It is clear. It has been from the start. There can be no land-based intervention by the West in Libya. It would mean the death of thousands.

Many Libyans at first called for help from the West, but the West was wise in waiting. Those initial calls were misinterpreted as calls for military help, but biding time has shown that what the Libyans actually wanted was a declaration, a strong one, to give legitimacy to their cause in the eyes of the international community.

There has also been a sense of ‘anything is possible’. During the first few days of the uprising, the Libyans were terrified; it was a case of ‘I’d rather die than live like this’. But as the uprising grew and they pushed Gaddafi further and further back into his enclave, they grew in courage and released that they had an actual shot of forging their own future. They now believe they can eventually push Gaddafi out.

As the family bungled and took foreign journalists to Al Zawiya, Gaddafi decided to vent his wrath on them for having made him look a fool. People in the towns of Zawiya and Mistrata fought off government troops. Some were killed, others joined the rebels.

In the meantime, ordinary Libyans have been telling Western journalists that they do not want foreigners on their soil; they do not want another Iraq. Who can blame them? Their comments strike a chord. Many people are still against the occupation of Iraq – both in the West as well as the rest of the Arab world.

However, there was an allusion to another form of assistance. A man who has been touted as the rebel’s administrative leader has hinted that the way forward might be an airstrike against Gaddafi.

And this is where matters get complicated. Malta cannot allow itself to be that base. While the authorities have allowed RAF Hercules to perform daring midnight desert rescues from Maltese soil, these have been humanitarian missions. They are not military missions and the government has categorically dismissed the notion of Malta becoming a military base. But this need not worry those with military assets. The US is diverting a carrier fleet to Malta and also has Sigonella Air Base in Sicily. The UK, which is still capable of delivering a punch, especially in terms of air assets and intelligence has a base in Cyprus –Akrotiri. This is a very real possibility.

But while Malta’s neutrality clause as worded has been shown to be irrelevant to our times, it would still not be in our interests to allow weapon platforms to base on our soil. We have done our bit, and that is not only in terms of refugees. We confiscated two Libyan planes and we turned back the men that Gaddafi’s Prime Minister sent here. We told them that was not going to happen. In terms of our size and influence, that was big enough. In not allowing any military platforms to strike from Malta, we will have boosted our sovereignty in huge terms. We are tiny Malta, we will undertake this humanitarian effort, we have told Gaddafi where to go, but no. We will not let military planes use Malta. Top drawer performance.