NEWS | Wednesday, 01 April 2009

PRINT THIS ARTICLE

Raphael Vassallo
The police were yesterday accused of using “excessive force” to quash an anti-war demonstration by radical left-wing fringe group Moviment Graffitti, during yesterday’s official ceremony at the Freedom Day memorial in Vittoriosa.
Early into the celebrations, Graffiti activists burst through the police cordon and staged a “symbolic protest” against the presence of foreign military vessels in the Grand Harbour. But they were promptly bundled out of the way by a phalanx of police officers, and one activist, Lana Turner, was dragged away and later driven by police car to the Vittoriosa station.
The police however issued a statement later to clarify that no arrests had been made, and that Turner had been released without charge.
Protestors however claimed they were treated roughly by the police officers, and a 20-year-old woman needed medical attention for bruises sustained during the rout. One person in particular – seen in these photos wearing a grey jersey with black stripes on the sleeves – was singled out as being particularly aggressive in manhandling the protestors. Eyewitnesses who spoke to this newspaper describe his behaviour as particularly violent, and one of the protest’s organisers claimed to have been physically attacked.
“He was definitely more aggressive than the other police officers,” Graffitti activist Andre Callus told MaltaToday. “Unlike the uniformed police, who limited themselves to only dragging us away, this person came at us with his arms raised ready to fight. At one point he came towards me as though intending to punch me, but luckily a policeman pulled me away and the others managed to restrain him.”
Callus added that the person’s behaviour was disconcerting also because the demonstrators were unsure if he was a plain-clothes policeman, or simply a crowd member who volunteered to help the police unbidden. A spokesman for the Justice Ministry yesterday declined to confirm whether he was in fact a member of the police force, though journalists present on the scene had no difficulty recognising him as a police inspector.
For his part, Justice Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici declined to comment on the allegations of excessive force.

‘Explicit hypocrisy’
In a press statement issued later yesterday, Moviment Graffitti claimed its protest was aimed at demonstrating the “explicit hypocrisy” of celebrating Freedom Day when Malta was, through the presence of warships in Malta, still upholding a strong presence of foreign military forces.
The activists said that their action, to lie down near the Freedom Day monument, was intended to symbolise the persons being killed in wars in which such military vessels actively participate.
Another groups of activists held a banner and various slogans against war and against the presence of foreign military forces in Malta.
Graffitti said that in 2008, a total of 56 warships entered Maltese harbours, of which 53 came from NATO members. Since the start of 2009, 12 military vessels, all from NATO affiliated countries, have been present in Malta.
“This means that out of the 68 military vessels that were in Malta between 2008 and 2009, a staggering 96% are from NATO affiliated countries,” Graffitti said.
“Freedom Day commemorates the important date when Malta liberated itself from the presence of foreign military forces in our country, to be a country which promotes peace in the Mediterranean and around the world. We strongly believe such a strong presence of foreign military power goes against this fundamental principle, which is also laid down in our Constitution.
“The Maltese Constitution in fact decrees that not only is Malta a neutral country, but also that it should actively work for peace. But how can our country work for peace when it is itself hosting vessels of war which are leading to the death of thousands of innocent people around the world?”
Graffiti said hosting military warships led the country to be a direct accomplice in the wars in which they participate and they deaths to which they contribute.

PRINT THIS ARTICLE

Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below.
Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.