Does Freedom Day hold any significance in the Malta of Today?

On the occasion of Freedom day, ABBA party also paid tribute to political giants like Dom Mintoff and Borg Olivier whom, they stated, both loved Malta first and foremost in a very similar way. In a short ceremony held on Freedom Monument, Ivan Grech Mintoff, leader of ABBA stated: ”On 31st March 1979, I was present as a thirteen year old as I watched the British Flag go down for the last time and the Maltese flag finally take over as the official flag of the Maltese territory and people. Dom Mintoff, the architect of that historical moment, declared that freedom is dignity and that Malta will no longer make a living through the corruption of others’ wars and the death of other people with whom we have no quarrel. From that day on, the Maltese were truly to determine their own destiny with no external imposition and in a state of neutrality which obliges us to work actively for peace. I will carry the memory of that occasion with me forever: the happiness the noise and the cheers as a whole nation celebrated its new found dignity.” Today, I ask myself whether the Maltese are still enjoying the freedom that our fathers gained for us. Instead of Britain, we have the European Parliament imposing regulations that we do not want. And our own government, opposition and parliament, whilst enjoying nice media photo-shoots on such an occasion, have once again become a tool in the hands of international interests as poverty rises and freedoms we once enjoyed are taken away. Indeed I wonder if Borg Olivier and Mintoff would be proud of what has become of Malta, how this nation is being led and what is continually being thrown away by our representatives? On this day and in this place, ABBA party re-commits to work harder to bring back the freedoms, Maltese sovereignty and decision making that has been taken away from the Maltese in the last 25 years. We pledge that we will restore dignity to the Maltese in the shortest time frame possible so that Freedom day is not just a memory but something that we can celebrate again in real terms.”