No. I am not referring to our President, at least for the time being. I am referring to the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, who cancelled his state visit to Malta due this week.
Mr President, the people of Malta did not want you among us. We would have been embarrassed. We would have to protest openly on the streets, as your persecuted people are doing. It would not have been pleasant, but necessary. Our Government acted cautiously and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat sought the approval of EU Commissioner Jose’ Manuel Barroso, which was duly forthcoming.
Leader of the Opposition Simon Busuttil, wisely, would not have lost the opportunity of meeting Yanukovych, if only to express his party’s condemnation of the Ukrainian President’s oppressive actions against his people; and indeed the condemnation of the Maltese people as a whole. Busuttil and all Opposition and PN officials would not have participated in any official or social functions, however. Further, the government went one step further and was not prepared to bestow the usual national honours or decorations on Yanukovych.
It was propitious, in fact, that an amendment to our Gieħ Ir-Repubblika Act, although still mired in controversy, was passed only last week, where mention was made in parliamentary debates of the withdrawal of honours bestowed by Malta (God knows why) on other nasty men like Muammar Gaddafi, Kim il-Sung and Nicolai Ceaucescu.
Given that he is not getting any honours, perhaps he can purchase our citizenship
It is also propitious that the new Ukrainian Ambassador to Malta presented his credentials in recent days. I am sure he reported back to his President that a visit to Malta was not wise. Also, our Parliamentary Ombudsman, Joseph Said Pullicino, issued a a statement expressing his solidarity with the Ukrainian First Ombudsman, Nina Karpachova, and the Ukrainian people. He further “invites the Maltese authorities to do likewise”.
Well, at least, we are now rid of Yanukovych from our fair isle. On an aside, given that he is not getting any honours, perhaps he can purchase our citizenship and hold a passport rather than a medal.
I am sure he can afford €650,000. And what’s more, he need not set a foot on the island. The domain of dictatorship in Europe, at least, was largely wiped out years ago. Membership of the European Union is the best guarantee that it will not return.
Which brings us to an appropriate update on the citizenship saga. Busuttil states that the government and his party are poles apart in the ongoing discussions on amending the Malta Citizenship Act, once again on the content of the necessary subsidiary legislation.
On the other hand, Muscat seems more positive and is “quite” confident that a consensus can be reached “if there is good will”. Contrasting positions indeed.
While Muscat admits that “things could have been handled better”, Minister of Finance Edward Scicluna goes to Brussels and states that the government was hasty.
Not only, but he enunciates all the objections brought up by the Opposition, civil society, the majority of the Maltese people, including loads of Labour supporters and voters, the international media, leading international personalities, et al, as being basically correct in their criticism.
It seems that the government is keen to settle this matter once and for all. In its haste and arrogance it has made a grave mistake.
It has damaged Malta’s international reputation, particularly in the financial services sector, patiently built over so many years.
Yet one man seems unrepentant. Our Minister for National Security (a title not known to Malta before, and reminiscent of the Pentagon) won’t have it.
If the scheme as is does not go through then the government will have to raise taxes – when the Minister of Finance assures us that this is not the case. Mallia has already lost his portfolio for justice.
Is he due to lose his portfolio for national security as well should an agreement between the government and Opposition be reached?
Fascinating. At the same time that government and Opposition are involved in top secret talks on the sale of our citizenship, which is in effect our soul, with what we hope is a genuine effort to reach an agreement for the good of us all, we read in this newspaper of a Dubai-based law firm offering a “fast track option” to obtaining Maltese citizenship. We hear of some sort of sub-scheme in the pipeline, involving a higher fee of course!
It is ironic that the recently revised Malta Citizenship Act prohibits any individual from promoting the Individual Investment Scheme and this under a penalty of €20,000. But then this would apply to Maltese individuals only, not foreign (Dubai based, for that matter) individuals. A finger in the pie somewhere perhaps?