Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/463339
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2015 7 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Josie Mus- cat, CEO of St James Hospital, con- firmed that his clinic in the Libyan capital of Tripoli has shuttered its operations, indefinitely, due to the worsening situation in the North Af- rican country. "We were told by the govern- ment to cease operations. It's a right hodge-podge: we wanted to expand in this country and now we will have to make good for the loans we took," Dr Muscat told MaltaToday. The hospital had just one Maltese staff member remaining in Tripoli. The Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli, which two weeks ago suffered a terrorist attack by suicide bomb- ers claimed to belong to the Islamic State, IS, remains closed. On Friday gunmen stormed gov- ernment buildings in the coastal city of Sirte, forcing officials out at gun- point and taking over administrative offices and television and radio sta- tions. Pictures posted on Twitter de- picted masked men posing at radio booths holding knives and guns. Hours later, Italy announced it was ready to join a UN-led force to bat- tle an active terrorist threat in Libya after advances by a faction in Libya that has sworn loyalty to IS. Italy, MaltaToday has learnt, will also be closing its embassy in Tripoli and warned that it could not "under- estimate" the possibility of an attack by IS militants. Italy and Hungary are the only EU member states to re- tain their embassy open in Libya. Despite the high seas and rough weather, hundreds of migrants are leaving Libya aboard inflatable din- ghies as the threat of extremist forc- es intensifies. Joseph Muscat welcomed Italy's announcement that it would be ready to take part in a mission led by the United Nations. He said that Malta had been actively seeking a peace- keeping mission in Libya to make the country secure for months. "The international community should not delay in taking decisions. The situation has deteriorated and violence is escalating in our neigh- bouring state. Only an organised in- tervention led by the UN can resolve the situation in Libya," Muscat said. The Prime Minister warned that disunity in Libya was leading to ex- tremist factions taking over parts of Libya. According to media reports, the Islamic State had already taken over the eastern port city of Derna while IS told Sirte militias that they had until dawn today to evacuate. Libya's state-run oil company warned that it would shut produc- tion at all fields if authorities in the divided nation fail to contain an es- calation of attacks on facilities that have cut crude output to a year-low. In the latest attack yesterday morning, a bomb exploded at an oil pipeline from Libya's El Sarir field to Hariga port, halting flows to the terminal. The General National Congress in Tripoli also agreed to form a joint military force and send it to Sirte to recapture government institutions that have been taken by gunmen loyal to ISIS. The PN has hit out at a govern- ment decision not to form part of a global coalition against the Islamic State. Spearheaded by the United States, the anti-Islamic State Coali- tion was formed last year but Malta has refused to join. Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella always insist- ed that "Malta's neutrality has the goal to achieve peace and therefore Malta cannot remain passive in such a circumstance". The PN yesterday said that it was of grave concern that Muscat re- fused to form part of the global coa- lition. "It shows that when it comes down to it, Joseph Muscat's actions on the fight against terrorism do not match his words," it said. Muscat however insisted that being neutral didn't mean being passive: "We are working to get all the fac- tions in Libya to unite and be ready to fight against the external forces taking over parts of Libya, which are threatening not just the Libyans, but also Europe and the world. "The escalation of violence by ter- rorists in Libya should lead Libyans to unite and fight extremism." Muscat said that while the situ- ation in Libya was dangerous, the government did not have any indica- tion of some sort of direct threat to Malta. "We are cooperating with other se- curity services in Europe as well as with Libyans on the ground to keep monitoring the situation," he said. PN spokesman for foreign affairs Tonio Fenech said that the country could not ignore the security threat the situation in Libya posed for Malta. "We are not being alarmist but this is a fact that we can't ignore. Joining the coalition does not mean send- ing our troops on the ground but we could be part of intelligence shar- ing," Fenech said. "All we are asking is for the gov- ernment to explain its position. We don't want to hinder the govern- ment's position but such an issue should merit more discussions and consideration." mdalli@mediatoday.com.mt News UN intervention only hope for Libya – PM AD pledges commitment to society, ecology and accountability MARTINA BORG ALTERNATTIVA Demokratika leader Arnold Cassola told the of- ficial launch of the local elections campaign yesterday that the three main aims of the party would be so- ciety, ecology and accountability. Cassola said that the party will be focusing on proposing feasible projects to increase the sense of a healthy community in their locali- ties. "We need to focus on propos- ing feasible projects, not suggesting things that cannot be done simply to score more votes," Cassola said. "AD councillors will work for more investment in public libraries and in projects that encourage reading in their localities." Among the other proposals made by the party, were plans to improve and promote road spaces for cyclists, pedestrians, and wheelchair and pushchair users, as well as various events to promote culture, sports and the history of the locality. Cassola also mentioned the party's efforts for a better environment in their localities: "AD believes that the health and quality of life of residents depend on the quality of the urban environment." Cassola said party councillors would work to add more areas which are reserved for people, increase bicycle racks and extend recycling campaigns to reach the national tar- get of zero waste by 2050. "The target implies that by 2050, our country should become 100% reliant on recycling rather than dis- posing its waste, and our council- lors want to promote a local plan on waste reduction that can help us reach that aim," said Ralph Cassar, AD Councillor for Attard. Cassar also stressed the importance of transparency and of honest com- munication with residents, to avoid financially unsustainable systems like the public-private partnership for roads which led to the financial ruin of a number of councils. Cassola then went on to introduce the seven candidates running for this year's local elections: Ralph Cas- sar would once again be running for election in Attard, Toni Falzon and David Camilleri for Nadur and Qala respectively, Julio Caruana in St Ju- lians, Henrik Piski in Qormi, Simon Galea in St Paul's Bay and Monique Agius in Zebbug. The leader of the party added that the candidates are from different backgrounds in society, and show the party's commitment to repre- senting the various needs of their communities. Invitation to all artists to exhibit their works in "Ta' Duna" exhibition centre in Rabat. Contact by SMS on 79 430 415.