Afghanistan ‘not a peace keeping mission’ – Frendo
James Debono
Malta should consider participating in peace-keeping missions like the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) in Lebanon, but not in the US led mission in Afghanistan, former Foreign Minister Michael Frendo told MaltaToday.
Asked for his reaction to a recent article by US ambassador Douglas Kmiec – who raised eyebrows by publicly querying the meaning of Malta’s neutrality clause – Frendo insisted that Malta’s Constitutional neutrality has not prevented it from taking a strong stand against terrorism.
“Our neutrality has nothing to do with our strong stance against terrorism and respect for the international rule of law,” Frendo said when asked to comment on Kmiec’s warning that Malta “must not allow an interpretation of the scope of a constitutional neutrality provision to be taken advantage of by those who might wish to use a Maltese port to unleash a future terror plot”.
Frendo said that he “fully agreed” with the ambassador that no one should take advantage of the neutrality provision, but pointed out that “this has never been an issue as Malta has taken a firm stand against terrorism; it would have only been an issue if Malta wavered in its stance.”
Frendo reiterated his position that the neutrality provision should be reviewed because circumstances have changed since the introduction of the neutrality clause.
“Keeping equidistance is nonsensical when today we do not have two superpowers but one super power and a number of great powers.”
But for Frendo, that does not necessarily mean abandoning the concept of neutrality: which essentially means not having military base in Malta, and not participating in any military alliance... even if he recognised that the very notion of a military alliance is changing, with NATO becoming more concerned with security.
Frendo also agrees with Malta’s participation in peace-keeping missions like the one in Lebanon. But he made a clear distinction between the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon which is aimed at keeping and enforcing the truce between Israel and Lebanese militants and the US led mission in Afghanistan, which Frendo regards as “an attack on the Taliban.”
He also warns that nobody should expect Malta to give a contribution beyond its capacity adding that there are other ways to contribute to peace and stability other than military means.
The fact that Malta does not pose a military threat to any of its neighbours, and its constant policy to seek friendly relations in the Mediterranean region, have also contributed to the respect it enjoys.
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