While the Opposition yesterday accused the government that failures in the area of home affairs have continued to build with matters becoming ever more serious, the government rebutted that the Opposition is once again continuing with its campaign of “inaccurate allegations and distorted facts”.
Addressing a press conference yesterday morning, Opposition home affairs spokesperson Michael Falzon said that the delay in addressing certain issues for which Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici is responsible as minister and as Leader of the House was causing problems with the administration of the country.
But despite his denial, the same minister is keeping two motions on reforms in the areas of justice and home affairs from being moved for discussion in Parliament, Dr Falzon charged.
Cases of mismanagement in Home and Parliamentary Affairs crop up continuously and matters reach a state of crisis every three days, but the minister’s state of denial continues unabated, Opposition Home Affairs spokesperson Michael Falzon said yesterday.
Dr Falzon said the Corradino prison’s administration had also been given a poor report card by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) but rather than taking action to address the situation, nothing had been done. Over the past days, two new cases of drug and medicine trafficking in prison came to light but controls have not been increased. The dogs’ section, which had been present at the facility and helped in the fight against drug trafficking, no longer exists.
A similar situation exists in Paceville, where violence is on the increase. Despite calls from the Labour Party, residents and a number of NGOs, no tangible action was taken. As a result, another person died in the past days as a result of violence.
Police presence has not increased and is proving to be ineffective, especially with regard to a new scenario of violence based on all forms of discrimination.
Dr Falzon also referred to the police corps where some officers face disciplinary procedures for small matters while others are allowed to do whatever they liked.
A recent case that came to light continued to negatively affect the credibility of the corps. A police sergeant stationed at police head quarters is being charged with stealing €30,000, which the police had seized. The same policeman had been given a medal for saving a person, which case turned out to be false and the medal was withdrawn.
The same person was also involved in the case of Nicholas Azzopardi, who died while he was in police custody. The police corps has asked for the inquiry on the case to be re-opened, as a result of accusations against the policeman, but Minister Mifsud Bonnici had been against that, Dr Falzon said.
Another negative on the minister’s record, according to his opposition counterpart, is the number of pending inquiries. One of these concerns a prisoner’s death, but things only started moving after the man’s family members and the media had exerted pressure. Despite this, the police still refuses to re-launch investigations on the case.
The fact that Home and Parliamentary Affairs are in a precarious situation, and no important votes have been taken in Parliament over the past three months, shows the minister is not recognising the problems and going about things as if nothing is happening.
Crises in all sections of home affairs have become the norm.
In a statement rebutting the allegations, the Home and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry said the Labour Party has actually started to believe the things it has been repeating.
It denied that the minister is holding any motion from being discussed. It stated that parliamentary work is based on national interest and at the moment, necessary measures and amendments, as a result of the international financial crisis, are the priority. Estimates Measures are linked to this and also need to be approved by Parliament and the discussion on them has started.
Meanwhile, the ministry noted that the PL is incorrectly saying that the CCF was given a negative certificate. Dr Falzon quoted the OSCE as saying that the Courts of Justice do not grant bail to a number of people. The ministry emphasized that neither does the director of prison services nor do any officials working there have any constitutional power to release people. According to EU laws, only the Courts of Justice have such power.
The duty of people managing the facility is to follow the orders the courts give. This, the ministry said, is happening.
Moreover, the five pending inquiries are being carried out by the courts and not by the ministry or the CCF. This is another wrong impression the Opposition is trying to give, the ministry said.
It also pointed out that the prison is tasked with keeping drugs out of the facility. The measures in place are continuous and as a result of these, in the trafficking cases mentioned, the drugs did not reach the inmates. Consequently, this is a positive certificate rather than a negative one.
The ministry added that the Opposition is not happy with advancements as a result of the Reparative Justice Act, and instead of working to sustain this work, is making an effort to hinder it.
With regard to comments about the police, the ministry said these were shameful and made prior to serious reflection.
In Paceville, police presence is strong and a number of measures have been taken to increase controls. It added the Opposition should note that sentences for racially motivated, xenophobic or homophobic crimes have increased considerably.
In the Nicholas Azzopardi case, police credibility has increased rather than decreased because all possible measures had been taken. Meanwhile, at no moment did the minister express himself against the inquiry but had reminded that there already existed double scrutiny because a magisterial inquiry and another one by Judge Albert Manche had taken place. Such reports were published and open to public scrutiny.
The ministry expressed its appreciation for the work carried out by the police, which is often difficult, complicated and, at times, dangerous.