The New Chapter.*

Political change can take place in a multitude of ways: Rapidly, like a lightning bolt; through a slow or natural process; peacefully; or within the framework of the country’s electoral, administrative and legal structures

A change in government can be marred by bloodshed, violence, murder and immense damage to property. The effects brought about by change will vary and their nature hinges on the methods used to accomplish them.

A society that effects change through peaceful means paves its way to continue to build smoothly on its past achievements. On the other hand, a change that is achieved through bloodshed compels the incoming government to start from scratch and build afresh from the very fundamentals of life.

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s death, which was inevitable, should be viewed in this context. Once ignited, it was difficult to quash a revolution by adopting brutal measures, as was the case in Libya. The Libyan people feel liberated from two situations that have unfolded.

Firstly, they have freed themselves from an authoritarian regime, from which only some members of its inner circles benefited, while many suffered much hardship. Secondly, a liberation from an eight-month armed conflict that has left thousands, including innocent civilians, dead. In an armed conflict, implements of war do not serve to reason things out – they are programmed to indirectly target, wound and kill.

There are many future challenges for the Libyan people, to whom Malta pledges its full support. However, it is now up to them to carry out the enormous and arduous task that is necessary to change the damaging policies they have inherited from their former regime. Changing the country’s culture from a servile political dependency to one that embraces and pursues democratic principles will undoubtedly be their main challenge.

The building of democratic institutions will not take place overnight. Whereas international actors can and should assist in this process if requested, they should steer clear from imposing democracy on the Libyan people. The task of transforming the current political structures is likely to take years to accomplish, given that they have remained static over the last 42 years.

Our country has long been acknowledging the various situations that have developed in Libya. Over the years our leaders established bilateral, diplomatic and commercial ties with them; the extent of these relations was determined by all the parties involved at the time. The relationship took on different forms, at times normal and occasionally strange.

To cite a couple of examples of the latter, many of us will recall the days when the Arabic language was introduced as a compulsory subject in secondary schools or when a Libyan gunboat stopped an Italian oil rig commissioned by Malta from drilling in the Medina Bank. However, Malta has always maintained its independent status despite the former Libyan regime’s clear messages of discontent over certain foreign policies that were being pursued by our leaders.

Nevertheless, we pursued those policies, even though the regime unleashed waves of migrants on our shores in an attempt to put us in crisis. Today we know that when the then Tripoli government used illegal immigration as a weapon against Italy, Malta was also its target. That was most certainly a highly condemnable act against humanity and our bilateral relations.

The Gaddafi regime’s tough way of doing things created severe difficulties; however, today we are witnessing a totally different scenario. The Nationalist Party was more progressive and daring throughout the civil war that broke out in Libya earlier this year. The Labour Party sat on the fence, exerting caution and holding back from taking a position. They either failed to understand or were not fully aware of the fact that the Maltese were so tired of the regime. Perhaps our approach toward the uprising, particularly during the course of its initial stages, may have involved elements of risk.

In reality, however, we were only being faithful to our sound principles and values that are deeply rooted in our minds: Liberty, justice and democracy. We could not stop ourselves from going back to the foundation of our faith: “Justice will undoubtedly prevail” even though the process may take a long time.

I do not regret our role in assisting in the creation of a new future for Libya. Our country took the right decisions. We did not shrug off our responsibility. On the contrary, we contributed towards the way to commence the new chapter. Great merit is undoubtedly due to the Prime Minister, who showed outstanding courage and determination. He had a focused vision throughout the Libyan conflict.

There are now close personal democratic ties through which, in the coming months, our country should start to actively pursue new opportunities in Libya. We are in a good position to exploit these. A new chapter has begun. We shall make our best efforts to build on a sound foundation based on democracy and not on any form of dictatorship.

* This news paper article appeared in the Malta Independent on the 23rd December 2011