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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 • 9 AUGUST 2026 After Daphne, Malta deserves to heal but not through silence Editorial OPPOSITION leader Alex Borg has justified the Nationalist Party's silence on the testimony that has been heard in the Yorgen Fenech trial on the basis that it does not want to prejudice proceedings. It's a lame excuse. The jurors, who will be the ultimate arbiters of guilt or absolution, are locked up and with no access to the outside world. An- ything that is said outside the courtroom cannot influence them. Even in court, when lawyers want to discuss a point of law, jurors are asked to ex- it the hall so that the discussion carried out be- tween the prosecution, the defence and the judge does not influence their judgement. So, unless Borg starts commenting on potential witnesses in a manner that tries to condition how they should testify—we believe he is intelligent enough not to entertain this idea—there is no way his words can influence trial proceedings. Why Borg chose to justify his silence so far, in this way escapes us. If anything, he could have said the PN will wait for the outcome to have a holistic picture before commenting on several issues of public concern that emerged from the testimony. It would have definitely been a more plausible excuse even if it does not preclude Borg from expressing deep concern about the insti- tutional rot that so evidently characterised the Muscat years. But Borg may also be concerned about what may be in store for his own party. We've already heard slight references to that toxic period in 2019 and the internal party manoeuvres to scupper David Casa's European election bid. Similarly, Prime Minister Robert Abela has maintained his silence, even as the testimony that has emerged so far, paints a sordid picture of the state of affairs at Auberge de Castille during his predecessor's time. Abela's only comment was to deny that he called an early election to anticipate the political fallout of a jury that is damning for the Labour Party. Abela can go and tell it to the marines that his motivation for holding the election in June was the potential fallout from the US-Iran war. The latter is chicken feed compared to the serious im- plications coming out from the Fenech trial. And then there is Police Commissioner Ange- lo Gafa, who has chosen silence when confront- ed with aspects of the police investigation into people like Keith Schembri. Gafa's silence may be justified in the circumstances, since the police force is part of the prosecution, which would not want to undermine its own case. But when the trial is over, the police force will have a lot to answer for over its handling of peo- ple like Schembri with silk gloves, and the in- cestuous relationship between its former deputy chief Silvio Valletta and Yorgen Fenech at a time when the latter was internally being mentioned as a potential suspect. The trial will deliver only one verdict—wheth- er Yorgen Fenech is guilty or not of having com- missioned and paid for Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination. That is the only question jurors will be answering based on the proof presented in court. Anything else is only there to strengthen the judgment they will be delivering, whichever way it goes. But after the trial, in the court of public opinion several questions will need to be answered and concerns addressed. The Labour Party has a lot to answer for on how it allowed people in top government positions to act and behave as they did. Joseph Muscat's unex- plainable decision to cling on to Keith Schembri despite everything that emerged makes the for- mer prime minister either incredibly naïve, stu- pid, or a silent accomplice by reneging on his duty to truncate the rotten branch when it became ap- parent that things were bad. But this goes beyond Muscat. We expect the government to atone by proposing serious measures that will strengthen democracy, accountability and justice. As for Alex Borg, he will need to address that sore period within the PN when the party started to implode and MPs were at each other's necks. But more importantly, he cannot ignore the cor- ruption that lies at the core of Caruana Galizia's murder. But it will not be enough to criticise harshly and point it out. He needs to chart out a course of action and expose the government if it fails to implement serious checks and balances. As for the police, we expect a serious review of the testimony that will emerge in the trial and investigate people, who may have perpetrated wrongdoing in whatever shape or form. Inter- nal shortcomings must also be addressed inde- pendently. For the time being, silence may be the conven- ient option for everyone. But convenience stops the moment the trial is over. At that point we ex- pect answers, reactions, and action to address the institutional rot that has been exposed. It is the only way to strengthen Maltese democracy and ensure that this black chapter in the country's history is closed. It is only then that a wounded nation can start to heal. Malta deserves nothing less. MaltaToday 10 years ago Axiak's views on Sliema tower obscured at PA meeting 10 August 2016 AN email sent to the Planning Board by En- vironment and Resources Authority chairman Victor Axiak, in which he laid out his views on the impact of the 38storey tower proposed in Sliema, was not read out at the public hearing on Thursday when the project was approved by a wafer thin majority of one vote. Axiak was indisposed and did not attend the meeting. This meant that Axiak, as representa- tive of the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), could