Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/789855
3 PAUL COCKS PRIME Minister Joseph Muscat and the Labour Party (PL) were in breach of legislation regulating the financing of political parties, after the PL made use of Girgenti Palace without having any right to do so, Alternattiva Demokratika has claimed. On Saturday, Muscat posted a selfie taken at Girgenti featuring members of the parliamentary group. "Part of the team during a break of the Labour's parliamen- tary group meeting in Girgenti," Muscat tweeted. AD officials met Chief Electoral Commissioner Joseph Church yesterday and asked him to in- vestigate the matter, which came to light after Muscat tweeted the photo on Saturday showing him with the Labour parliamentary group at Girgenti. AD deputy chairperson Carmel Cacopardo, addressing journalists after the meeting with Church, said he had urged the commission to act immediately to ensure that both the Labour Party and the Prime Minister realise they are subject to the rule of law. "In today's meeting, we focused on one concrete and specific case," he said. "There are undoubtedly others, but the Electoral Com- mission was asked to focus its investigation and action on this specific case, made public by the prime minister himself through a tweet." He said AD had requested ac- tion against Muscat as the person responsible for national property administered by the Office of the Prime Minister. The party also asked that action be taken against the Labour Party which could not accept the use of national property, which under Article 34 Ch 544 of the laws of Malta, regulating the financing of political parties, is considered a donation and therefore illegal. "We understand the Electoral Commission might find itself in an uncomfortable position, con- sidering the makeup of the com- mission board and political basis," AD chairperson Arnold Cassola said. "We will wait and hope that it rises above party politics and take immediate action." He said such things are often taken for granted in this country and those in power choose to ig- nore parameters and regulations, while the general public remains unaware. "This is simple," Cassola said. "Political parties cannot accept any donations from the state, and the use of the Girgenti Palace is considered a donation under law." maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 22 FEBRUARY 2017 News Freed Malians thank Maltese for solidarity JURGEN BALZAN THE nine Malians who were re- leased after being locked up for three months have thanked the Maltese people for their sup- port and urged government to show good will after deciding to withdraw temporary human- itarian protection for rejected asylum seekers. In a statement issued yester- day, the Malians said "we Ibra- him Camara, Mamadou Cama- ra, Diara Diambourou, Sekou Dipa, Salia Kounate, Ngama Sangare, Mamadou Traore, Wali Traore, Issa Yalcouye, the nine Malians who had been de- tained for almost three months, would like to thank all those who supported us during our period in detention." They thanked fellow immi- grants who showed them sup- port, their law yer Gianluca Capitta, the NGOs who lobbied for our release as well as sec- tions of the media which called for their release. The nine were the last of 33 Malians who were arrested af- ter being rounded up and de- tained on 16 November last year, as part of a joint EU pro- gramme which saw the EU agree to provide aid to Mali in return for the West African country's commitment to ac- cept failed asylum seekers. "Special thanks go to Her Ex- cellency Marie Louise Coleiro Preca for her involvement. We also thank the relevant authori- ties, and hope they show similar sense and good will in relation to the THPn issue. "Finally and most important- ly, we thank the many ordinary and anonymous Maltese indi- viduals who showed their soli- darity and support in various ways. God bless Malta," they said. Last month, three independ- ent newspapers, MaltaToday, The Times and The Malta Inde- pendent issued a joint editorial which called on government to review Malta's arbitrary system of 'temporary humanitarian protection' and described the lack of regulation and wilful disenfranchisement as unac- ceptable. The newspapers called for the regularisation of the position of detained migrants whose loom- ing ejection from the island appears to be guided by op- portunistic politics rather than reasoned policy. "Malta has to accept a real- ity of 'non-returnable' migrants who have been subject to return procedures, but who cannot be returned for legal or logistical reasons, due to no fault of their own," the editorial said. Prior to their release, a group of human rights NGOs warned that the prolonged detention of the nine Malians ahead of their planned deportation goes against national and EU law and breaches their human dig- nity. The status known as THPn (Temporary Humanitarian Protection – New) was first in- troduced in 2010, by means of a policy decision of the then Home Affairs Ministry. This regularisation is grant- ed in cases where these peo- ple cannot be removed from the country, but are allowed a one-year, renewable residence permit subject to documented evidence of "their integration efforts and employment history in Malta". Until last year, there were just under 1,000 such people with THPN. While all had their asy- lum claims rejected at appeal stage, they remain in Malta because the authorities have not been able to return them, through no fault of their own. In many cases, this is due to the lack of diplomatic relations between Malta and the state of origin and lack of cooperation from national authorities in the migrants' state of origin. The nine Malians were freed last week after 90 days of illegal arrest Tweet lands Prime Minister in Alternattiva's crosshairs Say cheese: The Greens accused Labour of breaching legislation after holding a meeting at the Prime Minister's official residence in Girgenti