Malta to open consulate in Misurata

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has announced that the Maltese government is searching for property in the Libyan port city of Misurata, which was one of the heavily besieged cities during the Libyan civil way, to open a consulate there.

The city hosts the facilities of Medserv, the Maltese oil bunkering operation.

"I am sure we will find areas that are of benefit to both of us," Gonzi told the press in a meeting he held with Misurata deputy mayor Mohammed Al Jamal.

"Malta is the gateway to the European market and we have invested a lot in the fields of education and vocational training.

"We also believe in the need for a prosperous and peaceful Mediterranean. It is in out interest to achieve stability in the region, even with Malta having been negatively affected by illegal immigration," Gonzi said, in a reference to recent boat migrant arrivals from the North African coasts.

Al Jamal, recently elected to the Misurata council on the strength of his well-educated background and role in the civil conflict, said Malta's historical link with Libya was intensified during the war into a "unique and significant" relationship.

"Malta saved us from murder and its help was priceless. The Maltese were the first to stand with us, and we are happy that Malta is a partner in rebuilding Libya."

Gonzi and former home affairs minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici, as well as foreign minister Tonio Borg, were given a token of gratitude from the Misurata council for their role of support during the Libyan conflict,

The Misurata local council recently denied claims by Human Rights Watch that its revolutionaries had tortured some 3,000 prisoners and forced the people of the nearby town of Tawergha to flee because they had supported Gaddafi forces during the Misurata siege last year. Al Jamal had told the Libya Herlad that the treatment of prisoners in Misurata was relatively good and that they were being held in proper prisons run by the civil authorities.

Al Jamal also denied the ethnic cleansing of people from Tawergha, saying that they could return back to their hometown.