Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/540322
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 JULY 2015 News 11 'Constitution should include pursuit of Mediterranean disarmament' – Montebello TIM DIACONO DOMINICAN philosopher Fr Mark Montebello has called on the government to amend the Consti- tution to include Malta's "endeav- our to pursue a policy of disarma- ment in the Mediterranean". He was closing a conference to commemorate the 40th anniver- sary of the Helsinki Declaration that was aimed at improving rela- tions between Western and East- ern European countries during the Cold War. The Declaration carved its way into Maltese history due to then Prime Minister Dom Mintoff's insistence that security in Europe was intrinsically linked with secu- rity in the Mediterranean region. Yet the conference was marked with dire warnings on how far Eu- rope has strayed from the "spirit" of the Helsinki Declaration, with Montebello going as far as to claim that the Helsinki oaths have been "deliberately and consistently contradicted by successive gov- ernments who evidently did not feel bound to the pledges of their national administrative predeces- sors". "We are witnessing the en- trenched and flourishing belief that the best way to respond to violence is by violence, we can see a Medi- terranean teeming with war ves- sels, and an unbridled, treacherous increase in the sale of arms to dicta- torial regimes and poverty-stricken rebels," the outspoken Dominican friar said. "What we see is a bourgeoning of nuclear bases along the Mediterra- nean shore, the dubious doctrines of goodwill being translated into brimstone and fire, a steadfast re- sistance to declaring sensitive areas around the Mediterranean nuclear- free zones, and a seemingly delib- erate drive in democracy's name to keep oil-rich countries in a volatile state of existence." He boldly requested the United Nations, the EU and the Arab League to formally adopt Helsin- ki's road-map towards Mediter- ranean peace, and challenged the Maltese MEPs to pressure the EU into adopting an official policy of neutrality and a ban on selling ar- maments to third world countries. "What we see is not the Helsinki hope at all, but the chemistry of un- told human misery of inconsolable unemployed in their millions, of forlorn refugees in their thousands and of despairing militants in their scores." 'Time to rethink what Europe actually stands for' Also addressing the conference, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat claimed that the ongoing Greek crisis has placed Europe at a fork in the road and said that the time is ripe for a "rethink" in what the EU actually stands for. He said that one of the main stumbling blocks in the Mediter- ranean's quest for peace is the "vir- tual dividing line" separating South Europe from North Africa, and claimed that Malta is carrying out a lot of work behind the scenes to achieve peace in the region. "Some things are better done than said, and we'll leave it to the histo- rians to judge our current efforts. Channeling Mintoff, whom he dubbed "Malta's greatest son", he argued that advocating the status quo and "living in sweet memory lane" would go against the grain of what his predecessor stood for. 'Neutrality not possible between the fire and the fire engine' However, Opposition leader Si- mon Busuttil had harsh words for the former Labour leader, arguing that the "brinkmanship" his gov- ernment used during the Helsinki negotiations was a "textbook case of how to win a battle but lose a war". He drew parallels with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, whom he accused of damaging his country through "populism" and "brinkmanship". "When leaders push their coun- tries to the brink and then pull back at the last minute, they cre- ate a situation that produces much drama and short-term popularity but really does not work," Busuttil said. He warned that the conflicts in Iraq, Syria, and Libya and recent terror attacks in France and Tuni- sia have brought terrorism much closer to home and that it has now become a major foreign pol- icy challenge for Malta – right up there with migration and climate change. "Malta can definitely play its part in fighting terrorism, and joining like-minded states in a non-mili- tary capacity does not undermine our neutrality," Busuttil said. "You cannot be neutral between the fire and the fire engine. Similarly, Nationalist MEP Rob- erta Metsola said that the rise of terrorism has caused fresh head- aches for the world than the inter- state conflicts that led to the Hel- sinki Declaration. She warned that "death cults" like ISIS popping up in Libya have added a fresh dose of urgency to the need for peace in the war-torn African state, a target that Malta, "as a trusted and old partner of the Libyan people" can play a crucial role in achieving. On a more humanitarian side- note, Metsola said that ghettoized youths and people stuck in poverty are more likely to "find solace in terrorist networks" and that the world is duty-bound to fully under- stand the roots of terror. "Malta may not be able to par- ticipate militarily, but this is no justification for us to sit on the sidelines." Campus, Għajnsielem. JF De Chambray Street, Għajnsielem, Gozo website: mcast.edu.mt - tel: 23987100 Joseph Muscat: "Some things are better done than said, and we'll leave it to the historians to judge our efforts" Mark Montebello Simon Busuttil