Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/361046
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 AUGUST 2014 24 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. There have now been three wars between Gaza and Israel in the past six years. If nothing is done to stop the protagonist - the Islamic resist- ance army more commonly known as Hamas – then the only certain future for the area is that there will be another war in the not too distant future. While many world leaders recognise the necessity of eliminat- ing Hamas – both for the benefit of Israel and for the Palestinian civilians who suffer negatively both directly and indirectly from the de- cisions made by Hamas – few have the foresight or vision as to how to accomplish this task. The Palestinian Authority does not have the will or the capability to eradicate Hamas. The Arabs can- not be trusted to do it – with the possible exception of Egypt, which has been destroying terror tunnels in Gaza, enforces the necessary blockade to stop terror supplies reaching Hamas, and has thwarted an Islamic suicide bomber terror attack and rocket attacks aimed at Israeli civilians in the past month. Israel has the capability to get rid of Hamas, but the world accuses Israel of being too brutal in doing it. The western countries that could do it know full well that if they were to do it they would have to behave as 'brutally' as they accuse Israel of doing in the face of Islamic terrorists using civilian human shields, and they would have to come to terms with their hypocriti- cal stance towards Israel. Western countries also have no appetite to fight any Islamic terrorist group – especially one playing hostage to a civilian population. While it is, sadly, abundantly clear that the world is not actually prepared to do what is needed to stop the conflict reoccurring, the western world does have some con- trol. Funds given to the Palestinians should be strictly controlled – it is irresponsible (if not downright murderous) to continue to look the other way while the Palestinian ter- rorists get rich, spare no expense on buying rockets and invest millions in terror tunnels. Without funds the terror trade of Hamas will die, even though the ideology of course will not. Perhaps this is the best solution that the western would is prepared to fathom for now. Michelle Moshelian Givatayim, Israel The purchase of the Malta embassy in Brussels is fast turning into a comedy of errors. The price, the site and the state of the building are all matters of controversy. What started out as a straight-forward purchase of a government prestigious office block to house our embassy is fast turn- ing into a can of worms. The plot thickens daily. No sooner are we informed that the deal makes great business sense than The Times reveals that our country spent more money on acquiring office space than any of the other new EU mem- bers. Only hours later, it is revealed by the gloating Labour media that the purchase price has landed the vendors with a prized profit of four million Malta liri over a mere twelve month period. This certainly does not enhance the acclaimed nego- tiating skills of Malta's foremost businessman, Mr Albert Mizzi, who headed the technical team. It remains incredible that nobody in authority, including the Cabinet, who apparently approved the deal, counted the cost. Someone somewhere should have taken stock of all the problems both on a perception and political level. The purchase of the property was bound to carry political risks. Government retorts to criticism by affirming as its principle line of defence that the property purchased will increase in value over a period of time. While this may be the case, is government in the business of buying and selling property? Is Government a property speculator? Surely not! This project is a lesson in how not to use public money. In any order of priorities the funds should have been channelled to revamp our tourist product and our education system. The timing of the purchase is equally diabolical. At a time when the Prime Minister attempts to make the whole country realize that there is no such thing as a free lunch, emphasizing daily with pas- sion the difficulties in the country's finances we have a non-elected member of the Cabinet, Richard Cachia Caruana, driving this project and a Cabinet giving its approval to this extravagance. It smacks of megalomania, failing to appreciate that we are a minute state the size of a small European town. *** The two main protagonists in this affair, the Head of the Malta delegation in Brussels and the head of the technical committee, have, to date, remained silent. Their silence is deafening. They must speak up. A 'no comment' reply and ignoring our questions smack of arrogance. They simply cannot act like monarchs who are expected to remain silent even in the face of criticism. In their respective roles they too are custo- dians of the public purse and as such accountable. Lawrence Gonzi is yet again being derailed by circumstances. The very people he unreservedly supports are the ones letting him down most. It is unfair that they are putting his Government in such a bad light. The political agenda is dominated by this embassy purchase and there is little talk on the big and coura- geous decisions that Government is taking including prioritising Malta's financial problems and its cuts to ministry expenditure. The embassy issue is undermin- ing Lawrence Gonzi. He must get the political initiative back into his hands. Reversing this decision would go a long way to re-establish- ing his credentials. When MaltaToday broke this story, just twenty-four hours after the purchase contract was signed on the twenty-sixth June, we did so because we strongly believed that it is in the public interest that the tax payer knows how his taxes are being spent especially when he is being asked to make sacrifices. We never believed however that further damaging evidence would surface. It is now crystal clear that the whole saga is a messy affair and politically very damaging to Government. The decision must be reversed with im- mediate effect. Such a decision would strengthen and not weaken Government. Suffering from megalomania Editorial • 15 August 2004 In last Sunday's edition it was reported that the Malta Playing Fields Association was given €12,000 in compensation. The compensation for expenses incurred on the site was offered by the government when the site was expropriated. The Mal- ta Playing Fields Association insists that it never accepted any financial compensation as it was contesting the expropria- tion in court. Clarification Context is everything I read with great disappointment the summary in MaltaToday (August 3, 2014) of my interview with F. Attard that appeared on the Illum newspa- per on the same day. MaltaToday chose to concentrate on the use of the word 'dictatorship', to the delight of online commenta- tors and some gratuitous insults. In the comment's context, it was meant to underline my belief that an administration that enjoys such a huge majority as the present one is not a healthy one for the country for obvious reasons. May I end this letter by quot- ing from my interview 'Il-mezzi tax-xandir dejjem lesti biex ifittxu dak il punto e virgola biex jimlew u jikkritikaw jew anke ikissruk jekk ma jaqblux mieghek'. Dr Josie Muscat Chairman, Saint James Hospital Group Preventing the next Gaza-Israel War Mindless bell-ringing In Malta, there is too much bell- ringing. The pealing of bells is supposed to commemorate events that allegedly happened 2,000 years ago. At other times, the bells ring in memory of some dubious or obscure "saint" who has been dead for hundreds of years. During several weeks following Easter, the clanging of bells is relentless at weekends. This mindless noise goes on year after year. In between all this bell-ringing, other bells chime Marian tunes every other hour or so. The insipid chimes are repeated several times each hour. The jolly bell-ringers do not care if they inconvenience other people with their bell-ringing as long as they get their kicks by making noise. The Church in Malta preaches consideration for others, but does not practise it when it comes to its own noise abuse. Since the Church does not care if it inconveniences other people, it's time for the Labour government to step in to curb the incessant bell- ringing in Malta. John Guillaumier St Julian's