As long as Byron Camilleri remains Home Affairs Minister, then he will continue to be a symbol of national insecurity, Nationalist Party MP and Spokesperson for Home Affairs Darren Carabott told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

Carabott said that following the "severe breach of national security", when more than 200kg of cannabis resin was stolen last month from a compound under the responsibility of the Armed Forces of Malta, "people expected three fundamental things from their government: accountability, restoring public trust and ensuring national security". He said that the Labour Party in government has failed on all three counts.

The theft of the drugs occurred two Sundays ago and, since then, six persons have been arraigned in connection with the heist. But no political accountability has been shouldered. The government has suspended the AFM commander, Brigadier Clinton O'Neill, but the minister has stayed on. Hours after the theft occurred, Camilleri offered his resignation, which was refused by Prime Minister Robert Abela.

Calls for the minister to quit have come from different quarters, spearheaded by the Nationalist Party. The government retaliated with a Cabinet endorsement of the Prime Minister's decision to keep Camilleri, a move which was followed by the PN's decision to hold a protest march in Valletta today.

The Opposition's objective is to demand serious action from the government, Carabott said, "not just for the sake of political accountability, but also out of respect for the men and women in uniform who serve our country with dedication and sacrifice". He added that these men and women deserve a minister who does not carry the baggage of repeated failures and whose actions do not tarnish the reputation of the disciplined forces.

Minister Byron Camilleri (left) offered to resign following the drugs heist, a resignation that was refused by Prime Minister Robert Abela. AFM Commander Clinton O'Neill (right) was suspended by the same Camilleri following the robbery, and remains suspended.

"The current Labour government does not understand this," Carabott commented, "and that is why we are calling on all Maltese citizens to stand up and make their voices heard."

It is not the first time that Camilleri has been in the limelight for the wrong reasons. There were calls for his resignation only a few weeks ago when a report by the Ombudsman on the operations at Malta's only prison a few years back found "systemic maladministration", endemic dysfunctionality in management and degrading treatment of inmates. On 3 February, just three weeks before the heist took place, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech presented a motion of no confidence in the minister after the Speaker rejected a PN request to immediately discuss the damning Ombudsman report in Parliament.

A day after the robbery from the AFM compound, the Opposition again asked for the matter to be urgently debated in Parliament, a request that was again turned down by the Speaker, Anglu Farrugia.

In the summer of last year, calls for Camilleri's resignation were also made following the exposure of an ID cards' racket, with thousands of false identity cards allegedly issued to foreigners. The agency responsible for ID cards, Identità, falls under Camilleri's remit.

"This is not about partisan politics," Carabott continued. "This is about defending the integrity of our institutions and ensuring the safety of our nation. It is a call to action, and we urge everyone who cares about justice, security and accountability to join us (in today's protest)."

Carabott said that governing is about protecting the country and its people, not about protecting friends.

On the Prime Minister's rejection of Camilleri's offer to resign, Carabott said that the theft of over 200kg of drugs from a secure AFM facility is a severe breach of national security and added that it raises serious concerns about the defence of the country. He said that this incident "follows a string of other serious failures under Byron Camilleri's tenure", and he further remarked that Camilleri has repeatedly refused to take responsibility for such failures.

Apart from the prison's report and the ID cards' racket, those failures include the escape of two Moroccan nationals from an airplane which had made an emergency landing in January, with the two individuals remaining unaccounted for to this day, Carabott said. One also has to keep in mind "the inaction of the Police Commissioner on major corruption scandals, including the Vitals, Pilatus, Electrogas and 17 Black cases".

"Minister Camilleri has yet to shoulder responsibility for any of these serious failures," the PN MP said. He added that the 200kg drug theft should have been the final straw, and yet Camilleri's offer to resign "appears to have been nothing more than political theatre". Carabott said that Camilleri knew full well that the Prime Minister would refuse the resignation.

Carabott said that Prime Minister Abela's decision to reject Camilleri's resignation is "deeply concerning". The PN MP said that such a decision signals not only a reluctance to hold senior officials accountable, "but also a desperate attempt to protect his closest political allies, even at the cost of public trust and national security".

"The reality is that Robert Abela cannot afford to lose more of his inner circle, as one by one, his ministers face public scrutiny and calls for resignation. But governing is not about protecting friends - it's about protecting the country," Carabott stated.

He was also asked about his thoughts concerning what took place during the parliamentary sessions following the 200kg drug theft.

Carabott replied that anyone who understands the gravity of the situation also knows that a theft of this scale from a military facility, "one that even prompted the minister to offer his resignation", deserves a full debate in Parliament. He then questioned what Parliament is for if it cannot be utilised to discuss a major breach of national security.

He continued that the Opposition called for an urgent debate on the matter, but the government "used every possible tactic to block it". He added that the government instead wanted the Prime Minister to deliver a one-sided ministerial statement, which he described as "a clear attempt at silencing the Opposition in Parliament".

The PN MP said that he will leave it to the people to judge the government's motives, but that the reasons are clear to him, which is that the government "did not want to face the music and hear the truth coming from the Opposition".

Carabott concluded that "adding to this shocking lack of accountability", Minister Camilleri, "who is politically responsible for the incident", was not present in Parliament the day following the theft. Carabott added that Camilleri has remained silent on the matter in Parliament to this day, and commented that "a minister who does not have the courage to address such a serious issue in Parliament does not deserve to hold office".