US visa waiver programme

I hope Lawrence Gonzi will have a very productive meeting with President George Bush at the White House on October 3.

He should kindly emphasise to him the need for us Maltese citizens to belong to the visa waiver programme. How terribly embarrassing and degrading to have one's fingerprints taken and to answer a barrage of questions on whether we belong to the German Nazi Party, any terrorist organisation, or whether we have committed genocide; we the recipients of the coveted George Cross for the bravery we showed against that Nazis, having to answer such banal questions!

Why is the US discriminating between the 25 EU countries and only waiving the visa application to 15 of those applicants including Slovenia which, like Malta, is one of the new members? I gather US citizens are not required to obtain a visa when visiting our country. Surely, there should be reciprocal visa waiving.

The irony of it all is that citizens of our former common Axis enemies - Germans, Italians and Japanese - do not require a visa to enter the US.

The present situation is an affront and an insult to all Maltese, former allies of the US in World War II.

I wish Dr Gonzi a pleasant trip with the added reassurance that it will definitely be he who will be speaking on our behalf to President Bush and not an impersonator. His fingerprints will be the ultimate proof.