From Mr L. Brincat MP

Writing in last week’s The Malta Independent on Sunday, Ralph Cassar stated that “the only reaction to Sarkozy’s nuclear deal with Libya on my part, was that this deal is proof of the ‘international community’s acknowledgement of the progress made by Libya”.

For the record allow me to point out that my only remarks in other local newspapers were the following:

“Any sovereign State that respects international rules and obligations has every right to obtain civilian nuclear energy through legitimate and transparent means. I see no reason why Libya should be treated differently from other countries, particularly when it already showed its deep commitment to honour its international obligations after abandoning its plan to develop weapons of mass destruction – something that has won it both international respect and appreciation.”

This shows that I was either deliberately or inadvertently misquoted. Anyone of your readers who watched TVM’s edition of Reporter last Tuesday, 28 August, would have heard me state the following:

The Libyans should not be treated as second class citizens when other countries close to our shores have resorted to using nuclear energy for civilian use

At the same time nothing should hold the government and the Opposition back from safeguarding our national security and environmental interests

Recourse should be made to the 1991 ESPOO Convention which speaks of an environmental impact assessment within a transboundary context whereby neighbour States are not only bound to notify and consult each other when any similar projects can have an environmental impact on one another but also as far as the disposal of fuel used in nuclear reactors is concerned

We are equally concerned about the fact that at present there is a surge of nuclear use in the Middle East particularly when the King of Jordan stated that the rules concerning nuclear energy in the region have changed completely

It is worth recalling that as way back as January 2006 the European Commissioner Andris Piebalgs had stated that in order to reduce its dependence on importation of oil and gas, Europe needs to look closer at nuclear energy and renewable energy.

In the past weeks the MLP had sought and obtained independent international advice on the issue from both European and non-European specialised sources.

I also made the point that quiet diplomacy is not tantamount to political impotence.

Leo Brincat