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maltatoday SUNDAY 25 MARCH 2018 26 Malta's Permanent Representative to the EU, Richard Cachia Caruana, has recon- firmed the crucial role he plays in politics, putting his personal store in the surprise decision to take Malta into the Partnership for Peace. The decision to reactivate the application to join the NATO-led initiative, frozen in 1996 by the newly-elected Labour govern- ment, was taken last Monday in the first Cabinet meeting after the election. But the issue had previously never been on the agenda of Malta's foreign policy. MaltaToday is informed plans to take Malta back into the PfP were unknown to various Cabinet ministers as well. High-level sources said the reactivation of PfP membership "was never part of former foreign minister Michael Frendo's policy agenda" – a factor confirming Cachia Caruana's newfound influence in foreign affairs now that Frendo is no longer foreign minister. MaltaToday is informed the proposal to join the PfP was advanced by Cachia Caruana in Brussels with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Tonio Borg. Government is claiming it is reactivating membership because it was being excluded from foreign policy and security talks at EU level due to its non-membership of the PfP. But although the problem is said to have "existed for years", discussions on joining the PfP never took place in the previous legislature with Michael Frendo, well- placed sources said. The move has been attributed to Richard Cachia Caruana, who is already claiming a greater say on European affairs, and which confirms the influence he has on Tonio Borg. Cachia Caruana also serves as an un- elected member of the Cabinet, shunning public appearances or media engagements. It was also noteworthy last week at the European Council meeting in Brussels, that Gonzi announced the replacement of Fo- rum Malta fl-Ewropa, a body set up in 2005 by Michael Frendo himself to integrate the Malta-EU Information Centre (MIC) and the Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC) into a single entity under the foreign ministry. The Forum, previously government's con- sultative mechanism on EU issues, will now be replaced by MEUSAC, which will fall under the Prime Minister's portfolio. It will be chaired by the parlia- mentary secretary Chris Said. But it is also true that the US government was instrumental in lobbying the Maltese government and other social partners in Malta to reactivate the frozen application to join the Partnership for Peace (PfP). It encouraged Malta to reactivate the application to join the NATO-led initiative; while tomorrow, senior representatives of the US Treasury Department will also be in Malta for two days of high-level talks that will conclude years of discussions over a crucial double taxation agreement between the two countries. Indeed, the PfP proposal itself was not mentioned in the PN's 72-page electoral programme. Suffice to say the Opposition itself was never informed of government's intention to reactivate the application in parliament or the foreign affairs com- mittee. Acting Labour leader Charles Mangion said the party was only informed of the decision, but was not asked for its opinion on the matter. Labour had already ruled out member- ship in the EU Rapid Reaction Force and NATO's Partnership for Peace in its draft vision statement on foreign affairs back in April 2007. But with a US double-taxation agreement now imminent, the new foreign policy direction of the Maltese government was last Friday instantly welcomed in Brussels by US acting Under-Secretary of State for political affairs, Daniel Fried, just a day after Malta's announcement. "These institutions make a valuable contribution to Euro-Atlantic security and dialogue. PfP has effectively strengthened relationships between states in Europe and North America, increased practical cooperation and underlined our common commitment to democratic principles," Fried said. It was previously understood that the reactivation of the PfP membership was not going to be considered – a pledge un- dertaken by former PN leader Eddie Fenech Adami back in 1998. 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. RCC pushes Malta into Partnership for Peace Opinion News – 23 March 2008 Call for a level playing field in the abortion debate Last Sunday's MaltaToday edito- rial rightly called for an end to 'instant vilification' within the raging abortion debate as a pre- requisite to hold a healthy and level-headed debate about the same issue. Whilst I fully support such a call, I observe that within the same MaltaToday issue, a re- porter took to task Paul Vincenti (who, by the way, I have never met), for his anti-abortion stunts. It said abortion was the last great civil liberties battle, effectively placing abortion in the same ket- tle of fish as other civil liberties recently granted in Malta, such as divorce and civil unions. And only last week, the newspaper also took exception to comments made by pro-life campaigner