Prime Minister Robert Abela on Wednesday spoke on the different meanings of freedom in a Labour Party message as Malta celebrated Freedom Day, marking the closure of the British military base on March 1, 1979. 

Freedom, he said, was not just about the departure of the British forces. It was not just about the country being sovereign and independent. 

It was about having the freedom to plan and build a vision for the future which brought about a better standard of living for the people and improved rights for minorities. 

In the present, he said, the government had spent millions to safeguard the people's jobs, health and education amid the pandemic. 

It has also been reforming the legal regime governing pre-1995 rent laws because freedom was also about having the peace of mind that one would not be evicted from his home. It was also about getting a fair return for a property one owned.

Freedom was about removing prejudices through the introduction of new civil rights, a process that will continue. 

Freedom was also about the assurance that the national institutions worked independently and impartially, another area where much work had been done, and was continuing.  

Freedom was about equality including equality between men and women in employment and decision-making, including the presence of women in parliament.  

The prime minister said the discussion on where Malta wanted to go and what it wanted to achieve for its people should continue, and it should be done in the context of respect and unity because the ultimate goal should not be power but raising the people's living standards.

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