As much as we embrace and fight for the right of citizens of this democratic country to unfettered freedom of speech, and as much as we will defend that freedom of speech even if we do not agree with what is being said, there are times when this basic human right is questioned.

And that seems to happen every time that ex-trade union boss, the larger than life persona that is Tony Zarb, launches one of his social media tirades. 

Over the last six months the former union boss and former consultant to the Office of the Prime Minister has labelled anyone who speaks out against the way in which the current government is running the country as ‘traitors’, or even ‘prostitutes’. Such attacks appear to come in regular intervals. 

Last June Zarb led a cyber lynch mob that took to the internet in their droves after a European Parliament debate on Malta’s rule of laws to slam anyone who had the audacity to have, in his blinkered view, criticised Malta. 

Amongst the various internet elves and trolls at the time, perhaps the largest troll of them all was Zarb, who actually incited not only hate speech but what very clearly verged on violence toward the Maltese MEPs who had the perceived audacity to have spoken out.

He even declared the PANA Committee chairman a persona non grata because he took the Prime Minister to task over the government’s complete inaction in the face of everything that has been revealed since the outbreak of the Panama Papers.  Nor was the Archbishop spared Zarb’s wrath at the time. Facebook had suspended his account for ‘promoting graphic violence’.

In October he once again took to the social media to label the women protesting outside the Prime Minister’s office as traitors and likened them to prostitutes.  The all-female group, Occupy Justice, took such action after the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia to demand an end to impunity and constitutional reform. 

At the time Zarb said that the women should not have gone to Castille but should have instead camped on Strait Street, with all the connotations that carries. Zarb then went on to label the women camped outside Castille as traitors, adding that he was sure ‘they will find someone to warm them up if they feel cold’.

Now Zarb has taken umbrage at none other than the BBC, whose flagship Newsnight programme this week interviewed the Prime Minister and some of his critics about Caruana Galizia’s assassination. 

And once again, he deemed anyone who had the temerity to have spoken against the current government as ‘traitors’. These would include Opposition MP Jason Azzopardi, MEP Roberta Metsola, blogger Manuel Delia and former police inspector and former Financial Intelligence and Analysis Unit investigator Jonathan Ferris.

The labelling of such people as ‘traitors’ is downright despicable in the wake of Caruana Galizia’s assassination considering the fact that those who commissioned the murder are still unknown and at large, and when a motive has not yet been identified.

Zarb ended his latest tirade by telling the BBC to keep its ‘hands of (sic) Malta.  We are sure the BBC will be taking Zarb’s advice.

Tony Zarb, to borrow your own catchphrase from days gone by: issa daqshekk. There are no traitors here, only people who disagree with your political masters’ ways and means.  Do yourself and everyone else a favour and please stay in retirement.