Old King Idris was away visiting a spa in Turkey on September 1st 1969 when the revolution in Libya swept him from the throne. His political demise had been foreseen and speculation was rife as to his succession. The revolution, when it came, seemed merely to precipitate events. It had not waited for his physical demise and avoided conflict with his successors.
In fact the King’s absence abroad removed the problem of disposing of him. His international image was that of a frail old man. An account of cruelty, even serious disrespect, would have damaged the revolution and may have placed it in some danger by provoking a reaction from abroad.
In fact the whole thing was so well planned that it was termed a bloodless coup and immediate reports echoed the revolutionaries’ statements committing to strict compliance with international treaties and threatening heavy punishment to anyone who harmed foreigners. The rest of the world stood by and watched while Libyans sorted out their internal affairs.
So did Malta. Going by early Maltese reports of the revolution in Libya, our first concern was for the health and safety of Maltese citizens living and working in Libya at the time and then for the healthy trade between the two countries. When there seemed no cause for concern on those issues, we behaved on the understanding that regime change in a neighbouring country was none of our business.
Since then we have had our ups and downs with Libya, and Libya has veered this way and that but we have always managed to fit in, to march in step no matter how the rhythm changed. What we have done for millennia with our Colonial rulers, we have done with Libya as a sovereign state: we recognise a change in regime, a change in policy, a change in loyalties and fall in step without debate or discussion.
On the level of political rhetoric we always seemed to be more in tune with Libya than we truly were. How could it be otherwise? In terms of our Constitution, legal authority in this country is bound to respect human rights and basic democracy through representative government. Libya’s regime immediately outlawed dissent and claimed to rule on the basis of popular support through direct democracy, Gaddafi’s Green Book pouring scorn on representative government. We managed to ignore all that.
Somehow we managed to ignore Libya’s status as a pariah or rogue state throughout the years when the regime sponsored international terrorism. We adhered to the UN embargo on Libya and still managed to maintain our relations on the friendliest terms throughout. While Col Gaddafi expelled Egyptian workers or took sides during internal strife among Palestinians, we juggled the situation and were friends with the enemies of our friends while keeping the friendship going. Our relationship with Libya survived and prospered no matter what, most probably because it suited both sides to overlook matters of potential tension.
The Saipem II incident in which Libyan gunboats obliged Italians undertaking oil exploration in our interest to up anchor and flee, marks the nadir of Maltese-Libyan relations just as the warning of the US raid on Libya minutes before the bombs fell must mark the high point.
Since then, Malta has gone through the long and painful process of joining the EU while Libya has put aside its ambitions for Arab Unity and focussed on African Unity instead. These developments seem to have put us on collision course on the migration issue while the reopening of Libya to international business opportunity has left us gasping as other countries rush past. If it has always been tricky to dance the tango with Libya, these days it has become almost impossible. A virtuoso performance is demanded of us and we may not be up to it.
Have we still got what it takes to ignore the appearances and pick out the essentials, smooth over the frictions and reach out for the plums? Barefaced, unprincipled opportunism? Yes: the lingua franca of all international relations. The elaborate cosmetics are a Western tradition, the Libyans have quite another tradition and all their own. As we stand today, it appears that the Libyans no longer find us useful. No hard feelings. We have to find a way to make them change their minds. If we seek a peaceful and profitable relationship, there must be a profit for Libya too. It must be there and be seen to be there… by the Libyans.
Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below. Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.
Download front page in pdf file format
All the interviews from Reporter on MaltaToday's YouTube channel.
