As Gaddafi’s paranoia continues to manifest itself and defections from his regime increase, the Government of Malta has taken the bold step of recognising the Benghazi Transitional Council as being the sole legitimate Libyan Government.

Some would argue that the step has come a bit too late, but it is worth noting that it has only been officially recognised as the seat of Libyan Government by Italy, France, Qatar and now, ourselves. Of course, loose forms of diplomatic ties have been made with other nations, but Malta has now officially recognised the sole legitimate government, one of the first nations to do so.

It is clear that while the Nato campaign will be a long and hard slog, Gaddafi and his son will eventually be ousted. The bombing continues and even the orchestrated gatherings of support for the strongman now only feature a rag-tag group of youths, more than likely being paid, to have some fun. Malta can no longer call the rebels ‘rebels’. They must now be looked at as the Armed Forces of the Libyan TNC. Gaddafi’s forces are now perhaps the ‘rebels’. Whatever the rhetoric may be, the Government of Malta has taken this bold step and must now work to build a new relationship with the provisional leaders of our Southern neighbours.

Libya will be volatile for years to come, and the UN has now presented evidence suggesting that while terrible atrocities and crimes against humanity have been committed by Gaddafi’s forces, war crimes have also been committed by the Benghazi forces.

It would be foolish to think that the Government of Malta has done this solely as an exercise of solidarity. There is much more to it than that. Malta, like other nations, has interests in Libya. Millions of euros have been invested in Libya by private Maltese businessmen, all of who are now out of pocket. In the future, when Libya returns to peace and Gaddafi has been removed, Maltese businessmen will perhaps seek to re-invest in the new Libya, or even try to pick up where they had left off.

Malta will also seek to shake off the oppression of the Gaddafi regime in terms of oil exploration. This tiny country has been bullied for years by Gaddafi’s antics in the industry. Spokes were put in wheels and on other occasions, veiled and not so veiled threats if Malta were to conduct exploration in zones, which although in Maltese territory, were coveted by the Bedouin leader.

Of course, there is also the issue of migration. While the current tide of boats seems to mainly ferry over real genuine refugees from middle Africa or Misurata, it becomes more and more clear that the boats which arrived in Malta and Italy over the years were orchestrated by Gaddafi in terms of psychological and political leverage. Malta now needs to make its position clear with the TNC on issues of migration, and in the future, hammer out an agreement of how to best tackle the problem.

Libya will never be the same again, and neither will Malta and the Mediterranean. The people’s progress can never be stopped. Enough momentum will always topple even the most deeply entrenched of leaders. Yes, Malta had to take this step, and in doing so before it was inevitable, we have raised our stock somewhat amongst ordinary Libyans and potential future leaders.