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Americans wanted immunity for servicemen in Malta
The U.S. pressured Malta to cede jurisdiction on prosecution of US military on Maltese soil, Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg tells MaltaToday on Sunday.
12 September 2011, 12:00am
Karl Stagno-Navarra
Karl Stagno-Navarra
2 min read
The United States government’s proposal for a Status Of Forces Agreement (SOFA) was a demand for Malta to cede its jurisdiction on the prosecution of US military personnel on Maltese soil, foreign minister Tonio Borg reveals in an interview with MaltaToday.
“[The SOFA] has nothing to do with establishing a military base, but simply a wish by the US to secure jurisdiction over their servicemen while in Malta on visiting ships,” Borg says.
However informal discussions with the United States – revealed in the leaked embassy cables on Wikileaks – never resulted in agreement on the crucial matter of jurisdiction.
“I engaged in talks with the US ambassador after I was asked by the Prime Minister to see what could be done to accommodate a SOFA agreement with the US, given that US navy ships were finding it difficult to enter Malta due to the absence of such an agreement. In fact we only had a few visiting assets in harbour over the past years.”
Borg referred to the case of Chilean cadet Hernán Sepúlveda Mery, who in 1999 knifed nightclub bouncer Joseph Spiteri (aka il-Brodu) during a brawl in Paceville, and then sought refuge on board his ship and was never handed over to the Maltese authorities for prosecution.
US federal prosecutors refused to extradite Sepúlveda Mery to Malta when he landed in Miami while on his honeymoon.
“It is in this spirit that I insisted that should a similar incident involving US servicemen happen on Maltese soil, then Malta would have jurisdiction over the case.”
Borg also rejects the ‘sceptic’ label given to him by Edgar Galea-Curmi, the prime minister’s assistant, as paraphrased in the cables.
“Call me a nationalist, but I will not cede an inch on what is in the national interest,” he says. “There is no way that I will cede my jurisdiction for prosecution should harm be inflicted on a Maltese national or damage be done to Maltese property.”
Borg also states that should Malta reach an agreement with the US, this would need parliamentary approval.
Malta has in the past been denied regular US military funding for the Armed Forces of Malta, over its refusal to sign a bilateral immunity agreement granting US servicemen immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court, of which Malta is a signatory.
Abdullah alhrbi •
MY point exactly, why should Maltese citizens become second class citizens to visiting US service men?
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To all and sundry, USA servicemen do get immunity in Malt.
A couple of years back the son of a friend of mine was beaten up by a drunken US sailor. When a report was lodged at the police they were adviced not to persue the issue.
My friend being a quite person took the advice knowing that going to court would be hard to get justice as the sailor had sailed off next morning.
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malta biss, my whole point exactly. Afghanistan and Pakistan created this problem by harboring the terrorists. So they are getting what they deserve. Malta cannot afford not be in the PFP and now, we are economically tied to Europe and now that we have become so dependent on EU, there is no way turning back regardless of how much some hardliners want to. It's the people who will at the end decide and the vast majority of the maltese want to be part of the EU. Got it. It's not WU alone, that is why we have referendas. You may wish to move to Venezuela or CUBA if yuo are not happy with the current maltese pollitics.
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John Azzopardi that's why we must leave the EU and the PfP.
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We should stop serving the foreigners and decide in our best interests and not be dictated to by the foreigners.
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Re what your USA friends are doing, have a look at whom they support.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/12/us-backed-afghan-militias-abuses
US-backed Afghan militias accused of human rights abuses
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LOL...........Maltabiss, who are you kidding. Don't want to serve the foreigners............Are you joking. You already are. WE are now serving our masters in Europe. Look at so many instances in the past few years where we have to adhere to every dictum issued by brussels. You are joking right.
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Wrong again John Azzopardi.
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We don;t want to serve the foreigners on the presumption that they will defend us if attacked.
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If we attack no on, no one will attack us.
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As some American Presidents had said and as was posted by someone else, those who give away their freedom to get some security deserve neither, or words to that effect.
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Those who want others to help them suffer from an inferiority complex.
Abdullah alhrbi •
LOL 'Most of today's servicemen are different than those in the old days' you why don't you go tell it to the marines ! Why don't you ask the people of Okinawa in Japan they might just tell you their side of the story. Their economy to quote an Okinawan site relies more on tourists from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan for income than American servicemen. American servicemen spending only accounts for about 5 percent of the economic activity on Okinawa. Okinawans want American servicemen off their island by the year 2015. Do you know why? Okinawans complain about crime, pollution, obnoxious behavior, litter, associated with the Americans.
Here's what Tim Larimer wrote about weekends in Okinawa in Time, "The crowd spills from the bars onto the sidewalks...The streets turn into a bacchanal of hard drinking, drag racing, loud music, sweaty dancing. Tattooed guys in muscle shirts and cargo pants rub against women in midriff-baring T-shirts and tight jeans."One Marine from California told Time, "Hey, we're 19-year-old guys, we're away from home, we're pumped up and we're horny. Of course it's all about sex."
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1000264,00.html
John Azzopardi You may be ready to make a quick buck out of the Yanks but you want to make it at the expense of law and order, Maltese Justice and sovereignty.
