The topic of political discrimination recently came up in the political debate going on in our country. Some politicians tend to deny that political intimidation exists in our country today. I tend to disagree. Indeed, I would even go as far as saying that, in the year of the Lord 2007, there not only still exists general political discrimination against some categories of citizens in our country, but there is also blatant political intimidation against a chosen few. Let me elaborate.

First of all, a general observation. There are certain categories of workers in the civil service, the university and in parastatal bodies who cannot contest elections because of their grade. I believe it is high time that these obsolete prohibitions be revised and eliminated because they are not worthy of a State that professes full respect of the basic democratic rights of citizens.

Turning to political intimidation, generally speaking there is an unofficial blacklist in our country, as people of proven capability in their respective fields are never entrusted with positions of responsibility by the government because of their political beliefs, which do not coincide with those of the government of the day. I strongly believe that the exclusion of such people, in such a small country as ours with limited human resources, is detrimental to the progress of our people.

Let us now have a look at concrete cases of political intimidation. Every six months or so, thousands of Maltese and Gozitans are subjected to the humiliation of being treated like dirt by the major political parties, which resort to the Law Courts in order to deprive these Maltese citizens of their right to vote.

I myself have been subjected to this “special” treatment, in my case at the hands of the MLP, and therefore have had the privilege of observing at close range the arrogant behaviour of the strutting politico-advocates representing their party in the systematic attempt to annihilate the democratic rights of citizens.

This bare-faced maltreatment of Maltese citizens goes on to this very day so, until the idiotic apparatchiks continue with their intimidation, I shall certainly be doing my best to foment a collective mass rebellion against this systematic political harassment of citizens, who are just asking to exercise their fundamental democratic right to vote.

The above is an example of collective political intimidation. Let me now elaborate with three examples of directly targeted individuals because of their AD affinities.

Case one: John Mary Mizzi, an AD candidate (eventually elected councillor) for the Sannat local council, is roaming around in the area of Nadur, Gozo. Illegal work and dumping of building waste had been going on in the area and MEPA was finally implementing an enforcement order. John starts taking photographs of the illegality going on. What happens? A MEPA officer stops him, asks him for identification and asks that the negatives of the photos be given to him!

Why, may I ask? This is not the former USSR. This is Gozo in 2006. Were the truck drivers illegally depositing waste in a pristine area ever booked? Of course not. Instead, the MEPA official books the AD sympathiser who is documenting illegalities. John Mizzi is then arraigned in court and charged by the State. Great. In normal countries the State is there to protect the honest citizen against illegality; instead, it works the other way round here: the honest citizen is intimidated by the State. Well done, State of Malta.

Second case: Carmel Cacopardo is a well known personality, the former Asst Secretary General of the PN Council and now an expert in environmental issues, with important publications on the subject to his credit. Well, Carmelo Cacopardo was working for MEPA, a sort of “green ombudsman” in the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. He exercised his functions without fear or favour, condemning MEPA whenever he reckoned that it went against the law.

What was his retribution for doing his work in an honest way? Basically, he was fired by the MEPA chairman who, in his list of reasons for sacking him, mentioned the fact that Cacopardo had chaired a public meeting on the environment organized by Alternattiva Demokratika. In reality, the decision to terminate Cacopardo’s contract with MEPA had been taken months before the AD meeting, but the MEPA chairman chose to use it as a motive months later. What a cheek.

Of course, the MEPA chairman has not had the guts to kick out all those officials who have taken part in political party activities. How could he go against such mighty political parties as the PN and the MLP? But with AD, it’s no problem: the valiant MEPA chairman kicked Cacopardo out and conveniently used as an excuse an AD activity, which had taken place months after the decision to terminate the contract was taken. If this is not political intimidation, tell me what is.

Third and final example of individual political intimidation against people with some connection to AD. It is the year 2004, during the election campaign for the European Parliament. As the days go by, the opinion polls register a constant growth for my candidature as AD representative. What happens then? A mud-slinging public campaign against AD and me is concocted by the brilliant strategists at Pietà. But I am a public figure, with some experience of life, and I know how to react.

So the attack is turned to private individuals. What happens? A highly placed PN politician phones a person who is canvassing for me in the election. The high-ranking PN politician intimidates this person by saying: “Ma tisthix (aren’t you ashamed), you’re working for Cassola.”

This is a typical example of abuse of power by a high-ranking politician on the government side, and it is just one example of what I know. How many other Maltese and Gozitans have suffered political intimidation in the course of their lives? Do you want this type of politics to continue to prevail in our country?

With Alternattiva Demokratika elected to Parliament you can certainly rest assured that we would give our strong contribution for the eradication of these malpractices in Maltese politics.

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Arnold Cassola, former Secretary General of the European Green Party, is a Maltese Green MP in the Italian Parliament, elected in the European constituency in Prime Minister Romano Prodi’s list.