The report of a judicial protest filed by Palazzo Paulina Holdings Ltd and Real Finanz AG against Din l-Art Helwa and its president Martin Galea personally made amazing reading (TMIS, 12 November). It is not the first time that a commercial enterprise attacks an NGO in this way but never before has it been likely to be so completely counter productive.
The reaction of thousands of readers must have been to look up the “offending” petition made by Din l-Art Helwa on its website www.dinlarthelwa.org . Many more must have found it worth signing. It is not incorrect in any perceptible way.
The threat of damages made against the president of the country’s highly respected NGO is simply scandalous. NGOs, Din L-Art Helwa foremost among them, provide a public service and should be honoured for it, not threatened with non-existent damages. It is as absurd for the complainants to claim damages as it would be for Din L-Art Helwa to claim a share of profits made from the Ta’ Cenc Hotel once it is established that its ebbing fortunes were restored following the creation of a national park on its doorstep.
It is equally fantastic for the Ta’ Cenc owners to claim that the public has no right of access to the land. Many thousands of Maltese and Gozitan citizens can confirm that they have had free access to the area since time immemorial and no mere statement in a judicial letter is going to change that.
The threat of damages made by developers to site neighbours has been an effective way of suppressing their rights. In far too many cases the victims of development have taken legal advice only to be told that seeking an injunction to prevent a development could expose them to considerable damages. The result is that they are made to suffer the injuries and the insults of the arrogant for many months. Not many people would risk losing their home as a result of their attempt to enjoy peace and quiet. In effect, the third party rights mentioned in the issue of every development permit are virtually non-existent.
It is this sort of bullying by the arrogant and powerful our legal system has put up with for far too long. It has created a class of people who assume they have absolute rights and become self-righteous about them when they think they have been violated. Din l-Art Helwa and any number of people who signed its petition had every right to do so and to address it to Parliament or the Prime Minister as they choose. The proper response would have been for the developer to write and make his case to the person or institution originally addressed in the petition. Threatening to sue for damages is just bad PR, the knee-jerk of people who have grown accustomed to walkovers in their contests with site neighbours.
All this furore and self-inflicted harm could be avoided if government did the obvious and created a legal regime safeguarding not only the cliff edge of Ta’ Cenc but the whole area extending to the opposite side of the valley bordering Xewkija. The longer the government takes to get off its hands on the matter, the longer it will take for anybody to take seriously its boasts about championing the environment.
Dr Vassallo is chairperson of Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party
www.alternattiva.org.mt www.adgozo.com