Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1035530
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 3 OCTOBER 2018 3 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 He had been drinking at the bar since 7.30pm with a group of Italian friends. At around 11.30pm, the joyous event turned sour when Grech reportedly started a rant lauding the Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, to which a 50-year-old Italian woman, also a head of unit at the European Commission, objected to. Grech is the brother of Nationalist MP Claudio Grech but over recent years he has openly supported the Labour admin- istration. According to the claims of the woman and her friend, who were the only wit- nesses brought by the injured party in the case, Grech attacked the woman when she confronted him over his rant. In her police complaint, the woman said Grech started to attack her when she told him, 'I could be Jewish'… "That's when all of a sudden the man took the sign in his hand and hit me in the face near my left ear. He then tried to take my neck in hands to strangle me." The woman claimed Grech told her: "You should have all been killed". After filing her police complaint, the woman was taken to hospital where she was treated for concussion. Grech has denied this version of events, saying he had drank considerably by the time of the incident and that his banter was misinterpreted in a moment of high jinks gone wrong. Another witness, Fab- rio Fracasso, told the police that Grech was very drunk. "Among our Italian friends were a com- munist and also a fascist, who showed off his tattoo of Mussolini and then went outside to his car to bring back a mock licence-plate that read 'Mussolini' – so I started waving it around in the face of the communist, taunting him about it by singing a fascist song. It was simply ban- ter, nothing serious. "At that point the woman came up on me and protested at what I was saying, pointing out that Mussolini had killed many Jews. But then I reacted, saying that what the Jews were doing to Pales- tinians was similar to what Hitler had done to the Jews – I might have given the woman a friendly tap on her ear with the licence plate, at which point all hell broke loose, but it was a meant to diffuse what was becoming a heavy debate… her friend at that point attacked me and it got out of control." The Belgian tribunal said the incident was serious but said it had been exarce- bated by the excessive consumption of alcohol. The presiding judge said Grech declared that he had no recollection of the way he had acted, having told the court that he was not a racist, even pre- senting in court previous writings testify- ing to his tolerant views. EC opens internal investigation Grech had resigned his position as chair and member of the board of Gen- eration2004, a trade union for EU em- ployees. The European Commission has previ- ously said it would not take any action until Belgian judicial proceedings are fi- nalised, adding that "there is every reason for the Commission to rely on the more extensive investigative powers of the na- tional judicial authorities." Until the au- thorities have finished the investigation, "Mr Grech – like everyone else – benefits from the presumption of innocence," a Commission spokesman had said. Under Commission staff rules, Grech could face immediate suspension if he is accused of serious misconduct, and also suffer a partial suspension of his salary. Where the official is prosecuted for those same acts in a criminal court, a final decision shall be taken only after a final judgment has been handed down by the court hearing the case. Joel Rubenfeld, head of the Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism, told MaltaToday he welcomed the fact that Grech had been found guilty of all charg- es. "We expect now from the European Commission that it will take the appro- priate measures regarding Grech. A con- victed anti-semite, a man who hurled anti-Jewish insults, shouted that Hitler should have killed all Jews, punched a woman in the face and tried to strangle her, has definitely no place in the Euro- pean institutions." Judge orders community work KURT SANSONE NO police reports were filed over the alleged killing of a cat at Għajn Tuffieħa despite a social media outcry last August. The information was tabled in Parliament by Home Af- fairs Minister Michael Far- rugia, who was answering questions about the case put to him by Nationalist MP Mario Galea. The police started investi- gating the incident of their own accord after following what was being said on social media, Farrugia said. On 12 August a post ap- peared on the Facebook group Rubs Puppy Love, al- leging that a man had beaten a kitten to death at the Ap- ple's Eye resturant in Għajn Tuffieħa. The cat was killed outside the restaurant premises by a man, who allegedly drove off in a car with the restaurant owner's mother. The post went viral, forc- ing the restaurant owners to deny the allegation they had anything to do with the cat killing. But despite the outcry that was also followed by a pro- test in front of police head- quarters by animal rights activists asking for an update on the investigation, Farru- gia now says no formal re- port was ever lodged. "I am informed that no re- ports were filed with the po- lice over the alleged killing of a kitten outside a restaurant in Għajn Tuffieħa… the po- lice started investigating the case ex officio after following the reports that appeared on social media and other news reports," Farrugia said. This appears to contradict what the police told Malta- Today, a day after the inci- dent, when a spokesperson said a report had been filed and investigations were un- derway. Farrugia said no necropsy could be carried out on the cat because by the time the police arrived on the scene the carcase had already been removed. Galea asked the minister whether the police inter- rogated any individuals and whether they collected CCTV footage in the area. The minister said the po- lice "spoke to a number of people" who were known to have been on site when the incident happened. The man who allegedly commit- ted the crime was also spo- ken to. Farrugia did not say wheth- er CCTV footage was col- lected but insisted the police had carried out their investi- gation. Nobody has so far been charged with the crime. Cat-killing outrage was not followed by a police report DAVID HUDSON MUT president Marco Bonnici has said that there were very preoccupying and questiona- ble clauses within the final ver- sion of the new law governing education in Malta. Addressing a press conference on the new law, which was ta- bled in Parliament on Monday, the MUT argued that it was never privy to the final draft, which was tabled in parliament. The union said that one of the reforms in the law stipulates that all permanent warrants of all teachers will be revoked, in- cluding for those who already possess one. "We weren't consulted," Bonnici said. "We were never shown the final draft of the new reforms and we believe that this final version is a siege on professionalism and the ed- ucation system." Despite the fact that the new criteria for becoming a fully- qualified teacher include a five-year course that includes a Master's in Teaching and Learning, and a further two years of supervised teaching (induction), a permanent war- rant will not be issued any- more, the MUT stated. "It will now be a temporary warrant that is renewed every year de- spite the hard work and train- ing." This also applies to Learning Support Educators and Learn- ing Support Assistants – their licence too will be condemned to this scrutiny. "What's very worrying," Bon- nici said, "is that there is noth- ing in this new law that makes reference to what is required for a permanent warrant. This could be determined by a spe- cific person who decides who is entitled to one. This is danger- ous – we do not know whether this person is qualified, wheth- er he has a special interest." MUT's worries over the new legislation extend to a clause on home schooling. "The government," they said, "will decide in parliament in the coming days that anyone is able to organise home school- ing. We have doubts over the principles involved." The new law does not stipu- late whether the person or- ganising home schooling has to have a permanent warrant. "When you isolate a student, there could be abuses on the minor which would go on un- punished, abuses which would otherwise be caught at school." Unless, there's a qualified per- son overseeing the homes- schooling, MUT said, the un- ion will not approve it. The new act will also give birth to a new commission which would be responsible for everything that has to do with schools and the educa- tion system. This commission, Bonnici said, will be governed by boards that are heavily con- trolled by the government. "This will not necessarily lead to a better quality education. Government should not have the total control of a single en- tity." The Government will also be entitled to ask for sensitive da- ta on students as stipulated by a clause in the legislation. MUT said that it was sur- prised that these updates were not brought to their attention and that as long as the pro- posed legislation remains un- changed, it will be challenged. "We will not allow teach- ers who have worked hard for their warrant just to have their rights taken away. This will not attract future students to the profession." "We are going to write to all MPs," Bonnici said. "We will unite with other entities if we have to because this legislation stands to be detrimental to our education, our educators, to our students, and ultimately to society as a whole." dhudson@mediatoday.com.mt Union says new law will revoke teachers' permanent warrants