24th November 2005
THE FUTURE - GLOBAL ORDER OR CHAOS?
Yesterday, Nov 23, 2005, Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland landed at Luqa Airport and proceeded for a warm welcome in Valletta from a Maltese Anglophile minority and some foreigners who waved Union Jacks as if utterly unaware that on March 3 1, 1979, Malta ceased to be the unsinkable British Nato Fortress.
On that memorable day, Malta in order to survive in freedom chose to be neutral, siding neither with the all powerful Nato nor with the equally formidable Soviet Bloc. A city state Republic with a population of about one third of a million and a territory of one hundred and twenty one square miles, Malta dedicated her entire life to world peace and social justice.
In that long transition from bondage to freedom not a single person was killed but tremendous hardships were endured by the Maltese workers and their leaders. In that proud achievement I played one of the major roles and some of my meetings with her Majesty were not purely ceremonial and must indeed have caused her some pain. Yet I found Queen Elizabeth always constitutionally correct and humanely kind. My home to which I am bound by my illness is only about one mile from Luqa Airport and my terrace is just a two minute walk from the bedecked with flags and flowers roundabout which her majesty finds on her way to Valletta. Had I been well I would have ventured out of my bedroom and from the terrace smiled and perhaps waved.
To-day whilst I am writing on the desk next to my bed with my tapped telephone within reach, the afternoon air is much colder and through the window I see huge raindrops tapping the terrace in a maddening frenzy that makes me doubt whether the national march of protest planned by Malta' s General Workers Union on Republic Street in Valletta may be held at all.
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A telephone call, however, made, an hour or so later, by a colleague very active in the Malta Arise Front, relieved my anxiety when he assured me that women and men of the middle and working classes were already gathering in thousands.
''The sky has mercifully given us a break'' said the peaceful militant, "and the crowd already assembled is large enough to stand or march in serried ranks to shield the protesters from the bitter cold'' Meanwhile another Front volunteer reported to me on his mobile that the Business Section of the Commonwealth Secretariat are suggesting through the Maltese minister; Austin Gatt - the bete noire of the local Maltese and English Press and the General Workers Union for betting publicly that our manufacturing industry is bound to disappear altogether in the very near future- the setting up of a Commonwealth I.T. Consortium.
The star performer of this Section of the Commonwealth Heads of governments Conference is the spokesman for the English global aspirant Cable and Wireless who charmed the other businessmen present and starving for new ideas with his Company's plans for similar I.T. undertakings. The blatant courting of Cable and Wireless points to a probable weakening of Austin's links with the foremost businessman of the U.S.A. - the owner of Microsoft who has been encouraged to dominate the computer facilities of Malta's educational sphere. Austin's relations with the American mogul do not appear to be as warm as they were before his recent skirmish with the leaders of our General Workers Union.
In the Sports Sector of this bi-annual Common Wealth Conference, the Chairman - a Jamaican with a very moderate patriotic attachment to the interests of his homeland - has appealed to Britain's ex-colonies to participate and sponsor the Common Wealth's sporting event for young Sportsman to be held in Australia in the very near future.
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successors to Australia in the foreseeable future. No one has raised the possibility that Jamaica may combine with other ex-colonies of the Caribbean's or easier for Malta to combine her commitment to participate by cooperating with the Maltese community in Australia and together with them sponsor teams or individuals to compete under a Maltese flag.
Such a cooperation could eventually be stronger when it comes to Canada's trun to host this CommonWealth showpiece. Otherwise there will be no moral or financial scope for these small countries to limit their economic resources and discontinue their participation in other international and more affluent sports organizations.
In answer to my wish to have some information about the Section of Foreign Ministers of which I had never heard before their arrival in this country, my Socialist friend who is still very active in Malta's Foreign office and therefore does not want to divulge his name without his written approval, tells me;
This sector was launched some time ago in order to shorten the stay of the Head of States away from their respective countries and have their Foreign Ministers arrive at the venue a day or two before the official opening of the Conference of the Heads of Government. Thus Blair has had three of his Ministers their affairs with their respective counterparts from the other ex-colonies. They also have the task to discuss new proposals of their own and polish in discussion other proposals submitted and circulated by the Common Wealth Secretariat.
By this clever device it is hoped to stifle the mischievous interpretation given in some hostile quarters to the unfortunate informal appellation of the Conference as the Club of the Heads of States where the Heads of states and their spouses may spend a luxurious business - cum - leisure series of pleasant encounters with their counterparts. No one in his right senses in this turbulent age wishes to be interpreted as committing such peccadilloes at the expense of poor taxpayers.
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suicidal immigrants who prefer to face death rather than stay put in their African homes were a worse fate awaits them - are already subjects under
discussion by Britain, Malta and other African countries in more adequate international fora such as the European Union and the United Nations.
Blair and his Ministers seem to be of the opinion that the help of Common Wealth countries is needed for a reversal of their Foreign policy. Blair is evidently finding it very hard although he is now the head of all the member states to convince the European Union that he now wishes to discontinue his close relations with Bush in their wars in Iraq and elsewhere. These major errors have earned Blair the vituperation of the militants in his own Labour party and more deeds than words are required for Britain to have some credibility.
But I don't see any chance that the present British setup would abide by the advice which you, for lack of an invitation to attend the Conference communicated to Blair to through the confidential contacts you had with the British High Commissioner of Malta.
I take it that yours was a two pronged advice mainly:
a) Blair should reform the Common Wealth Conference for which Britain's taxpayer forks out the greatest share of its expenses, by helping the small countries and the poorer ones like India and South Africa to have a new Common Wealth Organisation were they will be treated as equals and therefore would feel ready and willing to share all burdens for achieving the common goals of peace and a better quality of life for all human beings irrespective of their political or religious beliefs without any sexual, racial and colour of skin discrimination.
b) Blair should also before being forced to or voluntarily abandon his exalted office make amends by disavowing his neo- Thatcherite past and her war against Argentina which though in appearance seemed legal and legitimate has resulted without any gain to either side and the loss of tremendous amount of blood and much needed funds of the British and Argentine peoples.
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''I am a pessimist, I don't see how at your nanogerian age will happen in your lifetime. Much less do I believe that either Blair or Brown has the political guts to steer an immobile European Union and Bush's USA away from their imperialistic paths to those of peoples' power and peace" I do not share my friend's pessimism and if I had more space I would have explained in some length why I do not agree.
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