Malta’s ambassador to Libya George Cassar spoke on Libya for the first time since the revolution this morning, praising the government for the decisions it has been taking.

“Mine was a dignified silence,” he told a ‘Times to Debate’ gathering discussing the situation in Libya at the InterContinental Hotel in St Julian’s.

“When I was recalled, the game went a notch further, and you had to take very tough measures and decisions.

“You, rightly so, concentrated on humanitarian important issues rather than on politics.

“You had the good judgement that when Gaddafi fired his first bullets against his own people you had courage to say that he had lost credibility and lost the game even though you had met him only few days before,” Mr Cassar told Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.

He said that when he was still in Libya, he could see people being killed every day.

“It was not the work of Al Qaeda. People who were putting their faith in Saif (Gaddafi’s son) were taken for a ride... That is history now.”

Mr Cassar said that personally he saluted the Libyans with whom he had worked for the past 25 years.

He said that, at the moment, things still had to settle down but, looking at the future, Libya will soon have organisation.

“Libyan people are genuine peaceful people,” he said.

Mr Cassar said that back in Libya, he is expecting to see a fair, more educated country. Libyans are very intelligent people – there are 3,000 Libyan doctors in London.

“Libya will soon get its act right,” he said.

On visas, he said that 16,500 visa applications were processed by Malta in 2010, of which 10 per cent failed.