Allow me to reply to the letter entitled Biased Torpiano by correspondent Francis Galea (TMID, 17 August) in which article this ‘author’ denied that, as I had alleged in my letter The indomitable Dom Mintoff (TMID, 16 August) in his (Galea’s) book entitled Mexxejja hassieba u deputati Laburisti 1920-2000, he had attempted to censor political information by never mentioning the fact, now known to one and all, that on Tuesday 9 June 1998, Dr Alfred Sant had repeatedly called Dom Mintoff a “traitor” during a Birgu (Vittoriosa) press conference/mass meeting.

Quoting verbatim, this

correspondent/author had this to say about this disgraceful obscenity: Nhar it-Tnejn 8 ta’ Gunju 1988 il-perit Mintoff rega’ vvota kontra l-gvern dwar il-progett ta’ Kottonera, biex b’hekk Dr Sant, waqt konferenza/mass meeting li ghamel l-ghada (it-Tlieta 9 Gunju 1998) fix-xatt tal-Birgu talab li, jew jinghazel mexxej gdid minn fost id-deputati Laburisti, jew inkella jirrizenja Duminku Mintoff minn deputat fil-Parlament Malti. Nowhere was the “traitor” episode ever mentioned.

I distinctly recollected that, when the book Mexxejja Hassieba u Deputati Laburisti 1920-2000 was launched the “author” began to boast that this was a work which meant ‘years of historical research’. This could be taken to mean that ‘throughout all these years of historical research’

the correspondent did not have anything better to do, or else, it could be taken to mean that this “author” did not remember to list the infamous “traitor” episode.

Therefore, one possibility was that research carried out by the “author” was rather amateurish, or else, this supposed historian was much more interested in suppressing facts/information which he deemed to be harmful to the present Malta Labour Party leadership set up.

Edward Torpiano

Floriana