I refer to Claudine Cassar’s opinion piece (In defence of broad beans, 25 April). If Ms Cassar has it in for the hunters she should restrict her comments as such.
The Ta’ Qali Producers’ Group (TPQG) which is exclusively made up of farmers, simply tried driving home the point that trespassing is a crime. It’s not TQPG’s fault if ‘others’ have been cast under a bad light because of this phenomenon.
Our press release was merely to state that TQPG received a different version to that of BirdLife’s. Being a farmer’s representative, TQPG felt it was just and opportune to exploit the situation and make the point that we had been receiving many complaints with regards to BirdLife and others (hunters included) trespassing into their fields and damaging their hard-earned produce. Can Ms Cassar explain what is wrong in stating this? Does she expect us to believe that what BirdLife say is sacrosanct and what the farmers say are just lies?
Birdlife have a right to film anything illegal going on. What they do not have is the right to enter without permission and trample over private property and take the law in their own hands. If there was any wrongdoing, BirdLife should have called the police. Had they done so, none of this would have happened!
Ms Cassar should have taken the trouble of checking her facts before deciding to go ahead and lambaste me and my group in her highly unethical and irresponsible manner.
Our press release started by saying: “While condemning all forms of violence...” What’s more, every newspaper quoted this, and this is what makes me wonder what agenda Ms Cassar might have. She might write the ‘wrong’ things but I am convinced that she can read. So much for “condemning acts of violence and vandalism without reservation”.
As for linking us with FKNK or the hunters in general, please tell us where in our release we make any hint of a mention of this? These are unfounded insinuations again.
The wide screen Ms Cassar makes mention of was shot at in Manikata and has nothing to do with this case. Why are facts being twisted? Why mention so many things that had nothing to do with the case? Why nail these two farmers who do not even happen to be members of TQPG with the other alleged unsavoury acts? Why can’t Ms Cassar accept that maybe, just maybe, there was a third person who fired the shot which the BirdLife volunteers claim to have heard, and made a break for it? In a simple article, Ms Cassar played judge, jury and prosecution, all in one.
You can nag till the moon turns blue, plaster headlines all over the world’s newspapers: not only will I “stop this talk for provocation” but I will reiterate with full responsibility that besides being a crime in itself, trespassing can and in fact does, give rise to serious provocation.
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