Tonio Borg told NATO member states to ‘knock on other doors’

Malta’s foreign minister Tonio Borg has issued a stark warning to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) stressing that if they intend to engage in any military action against Libya using Malta as a base, they should “go and knock on other people’s doors.”

Ironically, this comes in the wake of reports that NATO aircraft have been in close communication with Maltese authorities, and the day after the US ambassador to NATO confirmed Malta’s role as base for ‘the larger international co-ordinating process’ for operations which also involve NATO,

Speaking to MaltaToday from Rome after meetings with his Italian counterpart Franco Frattini, Malta’s foreign minister said that he made it clear to all NATO member states, that Malta will not allow its neutrality to be breached and its Constitution broken.

“Malta’s role in the developing crisis in Libya is purely humanitarian and nothing more, however we will never accept any circumstance where Maltese territory be used for any military action against Libya,” Borg said.

But he also stressed that Malta cannot be neutral before the humanitarian tragedy that is unfolding at the Libyan borders with Tunisia and Egypt, where thousands of people are fleeing the violence are stranded in no man’s land, and living under extreme hardship.

“Where there is a situation of life and death, I choose life,” Minister Borg said, adding that “neutrality doesn’t come into this choice... I won’t be neutral on such a tragedy.”

Military interests overhead

Asked about a proposed no-fly zone over Libya by the United Kingdom and the United States, Tonio Borg preferred to adopt a wait-and-see attitude, insisting however that any decision should lay within the parameters of a United Nations mandate, “which is turning out to be quite unlikely, given that Russia has already expressed objections.”

When questioned about last weekend’s botched mission in Benghazi by UK special forces, that was reportedly planned and deployed from Malta, the Foreign Minister stressed that the Maltese Armed Forces have received “assurances” from the UK’s joint-command centre currently operating from Malta as part of the evacuation programme, that “Malta was not involved in the operation.”

However, these assurances remain to be verified in the wake of evidence that senior governmental and military officials were in Malta over the weekend, when the Benghazi operation was playing out.

MaltaToday has photographic evidence of a RAF executive jet HS-125 that was secretly parked behind a hangar at the airport.

The aircraft regularly provides a passenger service to the Royal Family, Government ministers and senior military officers and is operated throughout the world in the VIP role and, in its communications role. The jet left Malta on Monday soon after the Special Forces and MI6 team returned from Benghazi aboard the HMS Cumberland that docked at the Grand Harbour.

In the meantime NATO has deployed the sophisticated Awacs aircraft above Malta, Lampedusa and Pantelleria on a 24/7 non-stop routine. The Awacs belong to NATO, France and the United Kingdom. Other military planes have included Portuguese F-16’s, a USAF air tanker, and a USAF flying fortress MC-130H. Last night, a Canadian executive jet CC-144B landed in Malta, while C-17 and C-130 Canadian AF aircraft are still at MIA.

US ambassador to Nato briefing

Tonio Borg’s comments were made in the light of remarks made by the United States ambassador to Nato Ivo Daalder during a press briefing.

The senior US diplomat confirmed Malta’s centre-stage role in international operations involving, among others, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

In an on-the-record press briefing last Monday, Ambassador Daalder unambiguously confirmed Malta’s role as a base for ‘the larger international co-ordinating process’ of ongoing relief efforts in Libya.

“The larger coordinating process remains an international one based in Malta at the moment in which NATO will be one of many other players,” Daalder said in response to a question regarding NATO’s operational partners in the Mediterranean.

He also made it clear that NATO’s involvement has to date been limited to humanitarian aims.

“On the question of who NATO is dealing with, right now NATO is dealing with international organizations. We are offering support to those organizations as they engage in the activities to provide humanitarian relief.  So we’re – the secretary general is in contact with the NATO – with the UN secretary general. He’s in contact with the AU, with the Arab League, with UNHCR, the IOM, OCHA -- all of the agencies that are really involved on an international side providing humanitarian relief. And our effort here is to suggest – we have some capabilities that may be very useful to meet the needs, the dire needs that you face right now.”

Daaldo said that there was no intent to have a presence inside Libya at this point.

“If and when ships with aid may have to go to Benghazi, that’s already happening as we speak. I think the Italians are in Benghazi today in order to deliver aid. And that will be done by nations, but it will be coordinated by the NATO effort. The command-and-control aspect is only for the NATO effort.”

With regard to surveillance capability – which goes beyond humanitarian aid – he clarified that: “when you have air transportation capability that is owned and operated by NATO or tasked by countries to NATO authorities, that’s the command-and-control that will fall within NATO.”

It was at this point in the briefing that Daaldo referred to Malta’s explicit role as a hub for the wider international efforts, which also includes NATO.