I refer to the letter entitled Gozo losing further ground by Frank J. Psaila (TMID, 23 February), to say that I cannot but fully agree with the writer. I cannot argue with it, not even with a single comma. So much so that I, as a Gozitan like himself, strongly support his plea for the EU’s urgent support if it really means what it says it believes in, namely the “principles of solidarity with backward regions and of harmonious development.”

I urge my fellow citizens who truly have Gozo’s and their own families’ interest at heart to join by making their voices heard, first by deploring the government for failing to honour its declared commitments as stated in its declaration regarding Gozo, which was attached to the Final Agreement of Malta’s EU membership.

Secondly, to bring the same government to its senses and make it realise that Gozo is falling behind, contrary to what the same government used to promise before accession. Thirdly to show all politicians, whatever their political creed or colour, that the time of having them crossing over to Gozo to pull our legs each time an election is approaching is over. We should show them that we are not going to permit any one of them to again relegate us to second class citizens as we were compelled to experience in the 1970s and 1980s.

Let us show them that from now on we mean business. That is we won’t give anything for nothing. We expect to have as much as our fellow citizens living in Malta are being given. We won’t accept less. For example it is our right to pretend to have a direct voice in the European Parliament through an MEP elected from Gozo, being an island region. We should boycott the coming EU elections if we are not guaranteed to have the future sixth seat assigned to Gozo. From now on it is we who should set our own agenda, our priorities and our needs and not let others from Malta House in Brussels or from anywhere in Malta setting them for us.

So let us wake up, come forward and be counted. Let us stick together, fight together for our rights. Otherwise we will keep falling backwards and backwards as Mr Psaila has clearly shown.

This is the time to strike back.

Frank Said

Victoria