Former Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici was laid to rest yesterday.

The government respected his wish not to have a State funeral. Mifsud Bonnici wanted the last respects to be in conformity with the way he had always lived – humble and modest.

Consistency was one of his main attributes. He was loyal to his principles, from start to finish. He never wavered from his political beliefs. For one thing, he campaigned against European Union membership, and even after Malta had voted to join and eventually did, he stuck to his idea that Malta should have remained out of the bloc.

Two of his successors as Labour Party leaders had also campaigned heavily against European Union membership. But both then went on to become European parliamentarians, taking up one of the positions which, were it for them, Malta should never have had. Not Karmenu. He was against EU membership to the extent of setting up his own Campaign for National Independence. The idea of becoming an MEP never crossed his mind.

Those who knew him well describe him as kind, gentle and always ready to give a helping hand. Many sought his advice as a lawyer, and he took on clients even when they could not pay for his services. As a politician, he had a quality which was rare in his days and has become even rarer now – he was incorruptible. These days it is so difficult to find an honest and genuine politician, one who really is of service to others.

But Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici cannot, then, be separated from what happened during his tenure as Prime Minister, between 1984 and 1987. He took over the reins of the country – without having previously contested an election – at a time when the Labour Party was in government in spite of having obtained fewer votes than the PN in the 1981 election, a result that sparked unrest which climaxed in the years during which Mifsud Bonnici was designate leader and, later, leader and prime Minister.

Political violence was prevalent in those years, with Nationalist Party clubs often being the target of arson and explosive devices. The Curia had been attacked and ransacked; paintings were torn, statues were broken. The Law Courts had also fallen victim to a mob.

The PN had not been given permission to hold a mass meeting in Zejtun and, when they did try to go, they found a barricaded town and tear-gas was used by the police to disperse PN supporters. In December 1986, PN activist Raymond Caruana had been killed at the Gudja PN club.

Mifsud Bonnici was also Prime Minister when a hijacked Egyptair plane had landed in Malta and, after Malta had refused help from the United States, it ended up being one of the deadliest incidents of its kind, with more than 60 people killed.

He also led the government’s campaign to close down Church schools, an idea that was vehemently resisted and led the government to back down.

Those dark days and events will always be associated with Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici.

Since his death on Saturday, the national TV station and Labour Party media have been painstakingly trying to describe only Mifsud Bonnici’s good qualities, but what happened in his years as Prime Minister cannot be forgotten.

History cannot, and should not, be rewritten.