Dr Borg was referring to Dr Gulia’s statement issued on World Day Against Drugs. Dr Borg rebutted claims by Dr Gulia that he (Dr Borg) wanted to push forward reform of drugs laws on his own.

Through a statement issued by the Department of Information, Dr Borg said that contrary to Dr Gulia’s claims, he had written in il-Mument that he is waiting for reports compiled by various non-governmental organisations, which will be discussed.

He said this proved that the government was not avoiding discussing the issue or ignoring the Opposition.

The DOI statement said the government was satisfied to see cracks in the Opposition’s intransigent attitude towards any change in laws. The DOI noted it was the Malta Labour Party that twice voted against proposals to change the law so people caught with small amounts of drugs for personal use would not be jailed. Dr Borg said an MLP government voted against another proposal to amend the law in 1998.

The DOI said it was Dr Gulia himself who voted against a PN government proposal to remove the six-month minimum jail term for anyone caught importing small amounts of drugs for personal use.

Dr Borg said it was definitely not going to be a PN government that would stop reforms in favour of drug abuse victims. He said that once the NGOs (nominated by the President, not the government) had returned their proposals, they would be discussed at Social Affairs Committee level.

Dr Borg urged the MLP to change its stance to ensure that the amendments pass with as wide a consensus as possible.