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James Debono
It was a tragicomedy of errors in parliament that led to the presumed loss of Malta’s independence proclamation.
But MaltaToday can confirm that the actual proclamation is safe in a red case at the National Library in Valletta.
In his parliamentary question to Michael Frendo and Louis Galea, Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi confused the document waved by George Borg Olivier to the crowd in independence square- a copy of Malta’s first independence constitution- with the actual proclamation of independence.
But Minister Louis Galea’s reply further confounded matters by stating that “the original and official document proclaiming Malta’s independence was never kept at the National Library.”
This prompted the Midweek edition of MaltaToday to ask the DOI, Castile and the National Archives whether the precious document was in their possession. Nobody had a clue on where the document was kept.
MaltaToday can now reveal that Foreign Minister Michael Frendo, who had previously told parliament that the original document is in the National Library, was right.
In the National Library one can find three documents related to Malta’s independence. These include the document signed by Queen Elizabeth II authorizing her husband the Duke of Edinburgh to inaugurate the first Parliament of Malta following Independence, which was reproduced on the cover of Prof. Henry Frendo’s publication Maltese Constitutional Development 1798-1964.
The National Library is also in possession of the Royal Warrant issued by the Queen on 2 September 1964 granting and assigning the Armorial Ensigns for Malta and the proclamation issued by the Queen on 1st January 1965, authorising the official use in Malta of her title “Queen of Malta.”
A spokesperson for the Office of the Prime Minister attributed the comedy of errors to the “confusion between two different documents namely the document that George Borg Olivier waved on Independence Day and a set of three documents which state Malta’s Independence.”
The Midweek edition of MaltaToday had already highlighted Jason Azzopardi’s historical error quoting renowned historian Henry Frendo saying that the document waved by Borg Olivier was merely a copy of the constitution and not the official proclamation of independence.
MaltaToday is informed that three documents were handed over to the National Library in 1989, following an exhibition organised at the National Museum to mark the 25th anniversary of Independence.
“The three documents have since been kept in a secure place at the National Library,” a spokesperson for the Prime Minister told MaltaToday.
Prior to 1989 the precious documents were kept hidden in a cellar in the National Museum of Archeology, probably out of spite by the pre 1987 Labour administration.
Still nobody knows where the papers waved by Borg Olivier to the crowd, immortalised in the famous photo and depicted on the Lm 20 currency note are kept. But fortunately Malta’s independence is safe under the strict supervision of the National Library’s staff.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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