Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1211430
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 FEBRUARY 2020 OPINION geared up only to protect the strong, while crushing the weak to a pulp… OK, back to reality. I'll concede my analogy doesn't entirely hold in the case of the arrested traffic policemen; for it would imply that they are being unfairly vic- timised… as though 'overtime fraud' were a menial crime not even worth investigating or pros- ecuting. Naturally, I don't mean that at all. All the same, however: it still pales to (almost) insignificance, compared to the numerous pos- sible crimes alluded to by Theu- ma in his testimony this week… which were not, incidentally, limited only to the referenc- es to Chris Cardona and Keith Schembri in the above quote. Put simply, the allegations in- clude the possible involvement of a former Cabinet minister in Daphne Caruana Gal- izia's murder; as well as an at- t e m p t e d c o v e r - u p of the same crime, al- legedly in- volving the prime minis- ter's chief- of-staff. Both these claims have been made numer- ous times before; now, however, they are repeated in the context of sworn testimony by the prime prosecution witness in the case: w h o has been granted a Presidential Par- don on condi- tion of telling 'the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth'… and also to substantiate his claims with evidence. So… what ac- tion has been taken? In the case of Keith Schembri, Inspec- tor Keith Arnaud has already testified that there is an ongoing investigation for obstruction of justice and as a person of interest in the assassination; if so, howev- er, it has been 'ongoing' for some time now, with no reported de- velopments. But to the best of my knowl- edge, there has been no police investigation specifically into the matter concerning Cardo- na's phone-number… though the phones themselves had been retrieved soon after the original arrests were made, back in De- cember 2017. Mind you, here may be perfect- ly valid reasons for this. Cardona himself has publicly rebutted the allegation; claiming that so far, we only have Yorgen Fenech's word for it that his number was found on a mobile phone owned (and later discarded) by one of the murder suspects. And even then, the information is sec- ond-hand: Fenech allegedly got it from Schembri. Separately, Cardona has ac- cused both Fenech and Schem- bri of trying to frame him for the murder… a possibility that can- not be discounted, either. Or can it? You see, this is pre- cisely the part I don't get. At any time it likes, the police can very easily clarify whether Cardona's number was indeed found on that phone or not… after all, the information has been in their possession for three years. And yet, while the police's communications department promptly issued a statement in the case of the traffic police ar- rests this week… at the time of writing, there has been no offi- cial statement from the police to confirm or deny Theuma's testi- mony before the enquiry. As far as I can see, this leaves us with only two realistic scenari- os… both with worrying implica- tions of their own. Either the allegation is false: in which case, the police are per- fectly justified in not investigat- ing Chris Cardona… (but then, it would imply that Marvin Theu- ma's testimony is not credible, either: with weighty implications for the Presidential Pardon); or else, the allegation is true… in which case, the police would have been sitting on evidence of possible collusion by Cardona for three years, without ever tak- ing action. Whatever the case, a discern- ible pattern seems to be emerg- ing. On a variety of levels, the po- lice seem quick to respond – be it by investigating, or releasing statements – in some cases, but not others… inevitably, creating the impression of extreme reluc- tance to proceed with investiga- tions involving (in this case) peo- ple close to the Joseph Muscat administration. Well, this is precisely the sort of complaint that has been directed at our national institutions and agencies over the past few years: it is, in fact, the crux of the entire 'impunity' motif that has under- scored our good governance cre- dentials ever since the Panama papers scandal broke out in 2016. Hence that feeling of déjà-vu, linking the present scenario to memories of yesteryear. That sensation of individual helpless- ness I mentioned earlier? That image of a giant wall slowly clos- ing in… creating an insuperable barrier between those who are persecuted, and those who are protected by the law? It is clearly still happening to- day: despite all the promises that accompanied the change in Prime Minister – and not that much else – on January 12. To be fair, however, that was only four weeks ago. Robert Ab- ela still has all the time in the world to address these glaring imbalances in the system: and he has the perfect opportunity to get started, too… by ensuring the thorough investigation – in- cluding arrests and prosecution, where applicable – of all possible leads exposed by the ongoing in- quiry. Ultimately, however, Abela can only restore confidence in the system by coming to grips, once and for all, with all its underlying cracks and fissures… in a nut- shell, by 'tearing down the wall'. Ultimately, Robert Abela can only restore confidence in the system by coming to grips, once and for all, with all its underlying cracks and fissures… in a nutshell, by 'tearing down the wall'