Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/602829
4 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 18 NovEmbEr 2015 News Blast from the past: the return of Joe Cassar's exit from parliament has paved the way for the re-entry of former junior minister Tony Abela. What baggage does Abela bring to the opposition? asks JAmES DEboNo The Nationalist Party's leader- ship was faced with a 'fait ac- compli'. For short of a co-option which would have been possible only if none of the candidates had presented their names for the casual election, it had no say in who would replace Joe Cas- sar – the disgraced former health minister who took the unprece- dented decision of resigning from parliament following revelations that he had an €8,150 bill for construction works at his Dingli farmhouse paid by the notorious Gaffarena. For the decision on who was to replace Cassar was sealed in the ballot box more than two years ago. Ironically, Cassar's resigna- tion has triggered the election of a politician with a colourful past who is not alien to the culture which ultimately brought Cassar down: that of politicians engag- ing in questionable relationships with shady businessmen. A notary by profession, Abela was first elected in 1987 and again in 1996, 1998 and 2003. Contest- ing one of eddie Fenech Adami's two districts, Abela confirmed his heavyweight district status by gaining 1,000 first count votes in the 2003 election. he was surprisingly co-opted to parliamentary secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister by Lawrence Gonzi though he was one of two MPs openly support- ing John Dalli (the other being edwin Vassallo) in the divisive 2004 leadership contest, in what was interpreted as an attempt to re-unite the party behind its new leader. But ever since his unlikely ap- pointment, Abela was a constant embarrassment to his party and a target of the Labour party media, which hounded him in a manner that sometimes looked obsessive. The image of a drenched Tony Abela, chased by One TV jour- nalist Charlon Gouder in a thun- derstorm outside Parliament, re- mains a classic gem of ridicule in the collective memory. Frequenting the wrong people? Abela surely attracted f lak for the party, as a result of his past business associations with smug- gler Indrì Zammit, who was ar- raigned in 2006 on drug traffick- ing charges. Zammit was also Abela's canvasser before he was first convicted in 1994. On his part Abela always insist- ed that he had severed business links with Zammit after his first conviction for smuggling. But on his own admission pro- cedures for the dissolution of a company he co-owned with Zam- mit were not finalised. "As some- times happens, these procedures were abandoned and the com- pany would eventually be struck off after some years". he insist- ed that documents at the MFSA showed that the company, whose only asset consisted in the fish- ing boat Ajaca, which had been sequestered by the police, had not operated since 1994. In his defence Abela even in- voked Jesus Christ. "After all, there was somebody once who selected 12 followers and one of them later betrayed him," Abela told parliament in 2006. Abela also faced accusations from the Labour Party of breach- ing ministerial ethics for acting as a notary on behalf of a citizen from his constituency in inform- ing the Joint Office that he was accepting the price set by the office on a property. Reacting to these claims Abela insisted that he had transferred custody of his notarial acts in April 2003 and had not published any contracts or acts since. he claimed that his brother and other notaries, who were shortly to be joined by his own son, ran the office and that there was nothing wrong in the fact that he received a share from the net proceeds of the office, given that he had helped make it successful. Abela is also remembered for going live on Net TV during a fundraising marathon pulling out stacks of money notes out of his jacket as donations to the party from undeclared donors. Immigration tsunami Responsible for migration at a time when Malta was for the first time faced by the arrival of thou- sands of asylum seekers, he insen- sitively talked about "a tsunami of immigrants" reaching Malta's shores. Later on he changed his tune, emphasising a more hu- manitarian approach. he was also responsible for the army when on 13 January, 2005, the army used excessive force to quell a peaceful protest by 90 per- sons held in the detention facility at hal-Safi. Abela promised dis- ciplinary action would be taken against anyone in the armed forc- es found guilty of wrongdoing. But two years later Ian Ruggier – the architect of the infamous 'Pjan Ruggier', was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. The magis- terial inquiry had found nobody guilty of using excessive force save