Malta’s immigration woes are likely to dissipate if Libya opens up its economy under a serious and fair government, according to foreign affairs shadow minister George Vella.
Libya could become an investment hub, “the Dubai of the Mediterranean”, and it could also capitalise on its white sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters to become a front-runner in the tourism industry, he said.
Throwing into the mix its oil riches and small population density, if Libya opened to free trade it was bound to begin “absorbing” immigrants rather than remain a stepping stone into Europe, Dr Vella argued.
He was interviewed on One Radio, where he also gave his analysis of the recent developments in Libya.
“Many are saying the revolution will end once Gaddafi is found. I think this will be just the beginning,” he said, outlining some of the difficulties the new Libyan leaders will face.
He pointed out that Muammar Gaddafi had dismantled all the structures of the country, ensuring total control. The new leaders must ensure human rights, freedom and democracy were all safeguarded.
He stressed that Col Gaddafi should be tried in a civil court when captured so that he could respond to the many allegations made in his regard.
Although saying “I’m not too in favour of Nato”, he admitted that if it were not for the UN resolution, Col Gaddafi’s attack on Benghazi would have resembled the Srebrenica massacre in Yugoslavia. “We know this because we know what (Gaddafi did) in the past,” he said, referring primarily to student hangings.
However, Dr Vella said Western countries had always been motivated by their own interests, including personal political interests and the economic interests of their countries. Malta, throughout history, also had to look after its interests, he said.
“Malta did not choose its neighbour. Love or hate Gaddafi, we had to do business with him. No one ever agreed with his politics. We are democrats not dictators,” he said. All administrations had to remain close to the Gaddafi regime.
“What did the PN do in the past 26 years to diminish its relationship with Libya?” he asked, responding to the criticism made in recent days by Nationalist MEP Simon Bususttil.
Since the beginning of the conflict the Labour Party had supported the Maltese government and would not even have objected to military involvement, once there was a UN resolution. “But we were not consulted,” he added.
Dr Vella stressed that, as far as he knew, in his 12 years as deputy leader of his party, the Labour Party had never received donations from the Libyan regime. The Labour Party has already denied that the current administration ever received funding, as some have claimed.
The PN’s newspaper Il-Mument on Sunday published a declassified CIA document which says that in 1989 Libyans arrived in Malta “to assist with the Libyan-funded Malta Labour Party ‘Give Peace a Chance’ gathering”.
Answering questions by The Times, the PN said it had never received any funding from the Gaddafi regime.
“On the contrary, the Nationalist Party was on the receiving end of several Gaddafi-funded Labour campaigns including the campaign against EU membership,” a party spokesman claimed, adding that the CIA document proved one of the instances of funding.