Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/734031
27 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 OCTOBER 2016 Opinion Standing in a public space and blaring out a message is not exactly unheard of in Malta, or any where else in the world. In most other contexts we would refer to it as 'advertising' or 'marketing'. In fact, I am writing this at a time when the doughnut van is usually heard approaching from a good three miles away: 'Hawn Tad- Doughnuts! Friksi u sbieh! Ara xi gmiel ta qannec doughnuts...!' over and over again for the rest of the afternoon. That, of course, is considered perfectly 'sane' behaviour... even if it drives everybody else up the bleeding wall. But had the message been: "PA employs two weights and two measures! Look, how fresh and enticing PA's different weights and measures are!"... well, I guess the doughnut man would have to be arrested, too. For the grave crime of, um, telling the truth too loudly... This brings us to a second problem. I won't go into the nitty-gritty of whether the doughnut man's doughnuts are indeed as beautiful and erotic as he makes them out to be over his five million megawatt speaker. But there can be no denying that the message imparted by Nicholas Busuttil (at considerably less disturbance to others) was 100% accurate. In fact, I would argue that it is those who disagree with Busuttil who need to have their heads examined. And I would argue it convincingly, too... if only such people actually existed. Recently we have been regaled with a veritable bonanza of evidence that the PA (as MEPA is now known) employs a different yardstick to different types of planning applications/ infringements. Busuttil 's case concerned an enforcement order over an irregular change of use from garage to car-wash. Well, other people have built entire villas without permits, or added entire storeys to their hotels or apartment blocks, only to have their irregularities benevolently sanctioned by means of an umpteenth amnesty. So not only was Nicholas Busuttil arrested (illegally, as far as I can make out) for behaviour which is perfectly acceptable in any other context... but he was automatically judged to be suffering from a mental health disorder, for pointing out something which is self- evidently true. The implications would be borderline laughable, if they weren't so appalling. Telling the truth about our country's institutions, it seems, has become symptomatic of mental illness. Along the lines of a 'pathological liar'... only, um, the other way round. Honesty is the new pathology. We are rewarded for buying into a lie, and regarded as insane for daring to state the facts as they really are. And that's just the start of it. I am pleased to note that Mr Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon went straight for the jugular in his written ruling. "This court hasn't the slightest doubt that the way the police reacted to the behaviour of the applicant had exceeded every acceptable limit in a democratic society where fundamental human rights are not only respected but should find the protection they merit in their application."[...] "It is clear that the police wanted to find an excuse to stop him from expressing his grievance at all costs." Yet this is not the first time that the police have made it abundantly clear that their primary duty is to protect State institutions – and sometimes even private entities – from legitimate complaint or criticism by the public. Just a few weeks ago, they turned out in full force to help the leaseholders of Manoel Island prevent another perfectly legal protest from taking place. On that occasion I suppose it would have been slightly too much to refer dozens of protestors (including the Gzira mayor, and at least one political party leader) to Mt Carmel Hospital for psychiatric evaluation. But had it been a lone, random protestor like Nicholas Busuttil? He'd probably have been carted off in a straitjacket... Zammit McKeon is perfectly right: this is utterly unacceptable in a democratic society. But this only raises the question of why we continue to accept it. The Constitutional Court may have helped a little by pointing out the glaring injustice in a ruling: but by handing Busuttil the paltry sum of €2,000 in compensation, it also underscored the sheer extent of the same injustice. For all the Court's big words about the need to protect human rights, it didn't actually do all that much to protect them when it had the chance. The compensation figure sets a market price for all human rights violations... not just Busuttil 's. It tells us how much the Court considers our collective fundamental human rights to actually be worth, when it comes down to pounds, shillings and pence. No, I didn't think it was very much either. Especially when there doesn't seem to be any corresponding penalty for the ones found guilty of the human rights violation. But once again: who's to say? Maybe that's how much human rights really are worth in Malta. Less than a second-hand Mazda... Operational Programme I – Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 Fostering a competitive and sustainable economy to meet our challenges ANNOUNCEMENT - CALL III European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund The Managing Authority for Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 in Malta, the Planning and Priorities Co-ordination Division (PPCD) within the Ministry of European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto (MEAIM), would like to announce that it is launching a call for project proposals under the Priority Axes and Investment Priorities listed below to be undertaken by Ministries, Government Departments, Central Government Authorities and the Public Sector Companies. The call for Priority Axis 4 will close on Friday 2 nd December 2016 at noon whereas the call for Priority Axes 7, 10 and 11 will close on Friday 27 th January 2017 at noon. Priority Axis 4 – 'Shifting towards a low-carbon economy' Investment Priority (IP) 4c - Supporting energy efficiency, smart energy management and renewable energy use in public infrastructure, including in public buildings, and in the housing sector. Priority Axis 7 – 'Shifting towards a more low-carbon transport sector' Investment Priority (IP) 7c - Developing and improving environmentally-friendly (including low noise) and low-carbon transport systems, including inland waterways and maritime transport, ports, multimodal links and airport infrastructure, in order to promote sustainable regional and local mobility. Priority Axis 10 – 'Investing in a more environmentally-friendly society' Investment Priority (IP) 6i - Investing in the waste sector to meet the requirements of the Union's environmental acquis and to address needs, identified by the Member States, for investment that goes beyond those requirements. Investment Priority (IP) 6ii - Investing in the water sector to meet the requirements of the Union's environmental acquis and to address needs, identified by the Member States, for investment that goes beyond those requirements. Priority Axis 11 – 'Investing in Ten-T infrastructure' Investment Priority (IP) 7i - Supporting a multimodal Single European Transport Area by investing in the TEN-T. Note: Only investments submitted by Public Administration and targeting the maritime transport infrastructure will be considered for the purpose of this call. The online application form for the submission of project proposals is available on http://eufunds.gov.mt/opencalls (PPCD section). Supporting documentation including the eligibility guidance notes, the detailed guidance notes and indicators guidance notes relating to this announcement are also available on http://eufunds.gov.mt/opencalls (PPCD section). Prospective applicants are encouraged to refer to Operational Programme I available on the above link and the eligibility guidance notes in order to check whether their proposals are eligible for funding through this call for funding proposals. Information sessions are being organised for prospective applicants. Applicants are invited to enrol by filling in a registration form (available on http://eufunds.gov.mt/opencalls - PPCD section) by Monday 10 th October 2016 at noon. The dates and subjects are as follows: Friday 14 th October 2016 (General Overview); Monday 24 th October/Tuesday 25 th October/Wednesday 26 th October/Thursday 27 th October/Friday 28 th October 2016 (How to Apply Online - Workshop); Friday 4 th November 2016 (FA/FFS/CBAs for Applicants); Friday 11 th November 2016 (How to Plan a Project Proposal) Additional sessions may be organised depending on the requests received. Further information and generic queries on this call and on the European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020 may be obtained from http://eufunds.gov.mt or from PPCD's email for calls for proposals 2014-2020: info.eufunds@gov.mt Operational Programme I - European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020 Fostering a competitive and sustainable economy to meet our challenges Advert part financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Co-financing rate: 80% EU Funds; 20% National Funds Mr Justice Zammit McKeon is perfectly right: this is utterly unacceptable in a democratic society. But this only raises the question of why we continue to accept it.