Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/310131
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 MAY 2014 18 Letters Send your letters to: The Editor, MaltaToday, MediaToday Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 | Fax: (356) 21 385075 E-mail: newsroom@mediatoday.com.mt. Letters to the Editor should be concise. No pen names are accepted. Coming to terms with Europe's secular nature is understandably difficult for the Maltese. Thursday's clarification by Irish Premier Bertie Ahern when visiting Malta, confirming that there would be no compromise on the inclusion of Christianity clause in the New Europe Constitution, was a slap in the face for the government. Those who have constructed this notion of European unity are very much aware that the roots of division and strife in Europe have for centuries been fuelled by religious conflicts apart from the totalitarian regimes and regressive monarchies that have ruled countless peoples. There is a general reluctance to institutionalise religions. Europeans today do not consider the adherence to a religion to be central to the development of a just and moral society. Yet this godlessness is not exhibited in a passionate way as was in the communist regimes of yesteryear or the new totalitarian states of the former Soviet Union. Religions in Europe are respected, supported and given all the space required, but they are not encouraged and increasingly they are becoming more and more distant from society in general. To add to this reality, Europe is the home to a diversity of different religions and it is no secret that the fastest growing religions in Europe are not the Christian religions but Islam. Malta is unique in this respect. This should come as no surprise to Europeans, but comes as an unpleasant surprise to many Maltese Europhiles who have been digesting the wrong impression s that Europe is a bedrock of Christianity. It is not. The fiscal dilemma The Prime Minister, now acting as Malta's Finance Minister, has faced the first flak by the European Commission on our burgeoning and growing deficit. At over 9 percent - he insists it is less - the Commission is clearly worried that Malta's deficit control is not in control. Lawrence Gonzi has some tough decisions to make. His social welfare reform programme cannot wait very much longer, even though it is abundantly clear that the deadlines he has set are unrealistic. Pension reform is not enough. The Premier must combat tax evasion; the middle class cannot be burdened with more taxes. The professionals and self-employed who have traditionally avoided tax must also do their part. This newspaper is not advocating more taxation but rather a regularisation of tax flows. If one looks at the percentage contribution of tax from companies, professionals, self-employed and salaried workers, one can confirm the disparity that exists. The other segment requiring some serious surgery is the large number of so-called unemployed, many of whom are deeply involved in the black economy. The new Nationalist leader, looking forward to the end of his first 100 days, faces a gargantuan task. The one thing he will be thinking of is a revision of taxation to collect more revenues. At this rate, with no new incentives to collect monies and no real trimming in the bloated government civil service, the only option left for the Prime Minister is to seriously tackle the welfare system and put an end to tax evasion. If the Premier fails to attain success in these two fields, he will have to turn to increasing taxes and social security contributions to rake in more money. Contrary to popular belief, Malta's income tax regime and social security contribution remain the lowest in Europe. Increasing taxes will only lead to more discontent and discomfort from a restless and impatient public. But Lawrence Gonzi is in no position to promise that he will not be increasing taxes. A secular Europe all the way Editorial • May 16 2004 An open letter to Lino Farrugia In the recent letter to your members, you accuse those who campaigned against spring hunting as telling outright lies, slandering, being deceitful, insulting and ex- pressing hatred. Furthermore, you accuse the 'eco-terrorists' of never thinking twice about tarnishing Malta's image deceitfully and with- out remorse. You then go on to thank your members for observing the regu- lations imposed by the govern- ment. I am a member of the team that made Chris Packham's video blogs. I would like you to clarify your sweeping accusations. With- out proof and specific examples, your open letter is more slander- ous and full of lies than any of our videos. For instance, what do you mean by the term 'eco-terrorist'? Ac- cording to Wikipedia, 'Eco-ter- rorism' is defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as 'the use or threatened use of violence of a criminal nature against people or property by an environmentally oriented, subnational group for environmental-political reasons'. If that is the definition you meant, what acts are you referring to? I know that we did not commit or threaten any violent act of a criminal nature, so for you to ac- cuse us of such is slander. On the other hand we did refer to several violent acts carried out against people and property, namely the attacks on Ray Vella, by hunters. Those attacks really happened though so that is not slander. We specifically set out not to tarnish Malta's image. Indeed we made a point in several of