In terms of European geography, it’s difficult to get further from Ukraine than Malta. Much the same could be said for understanding the meaning of the word freedom.
The valiant Ukrainians will be fighting against invasion when Malta celebrates Freedom Day on Thursday – in memory of what, exactly?
Fifty years ago this month, the Royal Navy had a highly visible presence in Malta, as it had had since 1800, when Nelson’s fleet removed French occupiers from the island.
Within a generation of World War II having ended, the continent was already embedded in a new war, the Cold War: west versus east.
Russia then, as now, was the main threat to world peace. The presence of the Royal Navy in Malta was the main deterrent to the Soviet fleet, based in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Malta had become independent (for the first time in its history) in 1964. By agreement with prime minister George Borg Olivier, the navy was due to pull out in 1974. It was anything but an occupying force: in fact, Britain – with 3,500 servicemen, along with 7,000 dependents on the island – was paying $11 million a year for use of its ‘facilities’: Grand Harbour plus two air bases.
But, in 1971, after his Labour Party won the election by one parliamentary seat, Dom Mintoff wanted to renegotiate the rent. He asked for $77 million a year for seven years, which Britain flatly rejected.
So, he brought NATO into the argument. Allied ships were welcome into Grand Harbour so long as Britain had the deal. Dom was not making any threats but, suppose Malta were to make its facilities open to, er, other navies. (The Allies may have been aware that he was already opening trade deals with Russia and developing closer ties with Gaddafi’s revolutionary regime in Libya. And, in case they hadn’t been aware, he reminded them. But… no threats…)
Mintoff guaranteed that Malta would not permit Soviet or Warsaw Pact forces to use the island’s military facilities- Revel Barker
Negotiations were opened in Rome, with NATO being represented by the US, Italy and Britain, which was insisting that it was not prepared to be blackmailed, nor to pay silly money, and was withdrawing its forces by agreement, anyway.
Dom walked out and flew home, to consult his party members (and the trade unions). He returned with a reduced demand of $47 million.
As The New York Times reported: “At the zero hour, it was clear that Mr Mintoff really wanted the British to remain, along with the families of the service men who contribute so much to Malta’s fragile economy.”
Finally, in return for an annual $37 million, Mintoff was willing to settle and guarantee that Malta would not permit Soviet or other Warsaw Pact forces to use the island’s military facilities.
The NYT continued: “Determined not to be blackmailed by Mr Mintoff, the British resented efforts by their allies… to keep the negotiation alive. But the end result was that other allies agreed to share the burden with Britain to the extent of contributing more than 60 per cent of the annual payment, thus involving themselves far more directly than before in seeing to it that Malta honours the agreement.”
Before the period of the deal ended, Mintoff was asking for more. By now, he was talking about numbering China, Korea and Romania among his friends.
But, this time (the beginning of 1979), he found himself up against Labour prime minister James Callaghan, who was having none of it.
Callaghan, known as ‘Sunny Jim’, who had sailed into Malta as a naval lieutenant during the war, told him, in effect: “You clearly don’t want us there. We are pulling out, anyway, in March.”
Perhaps for anybody but Dom, this would have been a disaster, in terms of long-term friendships (and of income). But he turned it on its head and announced that he was ‘kicking the Brits out’ and declaring a national holiday.
When you celebrate Freedom Day this year, you might think what little difference it means to you – and how much it would mean if you were Ukrainian.