Bitter Independence as parties trade blows over Gaddafi legacy

The Nationalist Party has kept up its attack on Labour international secretary Alex Sceberras Trigona over his role as foreign minister in the 1980s and Malta’s relations with Libya and Col. Muammar Gaddafi.

Sceberras Trigona has refused to be drawn on statements by PN secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier that he had “embarrassed the nation” with his close ties to the regime in the 1980s, telling the Times he will speak only “at the right moment.”

The PN has revived declassified CIA files from the 1980s that contain directives by US president Ronald Reagan to undermine Maltese support for Libya in international for a, promote greater contact with the PN (then in Opposition), and intensify intelligence efforts on Libyan interaction inside Malta.

The party, whose leader Lawrence Gonzi was the last European prime minister to visit Gaddafi a week before the Benghazi rebellion on 17 March, has put much store in demanding Labour leader Joseph Muscat to get rid of Sceberras Trigona.

“If Joseph Muscat really and truly regrets Labour’s shameful past, then he should walk the walk and get rid of the likes of Alex Sceberras Trigona – the man he himself brought in from the cold and appointed international secretary,” the PN said in a statement.

“Sceberras Trigona is responsible for Labour's shameful past. As foreign affairs minister, he harboured unnecessary friendships with notorious regimes which tarnished Malta’s international standing,” the PN said.

“He has a lot of explaining to do. Shamelessly, he has kept mum and went into political hibernation since the Libyan people successfully defeated Gaddafi and his regime.”

The Labour Party has argued that Paul Borg Olivier must substantiate his allegations against Labour. In a statement yesterday, Labour referred to other declassified documents from the Bush presidency that condemned the Nationalist government’s early release of Ali Rezaq, who had been convicted for the hijack in Malta of the Egyptair flight in 1985.

“Lawrence Gonzi and Borg Olivier have a problem – these same files say Malta was a terrorist base under Eddie Fenech Adami,” Labour said. “It is shameful that the highest exponent of GonziPN sows division on a national day instead of looking for national unity.”