Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/809226
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 9 APRIL 2017 26 Letters Malta is still in "serious engagement" with the United States over an elusive double-taxation agreement and entry into the Visa Waiver Program, after foreign minister Michael Frendo and his US counterpart Condoleeza Rice signed a shipboarding treaty that gives the Americans the right to board, search and arrest people on Malta-registered ships suspected of trafficking weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The Maltese government may have shown a strong resolve in resisting US demands for a carte blanche that would have allowed the Americans to board vessels without the Maltese government's consent. But it was this political horse trading that may have contributed to the US's procrastination on the double tax agree- ment, for which Frendo ensured that the US first gets permission from the Maltese government to board Malta-flagged ves- sels suspected to be carrying WMDs in international waters. In comments to MaltaToday, Michael Frendo said he brought up both issues with secretary of state Rice in their last encounter in March, when signing the shipboarding deal. "I explained the importance of these issues, and we are seeing movements on both fronts. We're very much engaged with the US govern- ment on the two issues," Frendo said. A finance delegation and foreign minis- try personnel are now in the US to pursue discussions on the two crucial issues for Malta, Frendo said. The shipboarding agreement is part of the Proliferation Security Initiative, an extension of the war on terror that seeks to combat the proliferation of WMDs. As the eighth largest ship register in the world, with over 1,200 vessels, the US has been keen to get Malta on board the agreement. The US has signed agreements with Liberia, Panama, the Marshall Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Belize and the Bahamas. Asked whether the Maltese had been forthcoming enough to expect a faster resolution on the visa and tax deals, Fren- do said the signing of the shipboarding deal had been made within the context of both issues. "We have a developing relationship with the US government. America has agreed to take in 200 refugees and other humanitarian cases, and has expressed its willingness to resettle more refugees should we enter a crisis. We'll keep push- ing for a resolution within the shortest time possible." One of the requirements Malta has yet to fulfil for its entry into the list of countries whose nationals don't need a visa for stays in the US of 90 days or less, are biometric passports. The passport should have a microchip on which will be encoded the holder's identity photograph and two fingerprints will also be recorded on the passport. The Maltese government has signalled to the European Commission it intends introducing the passports later on this year. News – 8 April, 2007 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. Malta chasing US tax deal after coming on board WMD treaty Stooges for PN propaganda Sale of BOV equity in MIDI Teach history before religion I do not know much about mat- ters at the Times of Malta today, and can only comment on what I see happening from the paper's reportage. From most of the reports which Mr Ivan Camill- eri submits to the paper, which the ToM carries so diligently, it appears to me that Mr Camilleri is not a reporter who is under the control of the paper's editor, except legalistically in relation to legal points in his writing. Mr Camilleri seems to be a man with one mission: to dig into any information relating to the La- bour government, and present it in his reports as best as he can, to make it as unpalatable as possible about the government. I guess it is also a right to be one-sided, though the one- sidedness is carried by a paper that flaunts the reputation for fair reporting that it once had, which it buried long ago. The ToM has in several in- stances quite validly sought to cast doubt about government in- tentions, but has it questioned the Opposition leader's judgement in the extraordinary situation he created for himself and his party about party financing? Does the db Group debacle leave Simon Busuttil fit for purpose? Does it compromise his credibility? What is the ToM's position about the highly dubious cedoli scheme, and about Beppe Fenech Adami's situation? I do not know that the ToM has ever pronounced itself on these serious PN issues, though it comments on govern- ment issues with abandon. I do not mind Mr Camilleri's one-sided reporting as much as the ToM's obvious slant, while purporting to be a pillar of fair- mindedness. The ToM has ques- tioned some of the government's property deals, which it has every right to do, but is it serious at the same time to ignore, for instance, the Fekruna and Lowenbrau deals, which were as significant, if not more serious? I remember an occasion, when I was senior deputy editor there (I retired from the paper in 2004), and we were treated to a morning do at the late Guido de Marco's