Insulting all civil society Paul Abela – GRTU President

It happens only in Malta. A person who is only out of prison upon the leniency of a Court Presiding Magistrate who put him on bail albeit having to report to the Local Police Station and to be home by midnight has just been elected by acclamation as Vice President of a new association aspiring for national recognition. The people in the hall who clapped at this approval are some of Malta's richest millionaires. They are the people who made it rich, most of them in a relatively short period of time, through clever, and often not so ethical, land speculation as the country got richer as a result of the productive work of all of us.

These are the same people who only a few years ago basked under the tax amnesty awarded to them by Minister Tonio Fenech. Many in the hall that applauded benefitted from this greatest money laundering exercise of hundreds of millions of tax evaded moneys. Now they felt they have the right to insult all civil society by electing by acclamation Sandro Chetcuti, notorious land speculator, who has been thrown out from GRTU for gross and criminal misconduct.

Sandro Chetcuti is in Court not as the hall and the media and the public was falsely made to believe "on alleged beating of a man". Sandro Chetcuti is in Court because after thorough police investigation he is charged by the Public Prosecutor of the attempted murder of a public figure, the Director General of GRTU Malta Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises. Anywhere else in the civilised world a man who is under such a grave criminal charge vanishes from the public eye as he is effectively a walking dead man. But not in Malta. In Malta Sandro Chetcuti finds an ex-Minster of the Party that has fought so much, and continues to fight, for the rule of law and for the respect of civil society and national ethical behaviour who cheekily covers up for him and accepts him as his deputy. Michael Falson is for me another dead man walking. I am a lifelong member of the Nationalist Party and I will be requesting the Party to dismiss Michael Falzon from the Party. A person like Michael Falzon after all the faith we had put in him should have never allowed himself to cover up for this gross insult of Maltese civil society.

Last March Vince Farrugia was instructed by the National Executive Council of GRTU to inform Sandro Chetcuti that we believe that there is enough evidence from so many people he has dealt with in property that while he was clever to make millions of Maltese Lira his record of unethical business dealings is too big for him to continue to hold a position in GRTU. What happened on March 11^th 2010 at GRTU is history of Malta. Never before has an important public figure been assaulted in such brutal manner. Sufficient evidence has already been heard in Court and the reports have been published. The assault on Vince Farrugia further proved how unsuitable Sandro Chetcuti is to hold any position that necessitates an ethical behaviour. It is no excuse that many who attended now say that they have been pestered to attend and pressured to vote. We are referring to business people who are no fools. Now the land speculators have decided. More than sixty of them have chosen Sandro Chetcuti as their leader. They have instructed him and whoever to draft for them a charter of ethical behaviour. It's absolutely incredible. And they have appointed as President the man who invented the Planning Authority, the biggest blow land speculators suffered since

Adam and Eve. Now Michael Falzon tries somehow to redeem himself by acting as partner to Sandro Chetcuti. And these people are going to tell us all how to behave ethically. May God save us.

Sandro faces a criminal charge in Court that, should the Public Prosecution win its case and the Court upholds the serious criminal charges brought against him, may land him years in prison. And there is no suspended sentence on a charge of attempted murder. And the millionaires who appointed this lot by acclamation expect the Prime Minister, other Ministers and the Authorities to meet them and recognise their integrity. And the gullible in the Hall that applauded and hugged Sandro Chetcuti really believe that faced by Sandro Chetcuti and Michael Falzon, the Cabinet of Minister will bend backwards to become more land speculation friendly. They really believe that Sandro Chetcuti will make it easier for them to make more millions from more land speculation. Incredible what cheek.

GRTU has already informed the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers that we will strongly object to any involvement or to any recognition of an Association that in its mist has a person under the criminal charges that Sandro Chetcuti is facing in Court. GRTU strongly objects to any membership of any statutory Board of any representatives from this new Association as presently constituted. Most serious business owners active in construction and development are members of the recognised constituted bodies representing enterprise, GRTU and the Chamber of Commerce.  This important business sector has been strongly represented and continues to be. Starting a new kazin just to please someone who have been kicked out for unethical and gross criminal behaviour is the wrong reason to begin with. Of course, this is a free country. PEOPLE MAY CHOSE WHOEVER THEY SO WISH TO REPRESENT THEM. BUT CIVIL SOCIETY HAS THE RIGHT TO DISREGARD THEIR CHOICE AND TO DISREGARD THEM COMPLETELY  IF THEY CHOOSE TO AFFRONT CIVIL SOCIETY BY CHOICES THAT STINK.