Deposed Tunisian leader Ben Ali should be also stripped of honours - Muscat

Earlier on Sunday, Muscat and his wife Michelle Muscat visited the warehouse where the Civil protection Department is receiving donations of food and other supplies from the public intended as aid to Libya.

Muscat appealed to Maltese to be generous and show solidarity through donations to the CPD’s donation drive in aid of war-torn Libya, which is suffering food, water, energy, and medical supply shortages.

In a statement after the visit, Muscat said that Malta is duty-bound like never before to help the Libyan people in their time of need.

Muscat also expressed displeasure at how government is “politicising the issue” and said that the Labour Party “does not wish to get involved in bickering on an issue that should unite the country and not divide it.”

He however said that the Labour Party could also opt to politicise the issue by saying how Gonzi was the most recent Prime Minister in both the EU and the Western world to visit Gaddafi, and had even gone so far as to invite him to meetings held in Malta.

“But if this issue keeps on being politicised, it would not be in the interest of the country,” Muscat added.

Muscat also expressed agreement with government’s proposal to present a parliamentarian motion to strip Gaddafi from the two honours bestowed upon him by former Labour and Nationalist administrations in the past.

He however criticised the government for having voiced intentions to present a motion without consultation with the Opposition.

Muscat also proposed that the resolution be presented jointly and in a bi-partisan manner, adding that had the Labour Party been consulted, it would have recommended stripping the honours of another dictator, former Tunisian President Ben Ali.

He added that while chaos was unfolding in Libya, he was personally in touch with representatives of Libya rebels and was determining ways in which the Labour Party could assist the Libyan people.