The situation in Libya is deteriorating by the hours. A ruthless mad dictator who doesn't give a damn about the people he's murdering is with his back against the wall, and people in this situation can act very unexpectedly. We just pray and hope that the Libyan people can finally prevail, and in this country freedom can once again reign.
In the meantime, I feel ashamed that our country's leaders have throughout time licked the feet of this mercenary. Probably out of fear...and let's face it, he did stop us from drilling our oil-shelf with his toy-boat destroyer. So there may be some justification in fearing him, and his threats of immigrant flooding. But to bestow him with our highest honours? Makes me sick.
And well he did reciprocate from his part, like a true friend should. In 2008, he honored our ex-Prime Minister Dom Mintoff with the Al-Gaddafi Award for Human Rights. At the time I was dumb-struck. Were it an award for patriotism, or combatting poverty, I would have understood. But Mintoff awarded for safe-guarding human rights?
Today I understand. People protesting about high unemployment, restrictions on free market, institutionalized corruption, limited access to education, and then the army/police given orders to shoot on protestors, restrictions on the media, burning down of the free press, attacks on religious institutions, students beaten, a Judiciary interfered by the Executive, no Constitutional Court to turn to because it is suspended, restrictions on foreigners on commenting, people exiled because of their beliefs, people shot during a funeral (in Malta, it was a wedding)...
Honestly can't see much difference from what is happening under Muammar's rule to what happened in the second term of Dom's regime. Only difference is that in Malta's case at least his conscience was stung when a murder took place, while Gaddafi doesn't give a damn about the people he's murdering. Apart from that, their ideals of human rights weren't very far off.
We look in wonder as to how through all this, there still some people who support Gadaffi, and wave his photos and his banners. I wonder no more. Through all this, in our country we had people lighting candles in front of Mintoff's photo, waving his name and cheering him. We still had 114,936 people who thought KMB was fit for Prime Minister, the same KMB who had warned Gaddafi about the USA's attack. One asks why...but the answer is in reality simple. It's because the regime allowed them a comfortable life and favoured them at the expense of others. And it's because in many cases, emotion takes over the intellect when they come to make a decision. It's the same all around the world. The most worrying thing in our country is that we still have youngsters who think those measures were right, or they were reasonable because we were given the "bonus" and "children's allowance". Youngsters who think that it's ok if half the population egoistically rides over the other half. And knowing that these youngsters are well educated, makes it more worrisome.
The Libyans, today, shout the same cry: "To hell with your bonus, we want freedom!"...and that cry may well be rising even from the Persian gulf.
In the meantime, I feel ashamed that our country's leaders have throughout time licked the feet of this mercenary. Probably out of fear...and let's face it, he did stop us from drilling our oil-shelf with his toy-boat destroyer. So there may be some justification in fearing him, and his threats of immigrant flooding. But to bestow him with our highest honours? Makes me sick.
And well he did reciprocate from his part, like a true friend should. In 2008, he honored our ex-Prime Minister Dom Mintoff with the Al-Gaddafi Award for Human Rights. At the time I was dumb-struck. Were it an award for patriotism, or combatting poverty, I would have understood. But Mintoff awarded for safe-guarding human rights?
Today I understand. People protesting about high unemployment, restrictions on free market, institutionalized corruption, limited access to education, and then the army/police given orders to shoot on protestors, restrictions on the media, burning down of the free press, attacks on religious institutions, students beaten, a Judiciary interfered by the Executive, no Constitutional Court to turn to because it is suspended, restrictions on foreigners on commenting, people exiled because of their beliefs, people shot during a funeral (in Malta, it was a wedding)...
Honestly can't see much difference from what is happening under Muammar's rule to what happened in the second term of Dom's regime. Only difference is that in Malta's case at least his conscience was stung when a murder took place, while Gaddafi doesn't give a damn about the people he's murdering. Apart from that, their ideals of human rights weren't very far off.
We look in wonder as to how through all this, there still some people who support Gadaffi, and wave his photos and his banners. I wonder no more. Through all this, in our country we had people lighting candles in front of Mintoff's photo, waving his name and cheering him. We still had 114,936 people who thought KMB was fit for Prime Minister, the same KMB who had warned Gaddafi about the USA's attack. One asks why...but the answer is in reality simple. It's because the regime allowed them a comfortable life and favoured them at the expense of others. And it's because in many cases, emotion takes over the intellect when they come to make a decision. It's the same all around the world. The most worrying thing in our country is that we still have youngsters who think those measures were right, or they were reasonable because we were given the "bonus" and "children's allowance". Youngsters who think that it's ok if half the population egoistically rides over the other half. And knowing that these youngsters are well educated, makes it more worrisome.
The Libyans, today, shout the same cry: "To hell with your bonus, we want freedom!"...and that cry may well be rising even from the Persian gulf.
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