Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/413175
22 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 9 NOVEMBER 2014 STAND UP AND BE COUNTED The Heritage and Environment NGO Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar… Malta expects its political class to act like statesmen and unite across all parties to fight the illegalities by the few, in order to protect our land and our heritage. If politicians unite, then no party wins or loses votes and all Malta benefits. FAA invites other NGOs and the public to join them in demanding that the authorities finally take action against such abuse. Our online petition can be found at http://goo.gl/esnNJO …endorses Din l-Art Helwa's appeal to the Government on the state of Malta's environment and its governance, and raises further issues which have been of grave concern for years. First: Although the seashore belongs to the public, we are seeing uncontrolled expansion of hotels on protected sites and the illegal expansion of beach concessions, leaving no space for Maltese families to enjoy what is rightfully theirs. While Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) favours redevelopment of abandoned sites, the latest proposal to build three hotels on the southern coast is an unacceptable vio- lation of laws that prohibit urban development in the Out of Development Zone. Malta is bound by the Barcelona Convention to "preserve coastal zones for the benefit of current and future generations". Second: In allowing the abusive cement silo, built without a MEPA permit, to operate just five metres from the grain silo that processes 70% of the nation's wheat, our politicians are risking the health of the nation. The cement silo report reads: "Cement dust is a highly toxic compound… It is unlikely that this silo operation will be completely free from all fugitive cement emissions and so the possibility that the grain being handled nearby will be subject to a level of contamination from cement dust remains present even following the application of best practices." Dr Julian Mamo, Ph.D, Head of Public Health at the University of Malta reported: "The ingestion of traces of cement is likely to be of danger to health, especially to children… This will culminate in the body and ultimately pose a danger to health". In Parliament Dr Godfrey Farrugia, MD, MP expressed amazement that the Environmental Health Direc- torate recommended approval of an operational permit for an abusive facility that risks contaminating wheat with toxic cement dust. Third: Although the previous government planned to shift all tuna farms to the aquaculture zone 5km offshore to reduce the risk of sea-borne infections and damage to the seabed, this was never imple- mented; instead some fish farms greatly increased the number of cages without the necessary permits. Abusive fish farms and reclamation projects carry a high risk of pollution, and damage our marine ecol- ogy and tourism, especially the flourishing diving industry. Fourth: The illegal developments at Armier and other locations have been tolerated for far too long. Both political parties have placed votes and the interests of the squatters above the interest of the law- abiding public, the ultimate owner of that land, even going so far as to sign secret agreements with the abusers on the eve of elections. These agreements have never been published. Those who stole electricity by tampering with smart meters have been prosecuted in Court, yet the Government has taken no action against Armier residents who have both stolen public land and elec- tricity, even though the Government is duty bound to prosecute this illegality. Supplying electricity to these abusive buildings will legitimize the illegalities and absolve the thieving. This constitutes malad- ministration of justice as well as an obvious case of legally actionable discrimination, with persons who have committed the same offence being treated very differently.