Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1178032
I don't always agree with his general take on things; but I can certainly understand how someone like Dione Borg would feel 'hurt' by that awkward confrontation in front of the Great Siege monument – or, if you insist, the 'Daphne Caruana Galizia makeshift memorial' – in Valletta last Wednesday. I assume you all saw the video, so I'll keep the necessary description part brief. Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia turned up to pay his party's respects to Daphne Caruana Galizia on the second anniversary of her murder – accompanied by most of the usual PN bigwigs: Clyde Puli, Hermann Schiavone, David Agius, Kristy Debono, and (last but not least) a positively unamused Louis Galea – only to find himself publicly accosted and humiliated by Daphne's sister, Helene Asciak. 'Shame on you, crooks!', she repeated at least a dozen times, as a stony-faced Adrian Delia placed the wreath at the foot of the monument anyway; and while the video itself (at least, the one I saw) didn't capture this detail… a subsequent clip showed the same wreath lying in tatters on the ground, where it was eventually kicked out of sight before the planned vigil/ protest began some hours later. Before proceeding, I shall have to admit that my own reactions were divided on this one. As both Nationalist Party and Opposition leader, Adrian Delia no doubt felt obliged to make a show of respect for the journalist he once described (and God, how he must regret it today) as a 'bicca blogger'. And while it is self-evident that he did this 'only for the cameras' (as Helene quite rightly told him to his face)… well, it is equally true that all such public obsequies are always done for publicity's sake. Delia is certainly no exception to this rule; and it would be unrealistic to even expect him to be, anyway. He is, after all, a politician; and part of the job description also includes making loud, fulsome proclamations of things you don't necessarily believe in, or feel too strongly about yourself. For the same reason, however, it is also hard to defend a man who so brazenly disregarded an appeal to 'step back', by the bereaved family member of a murdered woman. 'Show some respect' was another thing Helene Asciak shouted at him; and – even if just for the purely political sake of sparing himself, and his party, further embarrassment – my gut feeling tells me he should really have heeded her advice, and taken that step back as requested. Viewed in conjunction with the fiery indictment by Daphne Caruana Galizia's father last week – who accused the PN leader of exploiting his daughter's death for political gain – it was actually quite idiotic of Adrian Delia to even go anywhere near that particular monument at all… still less on that particular day, at that particular time. For while his right to do that may be 'inalienable', and all that… the judgment he displayed in actually doing it was rather poor, under the circumstances. But hey, that's just my own personal reaction; and you can all make of it what you will. The reason I started this with a reference to Dione Borg's reaction is that… well, there are two. One, the 'hurt' Dione expressed was not specifically for Delia's sake; but rather, for the sight of that PN wreath (note: the word in Maltese is 'kuruna', which has far weightier implications; in a different context, it could also mean 'the Rosary') which had been dumped unceremoniously on the ground, and trampled upon by a crowd of people who used to call themselves 'Nationalist' until not so long ago. Two, because Dione Borg is (like myself, and anyone else over 45 years of age) a relic of the 1980s. He even wrote a book, entitled 'Liberty Under Threat', about the grisly events of those years – the murder of Raymond Caruana, the frame- up of Peter Paul Busuttil, etc. So like most Nationalists of his generation, he evidently considers the PN to be the only political force that has ever really fought for democracy and human rights in this country. So many years later (and after 25 years of the same PN in power) it is altogether too easy to forget the times when there was more than just a modicum of truth to that claim. It is true that the Nationalist Party, led by Eddie Fenech Adami in the 1970s and 1980s, stood up to some of the most heinous human rights violations this country had ever seen. I myself remember only too well when 'to be a Nationalist' meant a whole lot more than just 'rooting for one party over another'; and others who are older (including Daphne Caruana Galizia herself, if she were still alive today) would no doubt confirm that, in the years leading up to the 1987 election, 'liberty' really was 'under threat' in Malta. So even if, to younger ears today, the archaic battle-cry of 'Xoghol, Gustizzja, Liberta' may sound like the distant echo of a forgotten political war fought centuries ago… to old timers like Dione Borg (not to mention Louis Galea, who was PN general secretary when all that happened)… it clearly still retains some of its former resonance. To all those people, then – and not just to Dione Borg – the sight of that 'kuruna' being so peremptorily discarded, and kicked about like a piece of trash on the