TMIS Editorial: The blame game
Last Sunday, Malta woke up to the shocking footage of police officers being assaulted in Hamrun.The official statement issued by the communications office of the police force a few hours later said that two officers had been attacked after they had i
Last Sunday, Malta woke up to the shocking footage of police officers being assaulted in Hamrun.
The official statement issued by the communications office of the police force a few hours later said that two officers had been attacked after they had issued a contravention ticket to the owner of a car that was parked illegally. The statement added that at this point, a number of people had come out of a nearby outlet and began to argue with the officers. Orders for public peace to be maintained were ignored, and the officers were injured, both of them requiring treatment in hospital. Pepper spray and taser guns were used, the police added. Other police officers turned up to assist their colleagues and the situation was brought under control. In all, three persons were arrested on the site of the incident and two others were traced to their homes and also taken in for questioning by the police.
The incident was captured on video by bystanders and quickly made the rounds on social media. Everyone and their dog, then, had something to say about it. Malta is blessed with thousands of experts at the ready to pitch in with their wise contributions.
On Monday, four men and a woman were brought before a magistrate and charged with a set of offences, among them causing bodily harm, breach of public peace, attacking officers on duty and insulting and threatening public officers. All of them pleaded not guilty and were denied bail, and proceedings against them will continue in the coming weeks. It is now up to the courts to establish what has taken place and decide accordingly.
By the time the court arraignments had taken place, the blame game had already begun, and it is unfortunate to say that both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader missed an opportunity to lead by example in comments they made about the incident. We expect them to be more mature in their analysis and, although like everyone else they are entitled to an opinion, they should realise that the position they hold means that what they say carries more weight.
PM Robert Abela, in his Sunday sermon, pointed fingers at those "holding important positions" who had sowed "the seeds of disrespect" against the police commissioner and the police force. He was referring to the Nationalist Party and civil society groups like Repubblika who have repeatedly questioned the way the police, led by chief Angelo Gafa, treated and investigated - or did not investigate properly, for that matter - politically-charged situations. The PM implied that it was their fault that such an incident had taken place.
Opposition Leader Bernard Grech, then, blamed the climate of impunity that has been allowed to fester in the country, which has led to lack of respect towards authority, and the general feeling that people can do what they like because they will go unpunished. Grech inferred that it was the government's fault that such an incident had taken place.
It would have been better if both of them had refrained from making such declarations, and stick simply to just condemning the incident and expressing their solidarity with the two officers, and the police corps in general.
That both Abela and Grech almost simultaneously chose to try to score some political points from the incident is something that they should have avoided, given that what they said only served to add fuel to the raging fire and, instead of having a calming effect, added provocation.
While, as we said, both should have been more careful in their reaction, Abela's words sounded more like a warning to all those who dare criticise the police commissioner. It was as if Abela was saying that the chief of the police corps should be exempt from any criticism. This is unacceptable in our society, where freedom of expression is one of the fundamental rights.
It is not the first time that Abela has made dangerous statements. His favourite target, in this respect, has been the judiciary.
Only recently, when a magistrate was set to decide on whether prima facie evidence existed for Chris Fearne to be criminally charged in connection with the hospitals' deal, Abela chose to put pressure by saying that Fearne was still his first choice to represent Malta on the European Commission. Before that, he had indicated that judges and magistrates and influenced by what is said about them and are unable to take unbiased decisions based solely on the law.
Last Sunday, he inferred that the police commissioner should not be criticised and, worse, that this criticism had led to lack of respect towards the police force which culminated in the Hamrun incident.
This is not something that a Prime Minister of a democratic country should say.
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