Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1532146
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 FEBRUARY 2025 NEWS KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt dangerous game in hounding parking space his campaign against a parking spot given as a security meas- ure was dangerous and risked fomenting irresponsible ac- tions. "Absolutely not," he replied. "The only danger to Jason Az- zopardi is coming from Jason Azzopardi himself." Stagno Navarra insisted that he is "always against any form of physical and psychological violence", of which he had been a victim. "I suffered such instances at the hands of those who have an agenda of intolerance such as Jason Azzopardi that included actions and words against me and all my friends in the La- bour Party," Stagno Navarra said. On Monday's stunt, he insist- ed that a "totally unplanned encounter" next to the former reserved parking space was "a message" that Azzopardi's "era of arrogance is over". But Stagno Navarra's 'mes- sage' comes at a time when the government is rushing through changes to make it harder for ordinary citizens to request magisterial inquiries. Rising political temperature The proposed amendments will force ordinary citizens to first file a police report. Only after a lapse of six months can the individual ask a judge to probe where the police investi- gation has arrived and if need be, order a magisterial inquiry. But the changes also propose that any proof presented by the individual must be admissible in a court of law and any deci- sion as to whether an inquiry can take place has to be based on the balance of probability. The government's decision to tighten the screws on magiste- rial inquiries is a knee-jerk re- action to Azzopardi's decision over Christmas to seek five in- quiries, which targeted minis- ters Clint Camilleri and Silvio Schembri among other public officials. The lawyer had last summer asked for two more inquiries involving Identita and the lo- cal enforcement agency over claims of wrongdoing at the two agencies. The situation has led to the political temperature rising with Robert Abela singling out Jason Azzopardi and accusing him of abusing the system to carry out political persecution. The Nationalist Party has said it will vote against the inquiry amendments and will reverse them when in government. Azzopardi has not helped his case when last year he admitted that allegations of wrongdoing, he had made against Cabinet Secretary Ryan Spagnol were untrue. Azzopardi was also found guilty of defaming former min- ister Carmelo Abela when he had implicated him in the 2010 HSBC holdup on the basis of unverified comments. But Stagno Navarra's stunt this week has taken the issue to another level, raising con- cerns over the personal safe- ty of Azzopardi in light of the police's own assessment that he is at risk. The Labour Party diehards and ministry officials baying for Azzopardi's blood just add to the climate of inse- curity. The Daphne parallels Meanwhile, the several at- tacks directed at Azzopardi were lambasted by PN MEP David Casa. "The fascist and coordinat- ed attack on Jason Azzopardi and all those working to stop the theft from public coffers is unacceptable and condemna- ble," Casa wrote in a Facebook post. "We should not allow the mistakes of the past to be re- peated," he reiterated, insisting Azzopardi should not be left alone. Robert Aquilina, who runs the Malta office of Fondazi- one Falcone, said the campaign against Azzopardi was "cruel, inhumane and hateful". "The forces of law and order are not being serious about the obvious danger this is causing. We learnt absolutely nothing from Daphne's murder. Now when ugly things happen, those who are staying silent and those who are fomenting all this will attend a demonstration of na- tional unity," Aquilina wrote. As for Azzopardi, the former MP has no intention to back down. "Obviously I will keep going on," he insisted with MaltaToday. Stills taken from the videos uploaded to Facebook by Karl Stagno Navarra, showing him confronting Jason Azzopardi in the car park, where the latter's reserved parking space was removed by the authorities PN condemns harassment of Jason Azzopardi by Labour activists THE Nationalist Party has strongly condemned the har- assment and intimidation against Jason Azzopardi by what it described as "individu- als close to the Labour govern- ment". Singling out former One TV presenter Karl Stagno Navarrra, the PN said activists close to the government were acting with impunity. The case revolves around a concerted campaign conduct- ed by Stagno Navarra that cul- minated on Monday when he confronted Azzopardi outside his Sliema home. Stagno Navar- ra formed part of a campaign to have Azzopardi's reserved park- ing spot in a public Sliema car park removed despite this being a security measure suggested by the police. The reserved parking was withdrawn over the weekend. The PN said the harassment and deliberate confrontation are part of a coordinated cam- paign of attacks "carried out by Prime Minister Robert Abela and his clique". "The culture of hatred that Robert Abela has fostered against those who disagree with him is leading to targeted attacks, endangering the safe- ty of civilians and threatening democracy in our country," the PN said, adding the aggression against Azzopardi is not an iso- lated case. The PN said the Prime Minis- ter has a duty to publicly con- demn the harassment being carried out by Labour activists. "The Prime Minister must put an end to this politics of venge- ance and acknowledge that he is responsible for the climate of hatred he has created in our country." The party also called on the Police Commissioner to take immediate action and ensure that Jason Azzopardi is given all necessary protection against these "coordinated attacks". The PN said it will continue to defend those targeted by this political persecution. "We will not hesitate to stand up to the regime of fear that Robert Ab- ela is trying to strengthen," the party added. The Nationalist Party condemns acts of intimidation and harassment against Jason Azzopardi by individuals close to the Labour government