ground, was an ugly, painful reminder of just how far the PN has fallen since its 'Golden Age'. For this is the point Dione Borg really raised with that 'hurt' reaction of his: the man who placed the wreath 24 OPINION maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 OCTOBER 2019 Raphael Vassallo Opposition movements cannot be built on single issues 1319 Permezz ta' digriet mogħti fl-21 ta' Mejju, 2019, millBord li Jirregola l-Kera fl-atti tar-rikors fl-ismijiet Antida Casha et vs Abdel Karim Habeila Mangoun Rikors numru 23/2019JD, ġiet ordnata s-segwenti pubblikazzjoni biex isservi ta' notifika fil- konfront ta' Abdel Karim Habeila Mangoun a tenur tal-Artikolu 187(3) et sequitur tal-Kodiċi ta' Organizzazzjoni u Proċedura Ċivili (Kap. 12). Permezz ta' rikors ġuramentat bin-numru 23/2019JD flismijiet Antida Casha (KI 671244M) u Therese Brincat (KI 299537M) vs Abdel Karim Habeila Mangoun (KI 25312A), ppreżentat fil-Bord li Jirregola l-Kera, fid-29 ta' Jannar, 2019, ir-rikorrenti Antida Casha (KI 671244M) u Therese Brincat (KI299437M) esponew bir-rispett u bil-ġurament tagħhom ikkonfermaw: Illi l-atturi huma padruni tal-fond bin-numru 18, li jinsab fi Triq Brittanja, f'Raħal Gdid PLA 1469, Malta, liema fond huwa mikri lil Abdel Karim Habeila Mangoun bir-rata ta' €100 fix-xahar, dovuti kull xahar bil-quddiem;Illi fil-fond inkwistjoni l-intimat Abdel Karim Habeila Mangoun jgħix waħdu u dan mis-sena 2008; Illi fl-2008 l-kera kienet titħallas normali imma l-kontijiet tad- dawl u l-ilma ma kinux jitħallsu (anness u markat bħala Dok. A). Fil-2013 l-atturi ġew a konoxxenza tal-fatt li d-dawl u l-ilma ma kinux qed jitħallsu di fatti f'Marzu tal-2016 id-dawl ġie maqtugħ. Illi l-intimat ġie mitlub jitlaq mill-post diversi drabi saħansitra tawh il-possibbiltà li jixtrih iżda l-offerta kienet baxxa ħafna u għaldaqstant il-ftehim ma sarx. Illi fir-rigward tal- kera hemm pendenzi minn Settembru 2017 sal-lum (anness u mmarkat bħala Dok. B). Illi minkejja l-intimat ġie interpellat sabiex jiżgombra mill-imsemmi fond huwa baqa' ma rritornahx lura battal u bil-kontijiet tas-servizzi mħallsa minnu. Illi l-intimat, b'riżultat tal-emendi li saru bl-Att X tal2009 u senjatament ai termini tal-Artikolu 1532 u 1537 talKap. 16 tal- Liġijiet ta' Malta m'għandu ebda protezzjoni mil-liġi u fil-fatt is-sidien għandhom id-dritt li jirriprendu l-pussess tal-istess fond; Illi r-rikorrenti jiddikjaraw illi l-intimat m'għandux eċċezzjonijiet x'jagħti għat-talbiet tar-rikorrenti, u għalhekk il-kawża tista' tiġi deċiża ai termini tal-Artikolu 16A talKap. 69 tal-Liġijiet ta' Malta bid-dispensa tas-smigħ; Illi filwaqt li l-intimat allura m'għandu ebda titolu validu fuq il-fond bin-numru 18, li jinsab fi Triq Brittanja, f'Raħal Ġdid PLA 1469, Malta, l-atturi jafu b'dawn il-fatti kollha personalment u għalhekk kellha ssir din il-kawża biex l-intimat ma jibqax iċaħħad lill-atturi milli jieħdu pussess tal-proprjetà tagħhom. Għaldaqstant, l-esponenti umilment jitolbu lil dan l-Onorabbli Bord biex għar-raġunijet premessi jogħġbu: 1. Jordna li dan il-każ jiġi mismugħ u deċiż bid-dispensa kontemplata fl-Artikolu 16 u 16A tal-Kap. 69 tal- Liġijiet ta' Malta; 2. Jiddikjara li l-intimat m'għandu ebda dritt fuq il-fond bin-numru 18, li jinsab fi Triq Brittanja, f'Raħal Ġdid PLA 1469, Malta, u m'għandu ebda dritt iħalli effetti personali tiegħu fl-istess fond; 3. Jiddikjara illi l-intimat qed jokkupa l- imsemmi fond mingħajr ebda titolu validu fil-liġi; 4. Jordna lill-intimat jivvaka u jiżgombra mill-fond binnumru 18, li jinsab fi Triq Brittanja, f'Raħal Ġdid PLA 1469, Malta, kompletament u li dan isir fi żmien qasir u perentorju li għandu jiġi ffissat minn dan il-Bord u jirritorna ċ-ċwievet relattivi, b'riżerva għal reklamar ta' kwalunkwe danni li jistgħu jirriżultaw li saru fil-fond; 5. Jordna lill-intimat iħallas id-danni tal-okkupazzjoni minn Settembru 2017 'il quddiem, sar-rilaxx effettiv talfond; u kif ukoll il- kontijiet pendenti għas-servizz tad-dawl u l-ilma sar-rilaxx effettiv tal-fond; Bl-ispejjeż kollha inklużi tal-ittri legali tal-15 ta' Frar, 2016; is-7 ta' Marzu, 2016; u tal-1 ta' Diċembru, 2017, kontra l-intimat, li minn issa huwa inġunt għas-subizzjoni u bir- riserva għal kull azzjoni oħra spettanti lill-attur. Rikorrenti: Antida Casha; Blk 14, Flat 5, Rose Path, Santa Luċija Theresa Brincat, 32, Triq it-Tarzna, Paola Intimat: Abdel Karim Habeila Mangoun, 18, Triq Brittanja, Raħal Ġdid PLA 1469, Malta. Il-kawża fl-ismijiet Antida Casha et vs Abdel Karim Habeila Mangoun, Rikors numru 23/2019JD, jinsab differit għat-30 ta' Settembru, 2019, fl-10.00 a.m. Dan huwa rikors guramentat ai termini tal-Artikoli 16 u 16A tal-Kap. 69 tal-Liġijiet ta' Malta. Dawn huma proċeduri sommarji speċjali u għalhekk min jirċievi dan ir-rikors ġuramentat kontra tiegħu għandu jidher quddiem il-Bord li Jirregola l-Kera fil- jum stabbilit, u jekk jonqos milli jidher jew milli juri li jkollu difiża li tiswa biex jikkontesta t-talbiet tar-rikorrenti, tingħata sentenza fl-ewwel deher tal-kawża skont il-liġi. Reġistru tal-Qrati Superjuri, illum 6 ta' Settembru, 2019 ALEXANDRA DEBATTISTA Għar-Reġistratur, Qrati Ċivili u Tribunali Daphne Caruana Galizia's sister Helene Asciak confronts PN leader Adrian Delia at the slain journalist's memoral