Speaking at a press conference in Castille on Sunday evening, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi revealed that the Maltese government has signed the papers to implement the sanctions imposed on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi by the United Nations and condemned once again the violence against the Libyan people.

He also said that 23 Maltese citizens want to stay in Libya and another 30 are still trying to get out. Another 33 were on the way to Malta on Sunday evening and until now 187 Maltese citizens have been evacuated.

In all, around 8,000 foreigners were evacuated to Malta in the past few days and hundreds more are expected in the coming hours, and these hailed from 89 different nations, including 24 EU countries. PM Gonzi reassured Malta will continue to give it support to the evacuation from Libya but denied that Malta is becoming a military base and there was no request to this effect.

He said the Maltese embassy in Tripoli remains open.

Asked about the Libyan plane that was refused landing in Malta, PM Gonzi said that it had on board pilots bent on flying back to Libya the two fighter jets that landed in Malta earlier in the week. He added that he had no information that Gaddafi’s daughter was on board that plane.

Asked about the possible wave of Libyan asylum seekers coming to Malta, PM Gonzi insisted on the concept of burden sharing, with other EU states accepting some of the incoming migrants.

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