Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/726681
3 TIM DIACONO THE MIDI consortium has re- ported cases of "vandalism" on Fort Manoel to the police, a few days after the gates of Manoel Island were opened to the public in a major environmental demon- stration. However, Gzira mayor Conrad Borg Manche – who took part in the protest – insisted that no van- dalism had taken place and that he had actually found a door to Fort Manoel open on the day of the protest. "Everything that was broken in- side the fort was broken before the protest, unless MIDI sent some- one to vandalize it themselves," he said. The MIDI consortium had to- tally sealed off public access to Manoel Island for 16 years, until Borg Manche and environmental- ists from the Kamp Emergenza Ambjent (KEA) movement used a set of pliers to break through its two locked gates and fences on Saturday, in a protest witnessed by members of the media. The gates remained open as of Tuesday afternoon, turning the island into a hub of activity, with people coming from all over the island to swim, fish, walk and ex- plore the area. Indeed, Borg Man- che estimated that as many as 5,000 people were present on the island at the same time on Sunday. Yesterday, new gates were in- stalled by MIDI but in a press statement KEA said that access is still open and that any attempt to close access will be met with ac- tions to reopen since Midi clearly has no right to close it. "In reply to Midi's ridiculous claim that access was open, Kamp Emergenza Ambjent has more than one witness stating that the gates were closed. Moreover, all of Malta has witnessed that access has been closed for the past 16 years," the statement said. KEA pointed out that activists were very careful in not damag- ing gates and fences that were not blocking access and said that no doors were broken through. Accusing MIDI of lying, KEA said "activists vouch not to be threatened by such bullies who mistakenly think that they can rule Malta, and to go on safe- guarding spaces which should be accessible to all the public, rich and poor. In a previous statement yester- day afternoon MIDI chief execu- tive Luke Coppini said that "there is no legal provision or obligation on individuals to provide access over their private property to the foreshore". "The company deplores the ac- tions of publically elected officials who, instead of seeking adequate recourse at law, resort to unlaw- ful acts by breaking into private property, and exposing same to vandalism and damages," Coppini said. "The irresponsible actions of the individuals involved is further evidenced by their instance on sensationalizing the matter, by re- fusing access through a particular route which was offered to them on the day of the activity in order to avoid damages, and instead resorting to forcefully breaking through gates, fencing, doors and similar." However, Borg Manche – who has filed a judicial protest against MIDI to demand that it open Ma- noel Island's coast to the public – noted that the 99-year concession granted to them back in 2000 to regenerate the island and Tigne specifically excluded the fore- shore. He also pointed to a clause with- in the concession, which allows the government to temporarily prohibit public access to areas of Manoel Island "so as to enable [MIDI] to carry out the develop- ment of the property". "Development has not even started, and yet the public have been denied access for 16 whole years," Borg Manche said. In response to the Gzira coun- cil's judicial protest, Coppini had warned in comments to MaltaTo- day that turning Manoel Island's foreshore into a free-for-all swim- ming zone is not an option, as it risks opening the floodgates to vandalism and drug abuse on the island. Manoel Island gate was open on day of protest, MIDI CEO alleges In an email to Borg Manche on Saturday, MIDI chief executive Luke Coppini said that the break- in amounted to vandalism, argu- ing that "the gate this morning was open". In the email, which was pub- lished by Borg Manche, Coppini also alleged that the Gzira mayor and the KEA had "forced them- selves" into Fort Manoel and the old Lazzaretto hospital. Repeated attempts by MaltaTo- day to contact Coppini failed, and e-mailed questions asking him to clarify those comments - as well as to confirm whether MIDI will close the gates again – remained unanswered at the time of writ- ing. However, in an email sent to Borg Manche, MIDI chief execu- tive Luke Coppini claimed that the break-in amounted to vandal- ism, arguing that "the gate this morning was open". In the email, which was pub- lished by Borg Manche, Coppini also alleged that the Gzira mayor and the KEA had "forced them- selves" into Fort Manoel and the old Lazzaretto hospital. Repeated attempts by MaltaTo- day to contact Coppini failed, and e-mailed questions asking him to clarify those comments - as well as to confirm whether MIDI will block access to the foreshore again – remained unanswered at the time of writing. In his response to the MIDI CEO, Borg Manche vehemently denied that the gates were open and that the activists had forced themselves into the historical buildings. "At the time of the protest, the gate was locked. I witnessed it personally and I am informed that it remained closed all day. We just opened access without causing any damage and vandalism as you are wrongfully claiming. Indeed, the public has not had free access to the said foreshore for the last 16 years, so I really doubt that after 16 years you coincidentally decid- ed to open access today," he wrote. "Had you wanted to remedy the situation, MIDI had a full 16 years to do so. "I also gave you a year to come up with a solution to my request yet you regrettably failed to do so be- cause you were comfortable with the situation as it is, and decided instead to continuously break the law, completely ignoring me and maintaining an unacceptable sta- tus quo that effectively prevented access to tax-paying citizens to public areas without any right by law whatsoever." Gzira mayor to propose council jurisdiction over Manoel Island Meanwhile, Conrad Borg Man- che will on Thursday table a council motion, calling for the Gzira local council to be given jurisdiction over Manoel Island. If accepted, the motion will allow the council to administer the is- land as it does other parts of the town. "Now that Manoel Island is open to the public, the local council must ensure that it isn't damaged, or the demonstration might end up doing more harm than good," he said. tdiacono@mediatoday.com.mt maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2016 News SOON ON TVM For advertising on XTRA contact Claire Ciantar on: cciantar@mediatoday.com.mt MIDI reports 'acts of vandalism' on Manoel Island to police, Gzira mayor denies claims