The tragic end of the Maltese nation has started to unfold. We are now reaping the results of years of an administration’s passive attitude, which hoped that the omnipotent Europe could solve all our problems.

The Prime Minister still refuses to take action even with hundreds of illegal immigrants pouring uncontrolled into our country and the army on the verge of collapse. Rather than admitting to being a puppet of Brussels, he hides under the banner of Christian values.

This cowardly stance is the result of total servility to foreign interests. Thanks to our spineless politicians, we are being hoodwinked and ridiculed by a Europe which sees us as a Third World country whose only worth is that of a dumping ground for illegal immigrants. This unfortunately is just a prelude of far worse things to come.

The Labour Party is also to blame. Rather than mobilisng the people, we have the Leader of the Opposition making vague promises for action when his party takes office. This is just pre-election propaganda. The time for action is now. In three years’ time it will be all over for Malta. Grow up Dr Sant.

The bold government statements of unilateral action should Europe fail to help Malta, have now withered to an occasional whimper for help. The Prime Minister must have received as sharp a rebuke from Franco Frattini, as the one he gave Franco Galea for rightly expressing the people’s concern. Shame on all politicians who remain silent in the face of this onslaught. How will they justify their silence and cowardice to the electorate?

The government should refrain from mentioning the Dutch help. A country of 41,000 sq km and a population of 16 million could only afford to take 30 immigrants. This is simply adding insult to injury.

Or for that matter, British help to train our police in the interrogation technique, which at best will only net a couple of boat drivers while corrupt Libyan officials continue to fatten their Swiss bank accounts. The only help we are going to get from Europe will be in the form of humanitarian aid that will keep the illegal immigrants firmly anchored on this island.

With the approach of June 2006, when Malta will be held responsible for all illegal immigrants from as far away as Crete, the government is now frantic in its efforts to brainwash the population into accepting as many as 15,000 illegal immigrants a year in our country. To this end we are seeing an orchestrated vile propaganda on national TV and by columnists in this and other papers promoting integration with these immigrants, some even advocating the necessity for their presence.

National TV, which is funded by the Maltese taxpayer, started showing Qalbinnies, a programme in which a handful of well chosen immigrants and Maltese sympathisers are interviewed. One woman immigrant even had the gall to expect our gratitude for having chosen our country instead of Italy.

This programme conveniently forgets to interview the soldiers on guard at detention centres whose lives have been made a misery by the inhuman hours they are forced to work and the insults and threats of revolt from some of the immigrants who are truly criminals.

It also forgets to interview the loved ones of these soldiers who are living in constant fear of not seeing their husbands or sons return home.

It fails to mention the widespread abuses perpetrated by immigrants in the open centres, which conveniently never make it to the news.

It fails to mention that the security of our nation can no longer be guaranteed. They now outnumber our security forces. This fact alone constitutes grounds for declaring a state of emergency, which would free the government from its international obligations.

All of this anguish with three thousand immigrants. I will let you imagine what it’s going to be like with 15,000 immigrants a year roaming our streets.

In the words of our Prime Minister, he cannot turn a blind eye to the cause of these immigrants and will continue to help them irrespective of national interest. His Christian values don’t permit otherwise.

Then I tell him: you should have become a missionary, because a leader of people will put the good of his people first even if he has to stifle his conscience. If he is not prepared to do so then he is falling short of the oath he took when accepting office. Trying to save one’s soul at the expense of the Maltese nation does not win you a place in heaven. He was elected by the Maltese to serve this nation and not betray it to foreign interests.

Instead of protecting our national interest, the government has now become the mouthpiece of organisations intent on destroying it. The Nationalist government, which proclaims itself a champion of democracy, has censored and slandered as racists, organisations and individuals who speak out against illegal immigration.

Charles Debono

MARSA