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Government denies NATO engagement, 5+5 June meeting still to go ahead
Notwithstanding the uprising in Libya and the political unrest in Tunisia and Egypt, Malta will still be hosting the 5+5 meeting which is scheduled to take place next June.
This was announced by Foreign Minister Tonio Borg in comments as he met with his Moroccan counterpart in Valletta.
Borg categorically denied that Malta knew about any British special forces operation in Libya and also denied any knowledge that the operation was planned in Malta.
He also denied any NATO engagement and added that Malta's only contact with NATO has been purely in connection with assisting humanitarian aid and evacuations.
The foreign minister was echoing remarks made earlier this afternoon by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at the end of a Cabinet meeting.
The Prime Minister who responded to an Al Jazeera report that revealed radio contact between a NATO Awac flight in the skies over Malta with Luqa Air Traffic control asking for information about a Libyan government flight, stressed that "any engagement with Nato is purely for humanitarian reasons."
Gonzi also denied that Malta will be used as a base for NATO in the wake of the unrest in Libya.
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il gvern kiser bizzejjed il kostitozjoni ghandu ghid l inglizi jaqbzu il barra bis suldati. Mhux jpjana biex jindahal fl affarijiet ta pajjiz sovran.Gonzi kulhadd minn halqu jieklu il hobz. Ahna zghar wisq biex nindahlu direttament.
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These things are not discussed in public..
Pauline Moran •
Fumarole, Wenzu, Toni w il Kardinal (specjalment) kollox jafu x'inhu jigri. Ibqa cert li lilna n-nies qed jghidulna nofs kliem ghax hekk jaqbillhom. Dawn il hmerijiet li qed jghid li Malta mhux ser tintuxa bhala bazi kollu kif jghidu l-Amerikana 'bullshit'. Mur sax xatt u tara x'tip ta' bastimenti x'hemm. Hares w isma x'ghaddej min fuqna xi kultant u ara ezatt x'inhima jghidu meta jitkellmu u tkun taf jekk Malta qedix taqdi lil dawn il pajjizi bhala 'bazi'! It taparsi kliem li qed jghid Wenzu w Toni fuq il Kostituzzjoni kollu dliek biex il poplu jghaljena ruhu u ma jistaqsiex mistoqsijiet. Dawn ghajjarien ghal kisbiet ta Mintoff u halfu meta telu' 1987 li jkissru kull ma Mintoff kiseb ghal Malta!!!! Dik il verita habib!!!
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In my opinion clandestine operation are being operated from Malta. Foreign governments are taking our Prime Minister and our nation for a ride, because they know that a midget cannot raise its head against the might of giants !. Mr.Prime Minister don't fall for their sweet talking. Everyone knows that might is right no matter what. And I beg to ask,Can anyone please inform us about the presence of so many foreign warship and military planes ?. Under the guise of "humanitarian reasons" they are using our port and airport as bases and nothing less. If foreign governments want to evacuate their nationals from Libya Why not send commercial planes and ship instead of military ones ?. An explanation is long overdue.
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peaking at the White House, Mr Obama said the US would stand with the Libyan people as they faced "unacceptable" violence.
"We have got Nato consulting around a wide range of options in Brussels, including potential military options in response to the violence that continues to take place inside Libya," he said.
Mr Obama has instructed his military planners to prepare a range of options, which are understood to include signal-jamming, airdropping weapons and supplies to rebels and landing units of special forces of the sort deployed early during the Afghanistan campaign.
However Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, warned that any foreign military intervention in Libya should have international backing.
He has warned that imposing a no-fly zone would involve direct military action in the form of bombing raids to eradicate Libya's air defences, thus potentially dragging the United States into a third major war front after Iraq and Afghanistan.
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10:42PM GMT 07 Mar 2011
Barack Obama's warning to Gaddafi supporters
The US President has sent a clear warning to those around the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Mr Obama, speaking after talks with visiting Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, said the two countries agreed that violence by the Libyan government against its people was unacceptable.
"I want to send a very clear message to those who are around Colonel Gadhafi. It is their choice to make how they operate moving forward and they will be held accountable for whatever violence continues to take place there." said the US President.
"In the meantime, we've got Nato as we speak consulting in Brussels around a wide range of potential options, including potential military options, in response to the violence that continues to take place inside of Libya.
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My house is on the fly path to Luqa and last week was one of those times when hardly 5 minutes passed by without a military aircraft-(skejjen)- flew past, especially in the evening when it was already dark. Dr Borg and Dr Gonzi jew qed jitnejjek bina jew bhas soltu, il-barranin jitnejku bihom! Al Jazira sar giddieb issa?
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Can Dr Gonzi or Dr Tonio Borg please tell us what all these military aircraft and helicopters are doing in Malta?
http://www.fightercontrol.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=28367
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So it's actually going to be 5 + 5 - 1 now ? :)
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Allura, kulhadd ghaddej 'l hawn u ' l hinn minn Malta u jippjanaw go Malta affarijiet militari minghajr ma jaf il Gvern? Ergejna ghad ghal kolonja u bazi tan-Nato? Fejn hi id-dinjita taghna?
