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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 18 JANUARY 2015 12 MATTHEW VELLA KEVIN Ellul Bonici, husband of former Labour candidate Sharon El- lul Bonici, has been implicated in the unauthorised distribution of a highly critical biography of Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite that was placed in the pigeonholes of all 751 MEPs back in December, 2014. The security probe was ordered by the European Parliament's College of Quaestors after a complaint by Lithuanian MEP Antanas Guoga. The book is an unflattering biog- raphy of the former European Com- missioner, containing allegations of Soviet and KGB collaboration, and which was translated into English and reprinted without the authori- sation of its author, journalist Ruta Yanutene. Supporters of Grybauskaite say the smear campaign was orchestrated by the Kremlin in response to the Lithuanian President's outspoken views of Vladimir Putin's Russia, which she accused of acting as a "ter- rorist state" during the Ukrainian crisis. In a confidential letter to European Parliament president Martin Schulz, director-general for security and safety Francesca Ratti said that Ellul Bonici invited a Russian citizen and a Polish citizen born in Moscow, as well as another unidentified fourth person, into the EP, to distribute the books. Ellul Bonici is a member of staff in the secretariat of the eurosceptic Europe of Freedom and Direct De- mocracy, led by UKIP leader Nigel Farage. The EFDD has denied that it was behind the book hand-out after Ellul Bonici was caught distributing the book on surveillance cameras. Ratti said that following verifica- tion, it transpired that on 10 Decem- ber, 2014, at around 1:30pm, Ellul Bonici and three other men placed the 'Red Dalia' books in the MEPs' pigeonholes on the third floor of the Altiero Spinelli building "without previous consent or authorisation from the competent service". Ratti said that it was Ellul Bonici who brought the books into the parliament and distributed them, together with the three other men. "My services have not confronted the identified individuals. However, we remain available for any addi- tional steps you deem necessary," Ratti told Schulz. But Ellul Bonici has denied with MaltaToday of having been behind the book's distribution. "I hope the EP investigates the matter thorough- ly. This is news to me and I want my name cleared." The book was distributed days af- ter the Lithuanian President accused Russia on the BBC of being a ter- rorist state, and a reaction from the Russian foreign ministry deriding Grybauskaite's "Komsomol [Young Communist League of the USSR] fervour". EP President Martin Schulz has said he will wait for the EFDD group to make its own decision on discipli- nary measures against Ellul Bonici. "We're not the police or we're not the headmaster of anybody, its the political group that has to decide by themselves what they want to do with their staff member," Schulz's spokesman Armin Machmer said. "We cannot control the content, it is impossible to control the content in the mailboxes. But of course, if unauthorised people distribute stuff, that is against the rules," Machmer said. Red Dalia smear Red Dalia is a highly critical, in- vestigative biography of Dalia Grybauskaite by the Lithuanian jour- nalist Ruta Yanutene. But accord- ing to the Lithuanian news service DELFI, nobody knows where it was published and who translated it into English to be distributed to MEPs. Days after it was distributed, the English-language version of the book became available online. The unflattering biography por- trays Grybauskaite as an unscrupu- lous careerist who joined the Com- munist Party of the Soviet Union at the age of 27, graduating from Len- ingrad State University in Moscow and then teaching political economy of socialism in Vilnius High Com- munist Party School. She has denied being a KGB collaborator. In Lithuania, the allegations are an uncomfortable reminder of the scars of Soviet occupation, which saw as many as 30,000 anti-Soviet partisans killed in 40 years. Supporters of Grybauskaite, such as Lithuanian MEP Gabrielius Landsbergis, said the appearance of the book inside the EP was an "at- tack against the head of Lithuania" after her harsh criticism of Russia and support for the Ukrainian dem- onstrators. Outspoken Russia critic The outspoken Baltic leader sparked anger in Moscow last week by labelling Russia a "terrorist state" and claiming that Ukraine is fighting not just for its freedom but also in defence of all Europe. On 24 September, Grybauskaite told The Washington Post that Rus- sia was being allowed by "Europe and the world… to be a country that is not only threatening its neighbours but is also organizing a war against its neighbours. It is the same inter- national terrorism as we have in Iraq and Syria… Yes. I think that Russia is terrorizing its neighbours and using terrorist methods." She then directly called Russia a "terrorist state" in an interview with Lithuanian TV and Radio company LRT. She was later rebuked by the Russian Ministry for Foreign Af- fairs, which claimed Grybauskaite's hostile rhetoric was a product of her "complexes about her Soviet past" and recommended that she "temper her Komsomol [Young Communist League of the USSR] fervour." Again, in a comment to the BBC, Grybauskaite reiterated her claims, saying that "Russia demonstrates the qualities of a terrorist state". News Kevin Ellul Bonici implicated in 'Red Dalia' smear campaign in Brussels European Parliament security probe says Maltese national employed with Nigel Farage's EFDD behind unauthorised distribution of KGB smear campaign against Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite SERVICE TENDER FOR THE PROVISION OF HEALTH INSURANCE COVERS TO THE MALTA ENVIRONMENT & PLANNING AUTHORITY (Ref: T01/2015) e Malta Environment & Planning Authority (MEPA) is responsible for land use planning and environmental regulation in Malta. e overall objective of this contract is the provision of Health Insurance Covers to the Malta Environment & Planning Authority. e tender document can be downloaded from the MEPA website on the following link: www.mepa.og.mt/info-tender. e presentation of the tenders should satisfy the conditions mentioned in Section C – Tender Preparation (Page 9 of the Tender Document) and deposited in the tender box at the MEPA premises in Floriana by Wednesday, 4th February, 2015 before 10.00a.m. Any requests for clarications concerning this call for tenders should be addressed to the Director of Corporate Services on email tenders@mepa.org.mt by not later than Friday, 23rd January, 2015 before 4.00p.m. A participation fee of €100.00 needs to be paid in order to submit an oer. Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered. Diversion from the specication will render the oer null and void. www.mepa.org.mt Who is who? Kevin Ellul Bonici: Husband of Sharon Ellul Bonnici, one-time Labour candidate who campaigned against EU membership in 2003 and then ran for MEP on the Labour ticket in 2009. He has worked in eurosceptic organisations for the past 15 years, first with the Europe of Democracies and Diversities, which was succeeded by the Europe of Freedom and Democracy, grouping the UKIP and the right-wing Italian Northern League. A split in 2014 saw the eurosceptics launching Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD), while his wife now is the secretary- general of the far-right European Alliance for Freedom (EAF) which includes the Front National of France, Austria's Freedom Party, and the Northern League (Lega Nord). Dalia Grybauskaite is a former European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget from 2004 to 2009, becoming President of Lithuania in 2009 and winning re- election for a second term in 2014. A Putin critic, in June 2014 Grybauskaite told the German news magazine Focus: "[Putin] uses nationality as a pretext to conquer territory with military means. That's exactly what Stalin and Hitler did." She also said Russia and Putin were "characterised by aggressiveness, violence, and a willingness to overstep boundaries." On 20 November, 2014, Grybauskaite called the Russian Federation "...a terrorist nation that should be stopped." Red Dalia in blue: Grybauskaite's alleged past as a KGB collaborator featured in an unauthorised English translation of a book that Ellul Bonici (inset, centre) is accused of distributing in MEPs' pigeonholes without permission