“My conscience is clear because I am driven by what is right. I am serene”.

This was Robert Abela’s message in his televised statement on April 17. He had just condemned 12 innocent people to their death. The UN migration agency had stated that five people had died and another seven were missing. They had been drifting in Malta’s search and rescue area for days. Abela could have ordered the Armed Forces to save them. Instead he chose not to.

His whole statement was an exercise in abuse of power.  Abela inflicted a scathing attack on those who dared speak up in defence of the most vulnerable, plucking at the heart strings of the nation in self-pity. He lied brazenly, claiming that the “opposition itself” was responsible for lodging the police report.

He attacked and vilified an individual lawyer who, in the exercise of his profession, acted on the instruction of his client.

He demonised the lawyer and repeatedly labelled him as the opposition spokesperson for justice when he knew full well that he was not acting in that capacity. But that served his narrative well.

A prime time slot on television and the full cabinet behind him was used to intimidate and dehumanise those who had questioned his decision to condemn vulnerable innocents to their death.

On the pretext of a COVID crisis, he peddled the idea that reporting a heinous crime is tantamount to distracting the police from their duties.

He was “disappointed” that 12 officials were being hindered from fighting COVID-19. He moaned that limited resources were being depleted as a result of the report.

Robert Abela’s whole statement was an exercise in abuse of power

Yet, only a few days earlier, the same Abela had opened up spring hunting – and pinned the responsibility on the Ornis Committee. The home affairs minister had reassured us that there are adequate resources to police the spring hunting season. But not to save lives.

The whole statement focused not on highlighting the work done to mitigate the health and economic effects of COVID-19 as initially stated but on stoking hatred and antagonism towards Jason Azzopardi, Repubblika and the opposition. “To those who want to send us to jail… We will continue to protect their health.”

Should they feel grateful that their prime minister has chosen to protect their health?

Abela’s statement triggered a tsunami of hate, offence and abuse towards those targeted. The dehumanisation of citizens is an art form that has been perfected by Labour.  The party has not learnt anything from the lesson of the recent past. 

The systematic and unrelenting dehumanisation of another lone voice by Labour’s well-oiled machine led to an assassination – but also to the fall of the ‘invictus’ prime minister, Joseph Muscat. Abela’s press conference created a smoke screen.

Robert Abela’s objective was clearly to deflect attention from the main issue – the loss of 12 innocent lives. The simple truth is that he could have saved them. But chose not to. Not once in his statement did he offer any condolences, any word of compassion, any show of respect to those who had lost their lives. No remorse.

It is staggering that in the face of such a tragedy we should witness such gratuitous brutality. Basic humanity has become a pariah quality.

As Hannah Arendt noted: “Under conditions of terror, most people will comply but some people will not. No more is required for this planet to remain a place fit for human habitation”. Malta owes a huge debt to those who do not comply.

Kevin Cassar, consultant vascular surgeon