Miriam Sciberras on the TV pro- gramme Xtra that abortion was "more traumatic that rape". The mind boggles as to how one can pitch abortion on par with such civil unions, which do not entail a direct mortality, simply to rally the troops for yet another civil liberties showdown. A reporter within the same issue makes extensive refer- ence to the plight of rape victims, for whom the delivery of a foetus conceived under such tragic cir- cumstances is indeed 'traumatic'. No one contends this, but isn't abortion, to use the same yardstick, somewhat traumatic, to use an understatement, to another fellow human being who ends up paying the ultimate price? Isn't aborting the foetus conceived through rape generating yet another innocent victim, whilst doing nothing, except perhaps momentarily (by eliminating physical but not emo- tional hallmarks), to cure the scars of rape? Respectfully, I find it hypo- critical for some to mount a campaign against spring hunting (which I fully and prominently supported since I am totally against spring hunting) so as to safeguard pregnant birds along their migratory route back to Europe and then, in the same vein, to support the legal taking of a human life – no amount of sugar-coating can downplay the real implications of abortion, which are nothing short of mur- der of the defenceless. There are those who support abortion and at the end of the day find redemption in bandy- ing about their credentials as environmentalists or even as veg- etarians, reserving their compas- sionate side to farmed animals and to all species bar the human ones. Then there are those who embark on chest-thumping cam- paigns of helping stricken hu- mans in countries dogged by war and famine, whilst at the same time supporting abortion. Such inconsistency defies credulity. As for resorting to aborting a physically impaired foetus, we are embarking on a very slippery slope here. Take Iceland, which claims to have almost 'eradicat- ed' Down's Syndrome, as a result of almost all foetuses diagnosed with the Syndrome being abort- ed. Do we really wish to go down this route? Who are we to decide that individuals with Down's Syndrome don't deserve a chance at life? Why do we enact laws to prevent discrimination against all forms of disabilities when we are considering simply obliterat- ing the same beings before they even get a shot at life? Abortion is the epitome of discrimination since it discrimi- nates, to use an understatement once again, against those with absolutely no form of representa- tion except our compassion, or lack of it. No one should have the power of life and death over another fellow being – with this same precept often being deployed by those opposing, and rightly so, capital punishment. I am proud to be consistently pro-life, be it the existence of the minutest of life forms or the life of a fellow human being. Let's debate abortion, but let's do it on a level playing-field. Alan Deidun Gudja History lessons in danger again? The Learning Outcomes Frame- work in the Maltese Education system is a wonderful initiative which helped develop pro- grammes of learning that are based on knowledge, attitutes and skill-based pedagogies which today are considered to be the educational entitlement of all Maltese learners. For the past three years, togeth- er with other History educators, I have been involved in this Learn- ing Outcomes programme which is co-ordinated by the Directorate of Curriculum studies in the Education Department. I am very much looking forward to the fruition of all the effort and work, for these Learning Outcomes are finally to be implemented in schools in Year 7 next scholastic year. However, it is very important to note that these Learning Out- comes for History are based on the assumption that there are two history lessons per week in the Year 7 and Year 8 classes. Last week an Education Circular from the Directorate for Learn- ing and Assessment Programmes entitled Sport Career Develop- ment Programme (SCDP) was suddenly sent to all schools. This sport-oriented programme is aimed at students who wish to further develop their potential in a sport, and will include four weekly lessons in addition to the already provided three Physical Education lessons per week. While I am all in favour of Sports education, unfortunately the school timetable is what it is and when something goes into it, it means something else needs to come out of it! I very much hope this sudden announcement does not mean that humanities' time slots, in particular history lessons, will be the casuality. If this is the case, then the much awaited History Learning Outcomes programme will not be able to be implemented at all and history teaching will be reduced to one or very possibly much less lessons per week – a disgraceful situation in a country which is so rich in history and where history teaching is so important for our schoolchildren when it comes to learning and appreciating our cultural heritage. Prof Yosanne Vella Faculty of Education, University of Malta