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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 MARCH 2023 An abdication of duty Editorial A dump of WhatsApp exchanges between Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar and murder suspect Yorgen Fenech published by author Mark Camilleri has raised a hornet's nest. There is the issue of journalistic responsibility and whether Camilleri's act was ethical. Malta- Today will not condemn any act of responsible journalism that uncovers secrets that have a bear- ing on the public conduct of persons in power. Within this context, it becomes fair game to lift the lid on private WhatsApp exchanges that deal with matters of public policy and clearly show attempts by an elected Member of Parliament to trade in influence as well as accepting gifts and cash that were kept secret from the parliamentary register of interests. The debate however goes further: there are those who believe that an act of responsible journalism should not wilfully ignore the fact that these private exchanges are actually part of the criminal evidence collected in the course of charges against Fenech. Could reckless behaviour that displays this kind of evidence "in contempt of court" have potential ramifications on the system and process that will try Fenech in the end? Rosianne Cutajar's spicier exchanges with Yor- gen Fenech are of no public interest: the two had a very intimate relationship, which can also be proven through other less intimate exchanges. Publishing the details of these salacious ex- changes is unnecessary and ultimately served to ridicule the MP, and perhaps obfuscate the seri- ous exchanges that tell a lot about how the MP used her relationship with the 17 Black owner to obtain favours – this is the more serious issue at hand, which unfortunately risks being buried beneath the dump of sexual innuendos between two consenting adults. Undoubtedly, it is Cutajar's behaviour as a poli- tician that is of serious concern. By receiving cash gifts and a Bulgari handbag from a businessman at the same time that she was pooh-poohing a report penned by the Council of Europe that ref- erenced the businessman's secretive company in Dubai, 17 Black, and its sinister links to the Elec- trogas power station project, Cutajar rendered her position as an MP untenable. She was clearly acting as an advocate of sorts for Fenech, as an MP who represented the Mal- tese, without disclosing her beneficial relation- ship with him. To any right-thinking person, what Cutajar did was not only unethical but potentially criminal. Cutajar may claim, like anybody else who knew Fenech at the time, that she was unaware of his involvement in Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder. She is right. Nobody, apart from those directly in- volved in the murder and the privileged few who had access to police investigations, would have suspected Fenech to be behind the journalist's murder. If she believed that Fenech was an affable character at the helm of a business empire, sought after by politicians from all sides, one can hardly question the reason for pursuing a friendship. But in 2019, the news was already out that Fenech owned 17 Black, which had been indicated as a client company of the Panama companies set up by Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi. It is also true that the government narrative at the time was to play down the relevance of 17 Black and any claims of corruption involving the power station contract. Rosianne Cutajar may have simply been following the herd, repeating the narrative her bosses at Castille were peddling. As an MP, Cutajar cannot claim naiveté. The chats reveal that she received gifts and money from Fenech, suggesting a person who sought personal enrichment from the whole affair. She was not simply a government politician champi- oning the government line, but a politician who had no shame in accepting gifts from the man she defended in her public capacity. As an elected official Rosianne Cutajar has far greater responsibilities than ordinary individuals. The chats show that she reneged on these respon- sibilities. Additionally, her rant to Fenech that "everyone is acting as if they are at the pig's trough" and unashamedly telling him she will do the same, is an ominous example of moral degradation within the corridors of power. There are many reasons why Rosianne Cutajar should step away from her parliamentary role and public life altogether and none of them have to do with her intimate choices. It will be a mistake if the Labour Party uses the recklessness of what Mark Camilleri did to ignore everything else. Brushing aside Cutajar's misdeeds will not make them go away. Just as it did with Konrad Mizzi in 2020, when it kicked out the former minister following me- dia revelations on Enemalta's involvement in the Montenegro windfarm scandal, the party has to, at the very least, discuss Cutajar's future. Relegating this judgement to the voting public is not a choice but an abdication of duty. 27 March 2013 EC 'in contact' with Malta over hunting enforcement THE European Commission is in contact with the Maltese authorities with a view to identify further steps that might be available to im- prove the effectiveness of enforcement during the spring hunting season, set to open on April 10. In comments to MaltaToday, the European Commission's environment spokesman con- firmed that, to date, the Commission has not been informed of the government's decision to open a spring hunting season. According to the spokesman, Malta is ex- pected to inform the Commission two weeks before the hunting season opens. Therefore, the Commission has not put forward any conditions on the Maltese Gov- ernment in this respect. On Monday evening, Parliamentary Sec- retary for animal rights Roderick Galdes confirmed the spring hunting season dates opening on 10 April until 30 April. The gov- ernment has also waived off the €50 special licence fee while bag limits have been re- tained as last year's: 11,000 turtledoves and 5,000 quails. The Commission's spokesman added that it was the sole responsibility of the Member States wishing to apply a derogation to ensure that all the strict conditions laid down in the EU's Birds Directive are met. "Moreover the Members States applying a derogation must report to the Commission on the implementation of the conditions set out in the Birds Directive," the spokesman said. In other words, Malta must now justify to the Commission that all the conditions for that derogation have been met. In this context Malta will have also to demonstrate that the limits of the derogation have been observed and that the beneficiaries of the derogation have fully abided by the relevant restrictions introduced in relation to the Spring hunting derogation. Meanwhile, the Commission has been pre- sented with a report on the outcome of the spring hunting seasons opened in 2011 and 2012. The report was presented by BirdLife. .... Quote of the Week "The Labour Party was always a force for good. We have the courage to realise that no one is bigger than the party, and the country." Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne speaking in parliament on Tuesday as the House discussed the 2023 budget estimates for the health sector MaltaToday 10 years ago