A counter protest has been filed in court this morning in the case of a plot of land in Gudja, where the original protestor, farmer Dennis Catania, has claimed that a number of societies, the Lands Department, a priest and other are attempting to prevent him from working the land in question.
The counter protest, filed by the La Stella Philharmonic Society, the Gudja Maria Assunta 1919 Muscial Group, Chaplain Martin Cardona and Shadow Minister for Lands Jason Azzopardi, against Charles Catania on a special mandate, in view of the fact that his son, Dennis Catania is currently absent from Malta.
The group is claiming that Mr Catania listed a number of “inaccuracies” for the basis of his protest.
Dennis Catania is a full-time partner who worked the field for many years. When the landowner passed away, the La Stella Philharmonic Society inherited the four tumoli, and particular assets were left to others.
Mr Catania claims that after the landowner died, illegal and abusive attempts to transfer the emphyteusis to the Philharmonic Society were made. The protest also states that attempts were made to transfer the field to the local priest by encroachment, behind the priest's back.
It continued to read that the Lands Department also issued a call for tenders to work the field, and that this was won by Mr Catania. Despite winning the tender, the protest read, he claims attempts were made for him not to be considered and he went to the Ombudsman.
In the counter protest, it was said that Mr Dennis Catania is not in fact a full-time worker of the land, but he is actually employed full-time as an electrician with the Mediterranean Conference Centre.
It was also said that it is false to say that Mr Catania has been working the land till today, as he has been away from Malta since January 2016.
In addition to this, the counter protest took issue with the premise that when the Gabriel Farrugia, the man renting the land from the government, died without children, he could have passed on the rental ownership to who he pleases. The law stipulates that when a person renting land from the government dies with no children, ownership is transferred back to the government.
Issue was also taken with the assertion that the groups who filed the counter-protest had employed abuse and illegal practices in order to stop the rental agreement between the government and Mr Catania.
Dr Azzopardi objected to being included as the list of defendants in the original protest signed by Mr Catania, where he stated that this amounts to undue pressure in the course of his duties as an MP.
The counter-protest concluded by requesting Mr Catania to stop making false claims, based on inaccuracies. It also requested for Mr Catania to be held personally responsible for the damages caused as a result of the false claims.