Here’s what the control tower at Tripoli airport looks like
Published:
July 27, 2014 at 11:22am
And our government has issued a blithe statement advising all Maltese who want to leave Libya to do so “using commercial means”. In other words, it’s going to be doing nothing to help.
This is in line with what the UK and France are telling their citizens, our government said – in the manner it has, to which we have now become accustomed, of using what others have done or said to justify its own actions.
Well, of course the UK and France are doing that.
To organise a mass evacuation, they need the support of Malta as they did last time.
They are hardly in a position to organise a mass evacuation overland into Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Niger, Chad or Sudan.
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Joseph Muscat was quick to offer Malta as a venue for the next CHOGM. He wasn’t so willing to offer Malta as a logistics centre for the evacuation of foreigners from Libya.
He didn’t even interrupt his holiday – because that’s what it is – in the UK to come home and handle the crisis. No, he had to attend the Commonwealth Games, you see, and speak to Prince Charles.
Whilst I find it wrong that an evacuation was not planned I must say I was pleasantly surprised when the Prime Minister, (or who ever runs his twitter account) replied to my tweet asking for help in bringing my father back form Libya. Credit where it’s due.
Having said that, my father got on a commercial flight that same night so I cannot comment on whether any action would have been taken.
I don’t mean to be unpleasant, but Muscat probably didn’t have anything more exciting to do at that point. This is no reflection on you, your father or the urgency of your case.
Noel Petroni’s wife and children were in Libya and were excluded from the Medavia flight because he couldn’t pay for their tickets in time.
He said that he’d been promised that he’d hear back from Muscat, after getting no joy from the 24/7 crisis line, but Muscat then left for the UK and didn’t get in touch at all.
Why did Mario Cutajar address the press conference this morning? Who is the minister responsible for these affairs?
The prime minister, but he doesn’t work on Sundays.
Those who want to,leave tripoli, should leave by their own means. I disagree that any government should force evacuation of this nationals. If at all it should be the employers who,should cater for the evacuation,,if their people are in danger.
There is nothing to agree or disagree with. Emergency, and the possibility of military attack, makes it incumbent on a government to ensure the safety of its citizens. Evacuation isn’t voluntary. It is obligatory. That means having to leave whether you want to or not.
With his actions Muscat is making other countries “smell the coffee”.
However Muscat’s coffee smells of “me ne fregismo” and the results are not going to paint a very nice picture of us Maltese.
And just a few months back Mannie Galea and an assorted troupe of clowns were practically ordering everyone to go back there to do “business”, saying it was all fine and dandy in Libya now.
http://www.maltachamber.org.mt/content.aspx?id=370871
There’s money to be made in war zones, just not in ways you’d like to think about.
With pictures like these you may be jeopardizing the situation in Tripoli. This according to what our Foreign Minister said a week ago.
Today Mario Cutajar depicted a different scenario gearing up for the worse. This is a government operated by dilettantes with no sense of direction at all.
They had to call that press conference to distract everyone from the news they want to hide.
A press conference about tents? Really? When was that ever necessary?
The burning questions were left unanswered, as well they might be seeing as the man in charge was tucked up in Burmarrad eating his brekfust.
Here’s what the situation really is.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/terrorism-security/2014/0715/As-UN-pulls-staff-from-chaotic-Libya-a-nascent-appeal-for-foreign-peacekeepers
The UN left since then.
According to this: http://theaviationist.com/2014/07/27/ep-3e-during-emb-evacuation/ the US deployed a large number of assets from either their base in Aviano in northern Italy or their base at Sigonella in Sicily.
Makes me wonder if they requested Maltese help and were turned down.
I’m not saying that Jojo the Clown’s passivity is justified by that of others, but fair question: can’t other countries use Lampedusa, Sicily or any other island in the vicinity?
[Daphne – Surely you are not serious. Do you remember what the last mass evacuation was like? None of those places has the infrastructural or organisational support to cope, whether the evacuation takes place by air or sea. They don’t even come close. Where’s the international airport on Lampedusa, the hotels, the document-processing system? Even Sicily doesn’t have a proper international airport. When you evacuate people in, you have to send them out again immediately – or at least have the hotels to put them up. And do please stop saying things like ‘Jojo the Clown’ because he is anything but a clown and what you are seeing there is most certainly not passivity.]
German Foreign Office calls for all Germans to immediately leave Libya because of escalating violence.
http://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article130609359/Deutsche-sollen-Libyen-wegen-Gewaltwelle-verlassen.html
They had a travel warning on their website since July 14.
So did the UK, so did Turkey and they’ve just been joined by France.
http://maltarightnow.com/news/2014/07/27/il-qaghda-ta-martin-galea-hi-wahda-kritika/
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-28509017
Kien hemm qbil fost il-pajjizi tal-UE bhal ma qed jistenna Joseph Muscat jew ghall-gvern ingliz is-sigurta tac-cittadin tigi l-ewwel u qabel kollox?
With so many conflicting reports coming in regarding the situation in Libya, we need to send a true professional to give us the correct status quo.
Too bad Anglu Farrugia is Speaker of the House.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/world/41640/gaddafis_son_deployed_in_radio_broadcast_against_islamist_threat#.U9VD1uOSyig
It was a matter of time before they wheeled him out again. That’s a tactical manoeuvre to remind us how much ‘better’ it was when Gaddafi was in charge. Well, not for Gaddafi’s victims, it wasn’t. At least now everyone has a chance of survival, and isn’t that what they’re fighting for?
Saif gaddafi is hardly going to inspire unity, anyway. The man is nuts, and confinement in prison has done nothing to improve his mental state.
Joseph Muscat is clearly out of his depth here and should call Lawrence Gonzi for help. Lives are at stake. But of course he won’t.