not vote on both the four towers proposed for Mriehel by the Tumas and Gasan groups and the 38storey tower proposed for Sliema by the Gasan group. Axiak had expressed concern in an email on the visual impact of the four towers proposed at Mriehel, which was read by board member Tim- othy Gambin during the morning session, when this development was being discussed. Gambin, an expert in underwater archaeology, was a vocif- erous supporter of both projects during Thurs- day's public hearing. In this email Axiak questioned the quality of the photomontages presented by the developer. The development was approved by 10 votes against 2. But in the evening session, no reference was made in the meeting to any comments sent by Axiak. Asked by MaltaToday why he felt the need to comment on the development proposed at Mrie- hel and not on the one proposed in Sliema, Axiak made it clear that his email included comments on both projects. [...] WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION €1.00 Newspaper post PG 9 • Editorial WEDNESDAY • 10 AUGUST 2016 • ISSUE 481 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Axiak's views on Sliema tower obscured at PA meeting Environment and Resources Authority chairman Victor Axiak refuses to reveal the contents of the comments sent to the Planning Authority board on the Townsquare project JAMES DEBONO AN email sent to the Planning Board by Environment and Resources Authority chairman Victor Axiak, in which he laid out his views on the impact of the 38-sto- rey tower proposed in Sliema, was not read out at the public hearing on Thurs- day when the project was approved by a wafer thin majority of one vote. Axiak was indisposed and did not at- tend the meeting. This meant that Axiak, as representative of the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), could not vote on both the four towers proposed for Mriehel by the Tumas and Gasan groups and the 38-storey tower proposed for Sliema by the Gasan group. Axiak had expressed concern in an email on the visual impact of the four towers proposed at Mriehel, which was read by board member Timothy Gam- bin during the morning session, when this development was being discussed. Gambin, an expert in underwater archaeology, was a vociferous supporter of both projects dur- ing Thursday's public hearing. In this email Axiak questioned the quality of the photomontages presented by the d e v e l o p e r . The devel- o p m e n t was ap- proved by 10 votes against 2. But in the evening session, no reference was made in the meeting to any com- ments sent by Axiak. Asked by MaltaToday why he felt the need to comment on the development proposed at Mriehel and not on the one proposed in Sliema, Axiak made it clear that his email included com- ments on both projects. When asked why these comments were not read, Axiak simply insisted that he made his views clear on both projects. Axiak refused to re- veal the drift of the comments sent to the board. PAGE 7 Galdes left FIAU to become partner at legal firm PAUL COCKS MANFRED Galdes, who headed Malta's Finan- cial Intelligence and Analysis Unit (FIAU) until his resignation was revealed last week, will be joining the legal advisory firm Fenech Farrugia Fiott Legal on 12 September, MaltaToday has learned. Galdes had been the director of the FIAU since 2008, following a stint with the MFSA and a pri- vate services firm before that. When asked, he said he had resigned as FIAU head to "take up a post in private practice". Dr Tonio Fenech (not the former finance minis- ter), who is partner at FFF Legal, confirmed that Galdes would be joining the firm as a partner on 12 September. "He will also be appointed as a director of ARQ Group's specialised Anti-Money Laundering and Compliance Advisory unit with effect from the same date," he said. FFF Legal is a full-service firm offering legal solutions, established in 2009 by its partners, Dr Tonio Fenech, Dr Christian Farrugia and Dr Antoine Fiott. It is focused on six broad practice areas: corporate & commercial law, asset finance & transport law, taxation, financial services, pri- vate clients, and litigation & alternative dispute resolution. Galdes' move raises questions on how ethical it is for him to join one of the very companies the FIAU was sure to have monitored, as a provider of financial and legal services to high-net-worth individuals and corporations, when he led the agency up to a few days ago. The FIAU, first set up in October 2002 by virtue of Legal Notice 297 of 2002, which brought into force the comprehensive amendments to the Pre- vention of Money Laundering Act, was set up as an agency within the finance ministry. The minister appoints the board members, but it has a separate judicial personality and operates autonomously from its own offices, with its own staff. In April, at the height of the media frenzy on the Prime Minister's chief of Staff Keith Schembri's and energy minister Konrad Mizzi's involvement in the Panama Papers leaks, finance minister Ed- ward Scicluna had confirmed in parliament that the FIAU was investigating the matter. The responsibilities related to the governance of the FIAU are divided among the board of gover- nors and the director, with the board establishing the policy and the director being tasked with the execution of that policy. PAGE 5 DINNER IN THE SKY LIFTS GOURMET DINING TO NEW HEIGHTS MARTINA BORG had a taste of 'Dinner in the Sky', a platform hanging over the Upper Barrakka gardens in Valletta where guests can dine at a table suspended from a crane at a height of 40 metres • PAGE 8 AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MANGION / CLIFFORD CAMILLERI Victor Axiak