I have been following the controversial withdrawal of candidates by the Nationalist Party from Marsa and Zejtun. I do not want to go into the issue or what was behind the decision and whether it was correct or not to do so. However, for the Labour Party and its followers to continue harping on about the lack of democracy showed by the PN for having taken this action is beyond belief.

The elections of 1981 and 1987 carried out under a Labour administration, where was democracy then? I refer, particularly, to those two towns which witnessed some of the worst violence that this country has ever seen.

In Zejtun, especially, the Labour Party thugs were beating up all known and unknown Nationalists to their hearts’ content while these were on their way to vote. Why don’t we ask Dr Joe Psaila Savona, his wife, the Spiru Camilleris, the Pawlu Abdillas, the Mario Galeas, among other Zejtun people? Mrs Psaila Savona’ s house was surrounded with Labour thugs – some were also on the roof of her house – threatening to get in, for most of the day.

I, personally, know what I am talking about. All this happened before the police who not only did not assist the democratic process but actually were on the side of these criminals as happened so many, many times during Labour’s years of terror.

One story I never told anyone happened a few days after the election of 1987. A particularly staunch, known, Nationalist from Zejtun came to speak to me – he wanted to confide in me the fact that he did not vote because he was terrified of doing so, in spite of having attempted several times. I have never mentioned this to anyone since this person had a broken heart and trusted me and only me with his secret. How many were those whose votes were actually taken away from them violently and, on occasion, even from within the polling room itself?

Eventually, after the 1987 election, a few people were taken to court. A lot of these stories are documented but a lot more are not. This is what we all should recall and what might happen again under a Labour government. What else do voters need to shun Labour, old, new or futuristic? What cheek do these people have to talk about democracy with their recent history!

Charles Demicoli

Iklin