for one soldier who was rec- ognisable because his visor was up, filmed as he beat a detainee who was being kept on the ground by another soldier. Abela came under fire from the Italian media for letting a mi- grant boat carry on with its voy- age of death in rough seas, but the parliamentary secretary told par- liament that the immigrants had refused the AFM's assistance as they were passing through Mal- tese waters. An AFM logbook published by MaltaToday, which showed that the immigrants were never asked whether they needed any help in the first place, contradicted this claim. hours later, 29 of them drowned off the coast of Sicily. Faced with this damning piece of evidence the OPM insisted that the AFM craft and aircraft were close enough to the migrants' boat in a way "that every oppor- tunity existed for the occupants of the boat to signal for help". In 2007 Tony Abela announced substantial pay rises for all ranks of the Armed Forces of Malta. Dur- ing his term of office the army al- CAREER OPPORTUNITY e Malta Environment and Planning Authority is committed to ensure that land use and the protection of the environment meet the needs of today's society and future communities. e authority has a vacancy in the following post: FINANCIAL CONTROLLER e role entails responsability for all nancial aspects of the new Environment and Resources Authority. e person is required to have: Qualications: BA(Hons) Accountancy degree, MIA or ACCA; a valid warrant to practice as an Accountant. Experience: A minimum of 5 years relevant experience in Financial Management role within a medium or large size organisation. Experience on various computerised accounting systems is required. Personal Skills: Interpersonal; Leadership; Communication; Methodological skills. Attributes: Reliability and trustworthiness; Integrity; Collaborative attitude; Team player and Team builder; Ability to work under pressure; Fluent in both written and spoken Maltese and English. Organisational Skills: Administration; Research and analysis; Coordination; Analytical; Time management; Negotiation. e above post is for a denite period of three years, with the possibility of renewal. e employment in this position is specically for the new Environment and Resources Authority that will be formed by the Act that shall regulate the functions of this Authority. Interim employment in this post until the legislation of the new Act, shall be with MEPA. Interested candidates are advised to submit their application, together with a detailed curriculum vitae by 29 th November 2015 to: e Human Resources Manager Malta Environment and Planning Authority Ref: Financial Controller ETC Permit No 138/2015 via email on jobsepd@mepa.org.mt For further information visit our website: www.mepa.org.mt/org-current-openings-at-mepa. EU 'war clause' invoked by France brings MATThew VellA FRANCe'S request for assistance, in response to Friday's terrorist at- tacks in Paris, was made under Arti- cle 42.7 of the eU Treaty: an article, possibly never used before, that says "if a member state is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other member states shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power." A government source said the re- quest would now be discussed bilat- erally between France and member states. "There is no need for any further decision by the Council," a source said of the eU's highest decision- making body. "Once the article is invoked, it is activated." In a statement, the government said that on advice of the Attorney General, the fact that a member state had requested assistance ac- cording to the TFeU, did not neces- sarily mean "actions that breach our neutrality clause, as protected by the Maltese Constitution." In comments to Bloomberg, French defence minister Jean-Yves le Drian said France's call for eU support in fighting Islamic State was "above all a political act." In Brussels for a meeting with his eU counterparts, he said France would ask for help on a country-by- country basis. eU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said some governments had already offered "material" as- sistance, others offered support to free up French resources to fight Islamic State. "This calls for aid and assistance bilaterally," Mogherini said. "This doesn't imply an eU Common Security Defence Policy operation," she said, in reference to a possible military mission. The Financial Times reported Monday evening that eU officials believe that the article's invocation "will have little substance impact" because unlike NATO's collective defence clause – where an attack on one ally is an attack on all – the eU Treaty "taps into no common de- fence infrastructure". France can still invoke Article 5 of Will Maltese soldiers be involved in the 'war' against Islamic State? PHOTOGRAPHY BY justin Gatt / aFM