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MT 24 April 2016

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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 24 APRIL 2016 26 Letters ITALIAN communist MEP Giusto Catania has told MaltaToday he will stand by his per- sonal observations in his report on a visit by a European Parliament delegation to Malta's detention centres for migrants in March. "My observations are those of the rap- porteur and it is my right as the one who is relating what we all saw, and therefore they cannot change. They are an organic part of the report," Catania said after members from the civil liberties committee opposed the strong wording of his report. Committee vice-president Stefano Zap- palà, who was in Malta with other MEPs visiting the detention centres, disputed the factuality of the report. "Certain personal comments should be omitted," Zappalà said, referring to the rapporteur's description of the Safi centre as a "cage" and that the Hal Far complex's bathrooms "are in an appall- ing condition and there are dead and live rats which serve as pets". MEP David Casa said the rapporteur had not mentioned that during the visit by MEPs, it was revealed that detainees had re- fused to move to a new centre." The delegation members have been urged to meet again and come up with a common stand by the time a final vote is taken on Catania's report. "There is some agreement on certain con- siderations but they don't change the gen- eral tone of the report," Catania told this newspaper. "What we saw in Malta was ter- rible and this report evidenced what is the example of what is unacceptable… we will change some word or phrase but the central theme will be to report and describe what we all saw." Catania reserved strong words for his re- port on the detention system for asylum seekers, saying Malta's administrative de- tention was "unacceptable for a civilised country and untenable in Europe" and that the conditions in the Maltese centres were worse than others visited by the various del- egations from the civil liberties committee. He called for the centres to be closed down and to move the detained migrants to open centres instead. "The temporary accommodation centres are legally unacceptable places… For this reason and also because such instruments have proved ineffective in combating illegal immigration and in obtaining recognition for migrants, the temporary detention cen- tres have to be considered as unacceptable places," Catania said. The MEP, who on his visit had been vehe- mently critical of the detention centres, said Malta had to strictly apply the minimum standards directive for asylum seekers. Ac- cording to Catania, the release of detainees after 12 months to have access to the labour market and vocational training were not be- ing respected. In comments to MaltaToday, the MEP said the European Parliament had all the power to ask the Commission for the direc- tive to be fully implemented in Malta. Catania's report also noted several grave cases of inadequate conditions in the deten- tion centres, saying women at Lyster Bar- racks were not given sanitary towels. In Hal Far, he said many detainees who were ill live in the dormitories with others: "one with gout, and a Sudanese suffering from asthma, who was given an out-of- date drug, which was an Italian free sample. Those seriously ill are kept in bed in the cen- tre with the others. In particular there was a diabetic who, since he is not being treated properly, is at risk of going blind." But migrants have complained of inad- equate medical care. Catania said migrants told the delegation they were using eucalyp- tus leaves to treat headaches because of the lack of medical care, "with inadequate and very brief examinations by doctors, medi- cines past their sell-by date." According to Catania's report, the delega- tion was given boxes of out-of-date drugs and that all illnesses were being treated with Panadol. The report's conclusions calls on the gov- ernments of member states to receive on a voluntary basis in the short term, a certain number of refugees to relieve Malta "of some of the heavy burden it currently has to bear". The report also reaffirmed the need to have the European Commission revise the Dublin Convention in order to take account of the specific nature of small countries such as Malta, "which have to tackle mas- sive influxes of asylum seekers, taking into consideration the possibility of introducing mechanisms for 'burden sharing' between the Member States." MEP stands by his report on 'unacceptable' detention centres 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. News -23 April, 2006 Opaque, not transparent history It might interest those who today are crying out foul about the Panama Papers scandal, to know what had happened as soon as the PN won the 1987 general election. After Labour had won the election in 1971, one of the most radical reforms carried out to try and tackle tax evasion – not avoidance – was the annual pub- lication of the income declaration of each taxpayer in Malta and Gozo. We used to note that many members of the professions and other self-employed, declaring an income of a few thousand Mal- tese liri at most, say Lm2,000! Of course, this resulted in the crea- tion of income thresholds for the various sectors of self-employed taxpayers. One of the very first political decisions taken by the incom- ing PN government by the then minister of finance, Dr George Bonello du Puis, was to stop the publication of the taxpayers' income declarations. So you see, transparency has never been something which the PN truly believes in. They only talk about it. Eddy Privitera Mosta A credible alternative To function well a democracy needs a credible opposition. To be credible an opposition party needs a feasible alternative policy and a leader with suffi- cient political judgement to jus- tify his position, and to be able to offer a genuine ability to lead and appoint a team able to carry through that alternative policy to the benefit of the nation. Unfortunately for Malta, recent events have given rise to grave doubts as to the ability and judgement of the current Leader of the Opposition to fill his role effectively, and indeed the ability of many of his team to fill theirs. On the whole, since March 2013, massive improvements have been registered in the econ- omy, reputation and lifestyle of Malta, which now registers high in European, and indeed world, standards and achieve- ments. Nevertheless, mistakes have been made, largely through inexperience. Some of these mis- takes, for example, Café Premier and Gaffarena, have been major errors of judgement; the latest, "Panamagate", is still rumbling on. The Prime Minister has taken the decision to handle "Panama- gate" on a longer-term basis, waiting until all the factors are disclosed and assessed before taking any final action, rather as a judge would hear a full case be- fore delivering a judgement. The public will also judge him on his final verdict and reasoning. By contrast, the Leader of the Opposition immediately leaped onto his soapbox to rouse the party faithful with rallies and demonstrations, led by honking loud hailers and party hats. Ag- gressive and abusive billboards are still posting their partisan messages around the island. However, despite all the accu- sations f lung and bellowed, very little has really been exposed. No criminal activity has yet been found, a professional audit has been ordered; indeed the rest of the world has been shamed far more than Malta by the Panama Papers. Despite the British Prime Minister having been involved in legal tax avoidance schemes, the British Standards Commissioner has stated he has not broken any regulations and will not be "investigated". A wise and subtle opposition leader would surely have waited, using skilful political judge- ment, to watch carefully to see if a criminal act was carried out, then, if so, pounced to blow the government away. The actions taken by the opposition over "Panamagate" have exposed huge political naivety and mis- judgement, and poor leadership. Timing is everything in politics, and rousing the party faithful from their clubs a whole two years before the next election is a big mistake. One result of the "hue and cry" which may result in embarrass- ment is the focus on the building works carried out for the two PN deputy leaders. One asks who is directing the policies of the opposition when they embark on a "party before country" move to crave poorly based criticism of their sovereign government by foreign politicians. It is almost as if they would prefer to smash every- thing rather than let anyone else play with the toys. The "form sneak" policy of using like-minded or gullible foreign media to attack their own country surely leaves a very nasty taste in the mouths of all true Maltese. Are they really trying to "return to the eight- ies", reviving such characters as "Charlie the Hook" to bully the media, and digging up ex-media man Richard Muscat, last heard of in the "Voice of the Mediter- ranean" fiasco? Surely the younger people of Malta will not find this as an attractive policy for a potential government. Back to hatred is no policy on which to build a future. I have many good friends who support the Nationalist Party to whom I ask a big question re- garding the governance of Malta. Is the opposition fit to govern? They have two years to prove it. Michael Turner Mosta Simon Busuttil – the actions by the opposition have exposed poor leadership

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