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ageous past. Terminating the British
military presence means a loss of em–
ployment for five percent of the work
force and a loss of one-fourth of the
foreign currency received. What does
the future hold without tbe income–
amounting to $70 million annually–
from the British?
History of Conquests
Malta consists of a small but strate–
gically important group of islands in
the central Mediterranean Sea lo–
cated approximately fifty miles south
of S icily and about 220 miles north of
the shores of Africa.
It
has been a
strategic outpost for thousands of
years.
The Maltese have rarely been
their own masters. Rather , Malta's
history. has been filled with a long
succession of conquerors and over–
lords, beginning with the Phoeni–
cians and ranging down through the
Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines,
Vandals and Goths, Arabs, Nor–
rnans, the Knights of St. John (a
militant Catholic order who stopped
the advance of the Ottoman Turks),
the French and, finally, the Brit–
ish.
It was during the Roman period
that the apostle Paul was ship–
wrecked on "Mel ita" (Acts 28:1 )–
the ancient narne for Malta.
After the British helped the Mal–
tese defeat the French in 1800, they
were asked to remain and take over
rulership of the island. The Grand
Harbor became the headquarters of
Britain's Meditcrranean Fleet. Work
at the naval dockyard and ineome
from servicemen spending their
wages became the main sourcc of
Malta's wealth.
Britain ruled Malta until full polit–
ical independence was granted in
1964. The withdrawal of British mili–
tary and naval personnel which be–
gan at that time created economic
and political problems. Through vari–
ous incentives, the government has
tried to attract industry from all over
the world, particularly from Eu–
rope.
Drilling for ofTshore oil was also
begun, but the dividing line in the
territorial waters between Libya and
Malta has yet to be resolved. Unless
this project is successful, oil supplies
16
must continue to be obtained from
Libya.
New development has been con–
centrated on the manufacturing of
textiles and cons umer goods. A
booming tourism industry has been
encouraged by the building of new
hotels and airline facilities.
The drydocks once used for Royal
Navy vessels have been modernized
and expanded so ships can be built as
well as repai red. A giant dock for
supertankers is now being con–
structed under the supervision of
mainland Chinese engineers.
Will Neutrality Work?
The Prime Minister, Dom Mintoff,
has worked hard to make Malta a
neutral country. His aim is to erase
the centuries-old image of Malta be–
ing nothing but an island fortress un–
der the domination of foreign powers.
He wants his country to find its true
identity and place among the nations
of the world.
Reflecting the current govern–
ment's strong left-of-center orienta–
tion, technical and financia( assist–
ance has been received from East
European countries, Libya, and Chi–
na. Yet the government claims it will
follow a neutral course in its foreign
policy. lt does not intend to permit
use of its port facilities by either the
U.S. Sixth Fleet or by any of the
Soviet-led Warsaw Pact countries.
Mintoff has said that Malta
should act as a bridge between Eu–
rope and North Africa. But this
bridge-of-peace eoncept hasn't got–
ten very far. Europeans and Africans
apparently don't want Malta acting
as their mediator.
Whether or not Malta can main–
tain a truly neutral position remains
to be seen. The departure of the Brit–
ish, as mentioned earlier, was cele–
brated as Malta's "Day of Free–
dom." 1 saw signs everywhere which
marked the occasion. Sorne of them
read: "A Freed Malta" and "Free–
dom in Peace."
Malta is indeed free from Britain,
but will sorne other nation, true to
Malta's history, try to exert influence
on this small archipelago in the Med–
iterranean?
Libya is certainly one contender.
Colonel Muammar Qaddafi and a
retinue of five hundred officials from
Trípoli carne to join the March 31
eelebration festivities. One sign on
the boulevard leading into Valletta
depicted the hands of Libya and
Malta both supporting the island.
The looming shadow of Qaddafi–
who, with Libya's oil revenues, helps
support nearly every radical "libera–
tionist" movement in the world- is
significant enough. A greater fear in
the minds of sorne Western military
experts is that the Mintoff-Qaddafi
partnershipcouldopen the door for the
Soviet Union to play a far more omi–
nous role in the Mediterranean. Thus
el
ose ties with Libya's Colonel Qadda–
fi
could lead Malta into a situation
where freedom from Britain is ex–
changed for servitude in a satellite
relationship to Libya or Russia. Brit–
ain will no longer be there to provide a
defenseagainst unwanted intruders.
Another Lost Sea Gate
Whatever may happen in the future,
one thing is certain: Britain has lost
access to another vital piece of real
estate that once enabled her to con–
trol the seas. As we have explained
many times in the past in the pages of
this magazine, Abraham's descen–
dants- the British and Americans–
would, in their rise to national great–
ness, come to possess the vital geo–
graphic passageways of their ene–
mies. These passageways would be
given as a blessing and heritage from
God.
God made specific promises to
Abraham and to his descendants
which have long since been fulfilled
in the British and American pcoples.
God prophesied:
"l
will indeed bless
you, and
1
will multiply your descen–
dants as the stars of heaven and as
the sand which is on the seashore.
And your descendants shall possess
the gate of their enemies" (Gen.
22:17, RSV) .
This promise was repeated to
Abraham's daughter-in-law Rebe–
kah whén her brother and mother
were inspired to say: "Our sister,
may you increase to thou·sands upon
thousands; may your offspring pos–
sess the gates of their enemies" (Gen.
24:60,
New lnternational Version).
A "gate" is a narrow passage oran
entrance or exit. When speáking geo-
The
PLAIN TRUTH September 1979