’t talk about the kidnapping.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/41608/pm_gives_no_assurances_that_abducted_man_in_libya_is_alive#.U9O742IaySM
Addressing Parlaiment tonight, Muscat expressed his full confidence in the diplomatic and security services’ efforts to bring the man back to Malta, noting that a number of persons were flown to Libya IN SECRET to carry out the operation.
Muscat warned that publicising the case and making details on the case public could put the man’s life in danger. He said government was monitoring the situation closely but Galea’s whereabouts and his fate was yet unknown.
Claude, that’s callous.
I am intrigued by the Baxterian method.
To whom would the Libyan prime minister erstwhile under the protection of Malta’s security service be offered? Would it be to his friends, to his enemies or should he be auctioned to the highest bidder?
The cynical answer would have to be “to those who are holding the abducted Martin Galea, friend or foe”.
It’s not the cynical answer Dr Saliba, but the only answer. Yes, hand him over to whoever want him, in return for Martin Galea.
The Deputy Libyan PM, who is hated by his own people, bar a few of his acolytes, would make an excellent bargaining chip.
That’s assuming the Maltese government can make contact with the group, or the individuals, holding Martin Galea.
For fifty years now (since 1964), Maltese foreign and defence policy has been run by a bunch of amateurs, jacked-up lawyers and doctors who couldn’t even place Libya on a map. And lately by businessmen with warehouses in Libya, on the assumption that they would be experts on Libyan policy. Some experts.
The Maltese government also suffers from some serious delusions about the capabilities of its military, and its security service, whatever that is.
I assume the people flown by Manuel Mallia IN SECRET (oh, we love to use the big words like that fellow Clancy!) to Libya are just former or current police officers carrying no weapons, but a large briefcase full of cash. Because out of all the possible options, that’s the only one for which we have the capability.
And it’s all because we wanted to do things on our own minghajr idhil barrani. Then we whine that m’hawnx talent.
What a contrast between the way Gonzi handled the Libyan crisis and protected not only all Maltese but also foreign nationals, and the way it is being handled by Muscat, who is not even able to convince us that he is doing whatever is possible to free one of our brothers who is held hostage. Shame on Joseph Muscat.
This is pretty much what I was thinking, even before Martin Galea was abducted. There is no price for human life.
The way the Libyan crisis evacuation of all expats was handled was an incredible logistical undertaking that involved broader networks than most of us can even ever comprehend.
There were loads of legal, diplomatic and health issues that needed to be sorted in the space of hours to bring most people, EU nationals and non-EU nationals out within the first 24 (critical) hours.
As Jane Citizen, that was a really proud moment, watching it all unfold.
In this case, I am appalled. And I bow my head in shame to see how the present government couldn’t be arsed to do anything to help evacuate the Maltese – let alone others. We certainly know, now, that the mechanism to be able to do so exists.
And now this person was abducted too, whatever his story…
Too much of a contrast to be able to sit comfortably with this knowledge.
Dr. Gonzi managed the situation so professionally despite the fact that he had Franco Debono, JPO and others harassing him all the time. Oh how I miss the PN in government!
Solidarity with Hamas or the Palestinians is Halal.
Solidarity with one of ours or with Christian minorities driven out of their homes for refusing to covvert to Islam or pay the hated Jiza (tax) is Haram.
Shame on Mr Prime minister and Mr Foreign Minister.
Spot on.
So, after a week, we learn together with the rest of the world. Nice. More than a week ago, Net news had an item which featured an interview with a Maltese worker in Libya about government’s dumb reactions to their concerns.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20140725/eu–malta-libya-kidnap/?utm_hp_ref=world&ir=world
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/oil-company-worker-from-malta-is-abducted-in-libya/2014/07/25/c588974e-1413-11e4-ac56-773e54a65906_story.html
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/140573-maltese-worker-kidnapped-in-libya
http://en.europeonline-magazine.eu/maltese-national-abducted-in-libya_348347.html
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/xinhua-news-agency/140725/urgent-maltese-worker-abducted-outside-tripolilocal-media
http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Oil-company-worker-from-Malta-is-abducted-in-Libya-5646751.php
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-07/26/c_133511502.htm
Mr. BS is going to ask George Vella ‘What’s next in Libya?’
Going by the secrecy about Galea’s abduction and the ‘no problem as yet in Libya’ attitude, Vella will not be saying much that will be of any benefit to anyone.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/reporter/41612/libya_whats_next_george_vella_hosted_on_reporter
Anke fl-istorja tal-Ukraina, Vella ma ra xejn. Lanqas il-Libja ma ra xejn u bilkemm ghaddiet gurnata li ma smajniex (minghand haddiehor) li sar il-htif ta’ Martin Galea. Ma tantx inisslu fiducja dawk li qed imexxu. Qed nergghu nghix d-dilettantizmu tas-sebghin u t-tmeninijiet.
I am not very diplomatic and naive in such delicate matters, but perhaps if this made news before, friends of the militia, who may be staying in Malta, would have urged their counterparts in Libya to keep their hands off Maltese citizens.
Zunzana, if there were any friends of the militia in Malta, they would have torched Sadiq Abdulkarim’s residence by now, followed by Castille.
So why is he protected by armed and loose-tongued policemen?
Because the Maltese government likes to do things in Gulf State style. Part of the hospitality treatment for VIPs includes an ostentatious security detail.
You missed the bit about loose tongues. How secure is a security team led by or including someone who blabs in bed?
I hope they are not holding Martin Galea hostage for some kind of prisoner exchange with Libyans in Malta. This is typical of rebel militia dealings.
The Prime Minister is caught between a rock and a hard place.
He must find rocks very comfortable because he doesn’t seem to be losing any sleep (or his habitual bitchiness) over this.
”Asked whether he would consider going up to Libya in the coming days, Dr Vella said that although he did not exclude anything and he would go to Libya if need be, there were no plans for such a visit.”
hahahahahaha.
George Vella ilu skadut. Why on earth don’t these people enjoy their retirement or do charity work. Do they think that they are going to live forever?
If he does have to go I suggest he wears extra-absorbent nappies throughout the trip.
Meaning ” I am not going to Libya anytime soon – not even after I said that it was “safe” not so long ago. Not if I can avoid it! What do you think I am? An idiot?”
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140726/local/announcement-about-abducted-maltese-man-in-libya-only-when-he-is-safe-and-sound-minister.529307
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-07-26/news/libyan-prime-minister-prevented-from-flying-from-matiga-5977079808/
Libya’s in total anarchy.
Just in: The US has shut down its embassy in Tripoli, and evacuated all embassy staff including the Marine guards.
Such a shame, George Vella would’ve loved to visit the building.
updated 12:40 GMT 07.26.14
U.S. Embassy in Libya evacuates personnel
By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
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U.S. evacuates embassy in Tripoli, Libya
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(CNN) – The U.S. Embassy in Libya evacuated its personnel on Saturday because of heavy militia violence raging in the capital, Tripoli, the State Department said.
About 150 personnel, including 80 U.S. Marines were evacuated from the embassy in the early hours of Saturday morning and were driven across the border into Tunisia, U.S. officials confirm to CNN.
CNN has learned the plan to evacuate the Americans was in the works for several days, but the decision to carry out the plan was made just in the last few days as the security situation around the embassy deteriorated.