Libya rebels emissiary meets Gonzi at Castille, thanks Malta for support

It was the first time since the beginning of the uprising in Libya, that the Maltese government officially be engaged in talks with the Transitional Council.

n his meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at Castille, Shalgam thanked Malta for the support shown towards the Libyan people. “We are grateful for what you have done and we will build our future together. We need you and your skills and we are proud of our friendship,” he said.

The Prime Minister reiterated Malta’s call that Gaddafi must step down and allow a peaceful transition, adding that Malta had done its utmost in terms of humanitarian assistance and imposed the sanctions as mandated by the UN.

Last March, Libya’s rebel council had made formal contact with the Maltese government through a note verbale sent via a representative within the Arab League, committing itself to “honour and respect all international and regional agreements signed by the former Libyan government.”

The message – that also asked the Maltese government for recognition – stated that the Libyan Republic’s interim transitional council, led by former justice minister Mustafa Mohammed Abdul Jalil “will respect the treaties in force with Malta, most especially on migration.”

Since then, the Maltese government denounced the Gaddafi regime, but stopped short of recognising the Transitional Council.

In April, the leader of transitional council in Libya expressed appreciation towards Malta’s stance refusing to serve as a military base for UN mandated  strikes against Libya, but hoped the island ‘would also widen its cooperation’

Ahmed Jibril, a former ambassador for the Libyan government, said that “the council understands Malta’s position as a neutral state, and its acceptance to abide by the United Nations Security Council for the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya,” Jibril said, adding that “However the council is optimistic that Malta will widen its cooperation when it comes to paragraph 4 of the resolution that imposes an obligation on all states to fully cooperate in the protection of civilian lives.”

Also last month, while Foreign Minister Tonio Borg held a series of meetings with representatives of the Transitional Council on the fringes of various EU and UN meetings, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had a 40 minute long telephone conversation with Mustafa Mohammed Abdul Jalil, the leader of the Transitional Council.

Malta has since offered to serve as a logistical base for humanitarian assistance to Libya, with particular attention to the port-city of Misurata.

Today's meetings with Shalgem mark an important turnaround in Malta’s foreign policy, and is expected to consolidate a new rapport with the Transitional Council in the wake of pressures by Maltese business to have the government set up a representative office in rebel held Benghazi.

Shalgam is a former foreign minister within the Gaddafi regime and was replaced by another defector, Mousa Kusa in 2010.

During Shalgam's tenure of office, foreign ministers Michael Frendo and Tonio Borg were engaged in numerous meetings with his office, particularly on migration issues.

Shalgam was instead appointed as Libya's representative at the United Nations security Council where Libya had a non-permanent seat until 31 December 2009. He remains Libya's ambassador to the UN as of early 2011.

In February, Shalgam denounced the Libyan regime in a speech before the UN.Most of the UN's Libyan delegation had abandoned the regime four days earlier.

Shalgram, who had been friends with Gaddafi for years, initially "could not believe" Gaddafi was firing on his own people, but could no longer support his government after Gaddafi publicly called for the protests to be put down by force.

Last March, Shalgam was appointed emissary to the UN by the  National Transitional Council. Earlier that day, the Gadhafi government had notified the UN of its desire to replace Shalgam as the Libyan representative, appointing Ali Abdussalam Treki as its new envoy in his place.