Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/266770
News JAMES J. PISCOPO EXISTING local wardens will be asked to successfully complete training in communication skills and legal aspects. Parliamentary Secretary for local governance Jose Herrera yesterday evening met with a sizeable crowd of local wardens as part of a consultation proc- ess for the proposed reform of local enforcement. Herrera said the proposed changes will not have a nega- tive impact on the current local wardens, and guaranteed their employment in the upcoming reform. The proposed reform sees the end of the local enforcement system run by the private sec- tor, which would be replaced by a centralised management unit. Herrera said the role of the warden will cease to be focused on giving out fines as was the situation in the past. However, he underlined the need for further training, in particu- lar focusing on communica- tion skills, environmental law and to some extent, a working knowledge of the law. The Junior Minister acknowl- edged the hardships that war- dens had to face on a daily basis due to their unpopularit y, and condemned all t ype of aggres- sion. On behalf of the General Workers Union, Corey Green- land said the union intended to take this opportunit y to ask for better working conditions to its members. The meeting, held in the GWU's headquarters, resumed behind closed doors. maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2014 Republic Street, Valletta next to the Courts Police fire rubber pellets in detention centre Over 70 detainees at Hal Far reported to have damaged furniture inside detention centre, after arrival of four MPs on fact-finding mission JOHN PISANI THE presence of four members of parliament at the Hal Far migrant reception centre provoked a show of unrest by detained asylum seekers. MaltaToday confirmed that four rubber pellets were fired but nobody was hurt or hospitalised. The Ministry for Home Affairs de- nied that rubber bullets were used, and that instead a taser gun was used which was "however not fully charged". Police and members of the Armed Forces were called in to placate what was described as a "protest" taking place at the Hal Far centre, after MPs Jason Azzopardi, Deborah Schem- bri, Marlene Farrugia and Claudette Buttigieg – from the social affairs committee's sub-committee on mi- gration – arrived there on a fact-find- ing mission. Eyewitnesses said that 18 detainees took part in the protest outside, but as much as 70 detainees were inside the barracks, damaging bedsteads and other furniture. A large number of officers from the Rapid Intervention Unit arrived on the scene and entered the detention centre, bringing the sit- uation under control by 1pm. Armed Forces personnel were present outside the detention centre but did not access the area. Four of them, of Ghanian and Ni- gerian nationality, are likely to be charged in court with voluntary damage of government property, and fomenting unrest. Witnesses said detainees were ap- pealing to MPs, saying they were not criminals and that they should not be detained. The MPs, who later proceeded to an open centre in a bid to defuse the situation inside Hal Far, spoke to Mal- taToday and described the ordeal. Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi said that the small group arrived at the Detention Centre at about 10.45am, with the plan being to visit the Open Centre straight after. Despite the fact that they did not feel threatened or unsafe "at any point", Azzopardi said that they re- alised almost immediately that the immigrants were "tense, frustrated and angry". "When they realised that we were a group of outsiders, they started to shout 'We are not slaves, we are not criminals'," he said. Azzopardi, who explained that many of the protestors had recently had their application for asylum re- jected, said that as they continued their way towards the living quarters, "the shouting and banging became increasingly louder". "They wanted a medium to vent their anger, and we proved to be that medium," he said. "Once it became clear that our presence was serving as a catalyst for the commotion, the officials and our- selves came to the agreement that we should probably leave," he said. Asked whether the MPs had tried to communicate with the protesting immigrants, Azzopardi said that he had wished to, but it was agreed that this could potentially have made the situation worse. "We did not really have the chance to talk to them, and had we tried to, we risked making things worse," he said. Azzopardi said that the group then made their way to the Open Centre, a few hundred metres away, with the situation over there being 'a world apart' from what they had experi- enced at the Detention Centre. "It was very quiet and serene over there," he said, explaining that the MPs amicably chatted away with the immigrants lodging there. Azzopardi told Malta Today that while they were at the Open Centre they heard police sirens, but they had no idea that the situation was as 'out-of-hand' as it later transpired. "I was definitely surprised when I saw the news later on," he said. Meanwhile, Deborah Schembri explained that visits such as these were not uncommon. "We did something similar some time ago at the Safi Detention Cen- tre, but there were no such inci- dents," she said. Schembri said that she had arrived slightly late and missed the start of the commotion but that it was also clear that the group's presence had "instilled quite a bit of fervour". "When they saw that we were out- siders – people who could maybe do something about their current situa- tion – they retaliated. It was a natural reaction for them," she said. "The officials made it clear that the immigrants were not usually like this," she said. Asylum seekers in Malta are de- tained for a period of 12 months, un- less they are released earlier pending the resolution of their claims for in- ternational protection. Asylum seekers whose refugee claim is refused a second time on ap- peal before the 12-month detention period is up, are detained for another six months, pending a removal or- der. Herrera guarantees wardens' employment, hints at better conditions Herrera said the role of the warden will cease to be focused on giving out fines, as was the situation in the past. Photo: DOI