the videos of saying what a beautiful island Malta is and how hospita- ble the people are. We encouraged people to come to Malta. Tarnish- ing the image of Malta's hunters is not the same as tarnishing the image of Malta. Despite the FKNK's attempts to have Mr Packham arrested, it seems the police decided we hadn't broken the law. The same cannot be said for all the hunt- ers. Clearly we do not know if the hunters who shot the protected birds featured in our films are members of the FKNK or not; we certainly never claimed that they were. But given the news about the bird cemetery found in Mizieb, the woods your members were so keen to have us thrown out of, you'll have to forgive us if we don't join you in congratulat- ing your members on observing the regulations. Jez Toogood Bristol, UK Misleading propaganda on hunting I feel compelled to write to you concerning the visit to Malta by Chris Packham and the mislead- ing propaganda portrayed in his YouTube series 'Massacre on Migration'. For those not conversant with hunting in Malta, the short spring hunting season, which is legal under Maltese and EU law, consists of 19 half days and per- mits the shooting of a maximum of 11,000 turtle doves and 5,000 quail (this season). This is a miniscule quota when compared to the estimated 3 million quail and 2-3 million turtledoves shot every year in the remaining EU countries. It can therefore be concluded that the shooting of these species on Malta has an insignificant effect on the overall European popula- tion. Furthermore Mr Packham has implied that the decline in the UK turtledove population can be partly blamed upon the shooting of turtledoves on Malta. This is not the case. Scientific research (Browne and Aebischer) carried out here in the UK has concluded that the decline in the UK turtle dove population is almost entirely due to changes in farming practices. Mr Packham has been quoted in the press as stating that in Malta "millions" of protected birds are blasted out of the sky every spring hunting season. This is downright misleading and factually incorrect. Mr Packham provides no evidence whatsoever to back up his spurious claims. During this spring hunting season, I happened to be in Malta and accepted an invitation from a Maltese hunting friend to accompany him while hunting. On many mornings I observed numerous birds including golden orioles, bee-eaters, various kinds of birds of prey and many other species, some of which I recog- nised and some I did not recog- nise, passing over the area. In this area there were many hunters and not one shot rang out. In fact very few shots were taken as the numbers of quarry species passing were extremely few. No wildlife crime whatsoev- er was committed, the law being adhered to at all times. I can only state that in my experience, Mal- tese hunters are law abiding. Philip Sword Newcastle upon T yne, UK As has already been pointed out by AD chairman Arnold Cassola ('AD says residents need protection', Times of Malta, 12 April 2014) and Caroline Said Lawrence of the Friends of Cot- tonera Forum ('Hazardous indus- trial work in Cottonera', Times of Malta, 27 April 2014), residents of the Three Cities and environs have been plagued around the clock by excessive noise pollution resulting from the oil rig repair works in French Creek. As residents of Senglea's Bastion Street, we live right at the doorstep of the dockyard and suffer from its accompanying noise night and day. Measurements of continuous noise levels in the evening and at night prove that the noise is indeed excessive: readings between 00:30 and 01:00 a.m. show an average 65 dB(A) in our bedroom balcony and 60 dB(A) from the bed. The WHO (World Health Or- ganization) Europe Guidelines for Community Noise (1999) recom- mend sound levels no higher than 30 dB(A) in bedrooms to ensure a good night's sleep. The WHO Night Noise Guidelines for Europe (2009) further recommend a target of 40 dB(A) as a maximum for outside night noise, "to protect the public, including the most vulnerable groups such as children, the chronically ill and the elderly". The situation in Senglea and sur- roundings is clearly far from meeting the target levels recommended by the WHO. How can the government allow, and even encourage, such noisy and dirty industrial activity so close to residential areas, when there is clear scientific evidence of the negative impact on the health and well-being of the local residents? Suzanne Maas and Christian Debono Senglea Excessively noisy nights (and days) in Senglea Papal hypocrisy A few weeks ago, a local newspa- per reported "Pope Francis, in his Easter address before a large crowd, yesterday denounced 'the immense wastefulness' in the world while many go hungry." In its interview, in the same issue, with economist Joseph F.X. Zahra, who was appointed by Pope Francis to oversee reforms of the Vatican's "scandal-plagued accounts", the newspaper reported that "the Holy See's problems, which have been acknowledged in Church circles, were revealed publicly last year through the leaks of papal correspondence by then Pope Benedict's butler. The docu- ments exposed the squabbles among Vatican bureaucrats, allegations of corruption in the awarding of con- tracts, and mammoth fiscal waste." In view of these scandals, it's hypo- critical of Pope Francis to denounce others for their wastefulness when there was "mammoth fiscal waste" at the Vatican itself "while many went hungry." John Guillaumier St Julian's