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Mr Maltabiss, you reiterate all you want today we live in a global world and economy, and whether we like it or not, we are all in it together. It's only the western world that offers you the right to freedom as we know it. Without it, you and I are nothing. You are very naive indeed for saying we run to mother hen for protection. If Malta was attached today, and it was almost attached by gaddafi when we were searching for oil, who came to our rescue, Italy. Either you are young or old and don't know a darn thing what life is all about. ALmost remember my friend, a countries economic security is tied to military security. If malta wants to protect its interest, it knows what it must do and it does it, as we have done time and time again. Who do you suggest will protect malta's security genius.
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John Azzopardi I reiterate that jokers are those who like small chicks run after their mother hem to protect them.
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Then if we are EU puppets, Dr KMB is right and we should leave because no one who has the least bit of decency likes to be a puppet.
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If you are happy to align yourself with others to fight their wars you should emigrate to one of those countries because we do not want to be embroiled in their wars. If you don't interfere in other countries internal affairs you don't have anything to fear.
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Regarding pappagalli, it is again those who are brainwashed about foreigners and the EU who are pappagalli because they don't have a mind of their own but simply repeat the brainwashing propaganda that they have been fed by their foreign patrons and lords and their servants.
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Mr. Comic star and Malta biss - what a bunch of jokers the two of you are. it's probably you that have a colonial mentality. Today, we are nothing more than EU puppets. If you think we have independence you are joking. WE must accept every dictum coming out of Brussels. Today, Germany (because of it's economic power) and Brussels are dictating to each and every country what needs to be followed and adhered to. Freedom always come at a price as we have seen in the PAST...... and if you chose not to align yourself with anyone who will protect you. I don't think ghost will be able to. Do you think. You two need to get our more and see more of the world and what it gives before you talk like two pappagalli like you are. Need to grow up mates. Paroli fil vojt ma jiswew xejn.
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John Azzopardi People having a backward mentality are those who lick foreigners A$$"s and are still living in the colonialist era.
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They should NOT even be here let alone getting immunity.
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Since they wanted immunity it means that they intended to violate our laws.
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They can never be given immunity against war crimes as Malta has signed and ratified the ICC Treaty which the USA did not because it knows that its armed forced have committed a lot of war crimes and will be arrested if they come to Malta and there is an arrest warrant issued for them by the International Criminal Court.
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These are the disgusting Americans and what they want.
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To John Azzopardi. You have still a colonial mentality to let americans go away scott free. Do you think that we could receive the same treatment in the USA. USA stills believes Malta is part of Africa and treats maltese as unsafe
duncan abela •
Well done to Tonio Borg for standing firm on this issue. A line has to be drawn in protecting our citizens.It confirms to me what I suspected all along about immunity and spoke about together with other asymmetric issues in a recent blog comment.If we do not draw a line the next demand by the American Ambassador would have been that Maltese citizens who carry out actions on Maltese soil which are deemed against US law would have to be rendered to the US as we have seen happen in a number of unfortunate UK cases . A number of perfectly legal activities in Malta such as certain ICT and betting operations do fall foul of American legislation and those employed especially in our betting industry would be particularly at risk if agreements similar to the UK one had to be concluded between the US and Malta..
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People in mallta have a backward mentality. Most of today's servicemen are different than those in the old days. I love when an old man below talks about the six fleet. What's that. Also, it is true that customs in the US ask a lot of questions to those who carry a maltese passport. And you know why. I asked one of the customs officer one day and and started talking to me and said most maltese are good, but there a a few bring cigarettes illegally in the US and many times other things as well without being declared. The maltese as well as foreigners coming into Malta are now spoiled and bring all kind of illegal drugs and other paraphinlia into malta becuase MALTA HAS ONE OF THE LOOSES CUSTOMS IN THE WORLD AND ANYTHING CAN COME IN. IS THAT THE LAW MALTA WANTS.
Abdullah alhrbi •
I think the narrative regarding the behaviour of American service men in Malta is not a positive one. One of the most gruesome murders on the island was committed by a US service man and there were other violent incidents with the culprits spirited away by the US. The murders of Mary Grech and Irene Johnson were attributed to American servicemen. The collective conscience with regards American service men is not positive . Well lower Valletta certainly didn't like them for a long time and men regularly held neighbourhood watches when ever the US sixth fleet anchored in. They were a nuisance with no boundaries breaking into houses and pestering civilians at all times of the day with brutal MPs beating them senseless trying to quell the damage. Who in their right mind would want that for their country ever again? Japan and Naples know what it means trying to gain jurisdiction over criminal servicemen with a US passport. If visiting US ships means a return to and an increase in a particular service provision and a breakdown in law and order then perhaps Tonio Borg for once has looked at the historical evidence and gotten it right.
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And when we go to the US for business the custom and frontier corps asks us one question after an other and always treats us as 2nd class citizens! Isa hey!
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I have been very critical of Government over a number of issues, but I salute Tonio Borg, and Government, for the stand they have taken.
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Prosit.
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Government has shown that at least on this issue, Malta is stronger than other countries and has refused to accept the notion that a member of the US military is bigger than Maltese laws.
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It was only a few weeks ago that a CIA contractor working in Pakistan shot dead two Pakistani citizens in broad daylight and in front of dozens of witnesses.
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The US is still putting tremendous pressure of the Pakistani authorities demanding the release of the accused.
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Arrogance or what?
