Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/464575
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2015 3 News CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 "The repurcussions of not doing any- thing are too huge. Doing nothing would mean the problem spread- ing through the rest of North Af- rica, with serious repurcussions for Europe," he said. "Malta is ready to play its part in a UN mission. Obviously, it wouldn't be military but Malta would offer humanitarian and lo- gistical assistance." Briefing the House on the infor- mal meeting of the EU heads of state and government last Friday in Brussels, Muscat explained that Libya was under the control of three different 'entities': the Tobruk-based parliament, the Tripoli-based parliament and the extremist factions present in various parts of Libya, including Derna and Sirte. The Tobruk-based parliament, led by Prime Minister Abdallah Al-Thinni, is recognised interna- tionally as the legitimate govern- ment. There is an alliance between this government and the forces loyal to retired General Khalifa Haftar, who led the Libyan revo- lution against Gaddafi. Forces from the Libyan cit y of Misrata seized Tripoli last Au- gust and the National Salvation Government was set up. It is led by Prime Minister Omar al Hassi. The Libyan Supreme Court chal- lenged the legitimacy of the To- bruk government. The past months have seen an increased presence of extremist groups who, according to Muscat, do not have a direct affiliation with either of the two govern- ments. The groups have based themselves in parts of the Libyan desert. In time, they advanced to stra- tegic positions and took over the port cit y of Derna and now Sirte, considered as Libya's administra- tive capital. According to Mus- cat, the presence of extremists in Libya, was "stronger than others expected ". He warned that the disunit y between the Libyan powers was giving space for the extemists to expand, endangering Libyans, the Mediterranean and Europe. "There is real danger that this force will not stop here but will try to take over bigger and more significant parts of Libya," Mus- cat said. The PM reiterated Malta's con- dolences and condemned the beheading of 21 Egyptian Cop- tic Christians in Libya – an act which saw Egypt retaliate within hours of the online publication of a video by the Islamic State, pur- porting to show the mass behead- ing. Malta's state of security The Prime Minister reiterated that neither the government nor the Malta Securit y Service had any information indicating Malta as the target of an attack. He said he wanted to reassure families and businesses that the govern- ment was doing all possible for everyone to live tranquilly and secure. Yet, he added, the instabilit y in the Mediterranean and the spo- radic attacks in Europe could not be ignored. "These are not religious wars but extremists. It would be wrong to blame one religion or another and it would simply be pandering to what these extremists want," he said. Muscat said Malta's role as a " bridge of peace" is to ensure that this does not happen. "Our role is to be the voice of common reason and moderation in the Mediterranean. We have been insisting over the deteriorat- ing situation in Libya for the past 12 months. Without an agreement between the two Libyan parlia- ments, the United Nations must intervene." Muscat said that, ideally, it should be a united national Liby- an government that calls for the intervention, strengthening the legitimate forces to establish and maintain peace. "There can't be peace in Europe without peace in the Mediterra- nean, and this is now clear more than ever. There can't be peace in the world without peace in the Mediterranean." Opposition supporting government's stand on Libya PN leader Simon Busuttil voiced the Opposition's support for the position taken by the Maltese government vis-à-vis Libya but reiterated that Malta should join a global alliance against IS. Busuttil said the Maltese peo- ple had to be reassured that the government was doing everything to ensure their securit y and wel- comed assurances by the Prime Minister that there was no real threat against the island. He pointed out that Maltese held interests in the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli, which was the target of an attack. Busuttil condemned the behead- ing of the 21 Egyptian Christians. He said his part y was support- ing the government's call for an intervention in Libya led by the United Nations. "Ideally, such an intervention would enjoy the support of the Libyan people and would come as an initiative of the Libyan govern- ments," he said. Busuttil said Malta was obvi- ously not in a position to offer military support but had a leader- ship role to serve. "Malta must show leadership in the European Union and push for other countries to agree on con- crete action in Libya. It shouldn't be Malta or Italy on their own, but the whole of the European Un- ion," he said. Busuttil added that the support of the European Union would serve to push support in the Se- curit y Council of the United Na- tions. The PN leader said the Opposi- tion was in favour of national con- sensus on foreign policy and went on to condemn a retweet made by a prime ministerial aide – Glenn Bedingfield – comparing Islam to Nazism. "Such statements are unaccept- able and surely do not ref lect the position of common sense just delineated by the Prime Minister. We expect to know what action the Prime Minister will be tak- ing," Busuttil said. Prime Minister replies Muscat welcomed the "positive" intervention of the Opposition noting that there were several converging points. In reaction to statements by MPs Mario de Marco and Tonio Fenech, Muscat agreed that the threat of the IS should be held separate from the Libya crisis. While reiterating that Malta held no information of being a target, the government was still taking the necessary precautions while ensuring that life for citi- zens goes on as normal. "Terrorism today is not the 'old terrorism'… it has nothing to do with being spectacular – such as the 9/11 attack – but entering a grocer and starting to shoot." Muscat said the issue was not whether Malta should or should not be part of the coalition but how and when to join. "We should never take our for- eign policy for granted. It's a deci- sion we take. It's not about being in favour or against but how and when to join." A list of countries joining the global IS coalition was released last summer by the United States and Malta was automatically in- cluded as an EU member state, without Malta's consent. 'No peace in the world without peace in the Mediterranean' – Muscat Scicluna offers flexibility on Greek repayment FINANCE Minister Edward Sciclu- na was unequivocal in that Malta would be in favour of flexibility only after Greece commits itself to hon- our its debt obligations. Scicluna's comments were deliv- ered during a meeting of the Eu- rogroup which was cut short after Greece rejected an opening EU bailout offer as "absurd" and "unac- ceptable". "Once Greece is committed to honour its debt obligations, Malta is in favour of flexibility that would allow Greece some fiscal and eco- nomic latitude in order to continue addressing the economic and so- cial consequences of the crisis," the Maltese finance minister told euro area finance ministers. "But the Greek authorities should work within the context of the cur- rent programme in order to ensure a smooth period towards eventual new and mutually agreed arrange- ments that would safeguard the fi- nancial and economic interests of both Greece and the euro area." Scicluna said that "such outcomes can only be achieved through in- tense constructive dialogue, an open and trustworthy working re- lationship between all the relevant stakeholders, and mutual respect and solidarity". Malta joined fellow colleagues in seeking a common language with a view of bridging outstanding dif- ferences. The Eurogroup expressed disap- pointment over the fact that there was still no common ground with the new Greek government. The Eurogroup will reconvene when Greece is ready to ask for an extension of the current pro- gramme. A leaked draft Eurogroup state- ment showed that the Eurogroup wanted the Greek authorities to agree they intended "to successfully conclude the programme, taking into account the new government's plans". "In this context, we intend to make the best use of the existing built-in flexibility in the current programme," the rejected draft statement read. Greece's government, led by the radical left-wing Syriza party, has said that the conditions of the €240bn bailout have made Greece penniless. The new government re- jects the "troika" team – the EU, In- ternational Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB) – overseeing the bailout's imple- mentation. The IMF and the EU say there should be no change to the condi- tions of the €240bn loan. Greece's current bailout expires on 28 February and any new agree- ment would need to be approved by national governments. Alexis Tsipras's anti-austerity gov- ernment wants to ditch part of the bailout and is asking for temporary funding until it can introduce a new four-year reform plan. The meeting also discussed and supported the request by Portugal to allow them to pay off some of the IMF loans in earnest. In addition, the Eurogroup also took note of the state of play of the Cypriot pro- gramme and also took stock of the economic situation in the eurozone on the basis of the winter forecast. Simon Busuttil – supported call for UN-led intervention in Libya