‘First I heard of Malta’s PfP plans was after 2008 elections’ – Richard Cachia Caruana

Malta's permanent representative to the EU, Richard Cachia Caruana claimed yesterday that he had been 'unaware' of the Prime Minister's intention to reactivate Malta's participation in the Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme at any point before the 2008 election.

"I didn't know the Prime Minister had told the US ambassador he intended to take Malta into PfP," Cachia Caruana said in reply to a specific question by Labour MP Owen Bonnici.

This statement took Labour members of the House by surprise, with Bonnici retorting that the same Wikileaks cable at the heart of the entire controversy had revealed that, three months before that election, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had told former US ambassador Molly Bordonaro that his intention was to reactivate Malta's participation in the PfP programme.

Cachia Caruana, who was testifying before the foreign affairs committee in the wake of an Opposition motion that calls for his resignation, has consistently denied acting behind the government's back and 'colluding' with the United States on this controversial issue, as alleged in the Labour Party's motion against him.

But his claim to have been unaware of government's attention elicited some commotion in the House, as government MPs were heard interjecting loudly to drown out further questions by Bonnici.

Matters had begun calmly enough, when - after an exchange of questions between House Leader Tonio Borg and Opposition MP Leo Brincat, and some wrangling between the two sides over correct House procedure - Cachia Caruana kicked off proceedings with a statement.

"The accusation advanced by the Opposition was that I betrayed my country by seeking a solution to Malta's situation in PfP to bypass parliamentary accountability... the only attempt to prove this allegation was the Wikileaks cable. During the past sessions, I answered to the questions about this cable, which does not substantiate the accusations made against me."

Prompted by Nationalist MP Frans Agius, he reiterated points he had made in the first hearing. With reference to the Wikileaks cable that detailed meetings held between the US mission to the EU, Nato officers, and his own embassy staff, he said: "I have nothing much to add to the statement I gave. I never requested guidance from Washington [as alleged in the cable authored by the US deputy chief of mission] on the so called 'Maltese proposal' to request that Malta never withdrew unconditionally from the PfP back in 1996."

Cachia Caruana added that there had already been discussion within the Maltese government to discuss the matter of the security of documents agreement signed in 1995 with Nato, in talks related to Malta's access to classified Nato documents available only to EU member states that are Nato or PfP members.

He all along insisted that his actions had been dictated by concern at Malta's exclusion from meetings at which sensitive documents were discussed; and that his interest in the PfP issue was limited only to this particular effect.

It was here that he alluded to the so called 'procedural bandaid' - as it was described in the Wikileaks cable - to have Malta's security agreement with Nato declared still in force, as one of the ideas being floated about inside the Maltese government at the time. But he said it had been the Americans had formally raised the proposal with his embassy staff (namely, defence liaison Martin Xuereb, today AFM Brigadier).

The idea, he said, was discussed in an informal setting. After this meeting, Cachia Caruana sent off a memo. "The fact that the Americans were the most important players in Nato, it was interpreted that moving on these lines would have meant getting the backing of the United States."

Replying to Labour MP Luciano Busuttil, Cachia Caruana insisted that none of his embassy staff had revealed any sensitive information about domestic policies at these meetings - specifically asking how the Americans were aware that PfP was a divisive '50-50' issue in Malta.

"I am certain my staff did not raise these matters with the American staff, but only Major Xuereb can respond to this question..."

At this point Nationalist MP Francis Zammit Dimech objected to the line of questioning, marking the beginning of a series of interruptions and side arguments that derailed this part of the session.

Cachia Caruana all along insisted that the Maltese government's stand at the time was not to join PfP. But Busuttil asked how P. Michael McKinley (US deputy chief of mission) could have known that the Maltese government was not enthusiastic about PfP because it would prompt a divisive vote in the House.

When Cachia Caruana replied that "there was never any discussion" about Malta's domestic political scenario, Busuttil momentarily stumped the ambassador with a searching question: "How do you know your staff did not raise this matter if you were not present for the meeting?"

Five seconds of dead air later, Cachia Caruana replied: "Because I trust my staff," eliciting a grin from Busuttil.

Busuttil persisted in this line of questioning but was interrupted by an impatient outburst by Zammit Dimech, who loudly insisted that the Opposition was merely asking the same question over and over again.

The commotion over, Busuttil asked about claims in the US embassy cable about "seeking Washington guidance".

Cachia Caruana denied that he himself was the subject of this reference, and that he had in any way sought guidance from the US government as to the line of action Malta would take over access to classified Nato documents.

The meeting ended with House leader Tonio Borg insisting that the Opposition amend its motion to remove the allegation of illegality; while Zammit Dimech objected to the Opposition's summoning of former foreign minister John Dalli.