Prime Minister Joseph Muscat today said that whoever tried to disprove the noble work done by the AFM is clearly “cut off from reality.”

“They work tirelessly, day and night, and have continued to rescue people,” he said during his weekly Sunday morning phone-in on ONE Radio.

He thanked the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) ‘from the bottom of [his] heart’ for their search and rescue involvement in the Mediterranean. 

Muscat was reacting to criticism about the AFM’s apparent lack of participation in migrant rescue operations, with many even pointing out that his wife, Michelle Muscat, had two army vessels watching over her while ‘people were drowning in the Mediterranean.’

He said that the AFM were involved in a rescue operation a few days ago.

He also referred to the MV Lifeline, an unregistered NGO migrant rescue vessel that was given permission to disembarked 234 migrants in Malta. The vessel is currently impounded.

“This case happened because of a captain who disobeyed orders. We will wait for the outcome of the investigations and the court case,” said the Prime Minister. 

“The fact that within a week we have already sent over 50 people to France shows that this government can sit around a table with international partners and find solutions,” he said, referring to the agreement reached with 8 countries to ‘share’ the Lifeline migrants.

Muscat expressed his satisfaction with the first year of the new legislature, which he described as “one of the busiest.” 

“This was a year of records. We did not merely introduce 45 new laws, but improved the quality,” he said about the new laws relating to same-sex marriage, protection of domestic violence victims, the introduction of medical cannabis and IVF. 

“Our Parliament may be in recess, but the government doesn’t stop for the summer months,” he said, mentioning that work on the budget for next year is currently in progress.

Muscat also highlighted that Malta is the first country in the world to approve the bills regulating blockchain-based businesses and their service providers, as well as cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings. 

“These investments are creating quality jobs for the next generation of Maltese, our children who today are still in secondary school,” he said. 

He said he was satisfied with the parliamentary group, which is pushing forward a progressive and reformative agenda.