Alleanza Bidla has accused the government of threatening the country’s coveted yet sometimes controversial constitutional neutrality by signing on to the European Union’s upcoming ‘military campaign’ against human traffickers in Libya.
This week, EU ministers agreed to a military campaign on Libyan territory with “a broad range of air, maritime and land capabilities”. Such capabilities are to include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; boarding teams; patrol units (air and maritime); amphibious assets; destruction of traffickers’ assets from air, land and sea, including the involvement of special forces units. Such actions, EU ministers resolved, will take place “along the coast, in harbour or at anchor [against] smugglers’ assets and vessels before their use”.
Most concerning, according to the political party, is that EU ministers have not ruled out EU forces’ “presence or tasks in the Libyan territory”, despite the fact that neither the Tobruk nor the Tripoli governments were consulted on the course of military action.
Both rival governments, in fact, have rejected such military action on their territory and have stated that they would fight against any ‘boots on the ground’.
Moreover, EU Foreign Minister Frederica Mogherini said this week that, “If the United Nations Security Council refused the military campaign, the EU would still mount a military mission in the Mediterranean outside of Libyan territorial waters and airspace”.
Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela, who took part in the meetings, said this week that, “Malta had participated and would continue to participate in the planning of this operation, and it recognised the need for collective action by all member states in order to ensure mission success.”
But, as Alleanza Bidla leader Ivan Grech Mintoff contends, “According to the Constitution, which all ministers swear to uphold before God and country: ‘Malta is a neutral state actively pursuing peace, security and social progress among all nations by adhering to a policy of non-alignment and refusing to participate in any military alliance’”.
Mr Grech Mintoff, in a video message circulating the social media, expresses his concern that, “Malta will be forced to participate in a military alliance against our will, and used by it to enter a neighbouring country against their, and our, expressed political beliefs. With Malta’s participation, the EU will be knowingly breaking our national laws as well as international laws and treaties.”
He adds, “That Malta invades another country against its will is most serious. It could even be interpreted as an act of war. For a country to form part of a military alliance that enters a sovereign state against its will, it is normal practice for very serious discussion to be held at parliamentary level.
“Are such decisions now being made unilaterally by a minister, without discussing such a serious matter in the usual democratic way? Was the Prime Minister even aware that our Minister was breaking our own national laws and international treaties by attending and participating in this military campaign?
“If he did not know what is he going to do about it and if he did know is he therefore condoning such breaches of law?
“Frankly I don’t know what is worse: for our Prime Minister not to have been aware of this illegality or that he was totally aware of it and is therefore also involved in breaking the law.
“The Maltese people deserve very serious and immediate answers from the Prime Minister who is responsible for such action in the name of the Maltese, who have long since rejected such military participation and cavalier behaviour of this kind.”