residence at Mile End. I am writ- ing from memory, and do not remember the date, or if it was a lunch. I remember that those present, apart from myself, included – if I can recall properly from memory – the late Anthony Montanaro and Laurence Grech, and other editors of the Times and the Sunday Times. In the course of our discussion, Dr de Marco in- formed us he thought it would be an asset for the Times to have Dr Joe Cassar on its staff. I believe Dr Cassar was at the time either Malta's Ambassador to the US, or Malta's permanent representative at the UN. No one, including myself, made any remark, and Dr de Marco extolled Dr Cassar's qualities. When we returned to our of- fices, I got to thinking of the situ- ation, and the more I ruminated, the more I disliked the idea. Never one to let grass grow under my feet, I penned a note to Dr de Marco, copying it to the edi- tors of the ToM, the SToM, and others, I think including the com- pany management, to express my disagreement with Dr de Marco's idea. I said explicitly I would not like to have to work and look back over my shoulder at someone who was Guido de Marco's ear. I don't remember what else I wrote, apart from pointing out that Dr Cassar was a well-known PN figure and his presence at the Times would undoubtedly harm the paper. Others, maybe, also expressed themselves against the idea, or for it, though I am sure no one did as bluntly as I – I am afraid I never cared for niceties. But I never heard of anyone else who had expressed an opinion, for or against. Dr de Marco never acknowl- edged my note. Dr Cassar was not employed by the ToM. I do not know why that was, perhaps he did not want to be. Perhaps he was never approached about it. Today it is not a Cassar at the ToM, but a Camilleri. Outlooks have obviously changed. So have the people into whose control Mabel Strickland's life's work fell. She left that to untrustworthy hands, having fallen in her frail old age for the blandishments of a silky tongue and political cajoleries, and then driven into a tight corner by a powerful bully whom she feared wanted to con- trol her beloved newspapers. To circumvent the bully, she created the papers' owner, the Strickland Foundation, which today is in such disrepute. The feeble PN uses the English- language dailies in Malta to un- remittingly firing salvos of often vitriolic invective against the La- bour government. The PN always bleats about democracy, did you ever hear it thump its tubercular chest for a level playing field, or against unfair dealings? Power does corrupt, and so do envy and unfettered ambition. Roger Mifsud, Rabat I refer to you're the report 'BOV's off-market sale of MIDI shares tagged at nominal 0.01c per share' which featured on www. maltatoday.com, Wednesday 5 April 2017. The transaction was for a sub- stantial shareholding in another listed company and the price at which the deal was struck was negotiated at arm's length be- tween the buyer and the Bank. The Bank would like to high- light that both transaction and price are in line with the applica- ble regulation and market prac- tice for such off-market deals. The transaction was executed via the Bank's own stockbroking desk. You will certainly appreciate that the negotiations between the parties including the price received by the bank is confiden- tial information. The sale reflects Bank of Valletta's strategy to reduce its exposure to non-core assets. Charles Azzopardi Head PR & Marketing Bank of Valletta Before children are indoctrinat- ed with more religion at school, they should be taught about the crimes and atrocities commit- ted in the name of God and religion. At the end of a three- year course, they can decide for themselves whether they want to belong to any of the so-called "monotheistic" religions. The course would start with a survey of the endless con- troversies in which the early Christians were involved. They squabbled over Arianism, Do- natism, Ebionism, Gnosticism, Montanism, Marcionism, Sabel- lianism, Priscillianism, Mono- thelitism and other tongue- twisting "isms". Fanaticism was so rampant among early Christians that they massacred each other over mere words and phrases in their own creed. In the second year, students will be taught the bloody his- tory of the Christian crusades against Islam as well as the sad history of the persecution of the Jews by Christians. In this segment, students will also learn about the horrific tortures sanctioned by the "holy" Inqui- sition, including the burning alive of thousands of "heretics" and "witches". In the third year, students will be introduced to the Reforma- tion and the Thirty Years War. They will learn about the cruel- ties of faith, and why men began to doubt creeds that preached Christ and practiced wholesale fratricide. They will also be taught about the crimes and atrocities com- mitted in the name of Allah. Students won't need any text- books. All they have to do is to read the daily newspapers. The course would conclude with two lectures entitled "Reli- gion kills" and "Religion poisons everything". John Guillaumier St Julian's