Band club boycotts councillors over naming of Zurrieq square

The mayor of Zurrieq and two councillors have been boycotted by St Catherine's Musical Society - one of the village's two rival band clubs - for voting against a motion to rename the main square after the village's patron saint.

The band club recently informed Labour mayor Ignatius Farrugia and MLP councillors Claudio Zammit and Raymond Grixti they were no longer welcome at the society's club, accusing them of soliciting the Labour Party to oblige its councillors to turn down the motion knowing that a majority of councillors wanted Republic Square to be changed to St Catherine's Square.

In a letter dated October 8, the band club's secretary, Josef Cachia, said one of the councillors had suggested changing the square's name from Republic Square to Mattia Preti Square, and this confirmed that "your intention [in turning down the motion] was so that St Catherine's name does not figure in the name of the village square", alluding to the longstanding rivalry between the two band clubs and to the fact that the three councillors hail from Queen Victoria Carmelite band club.

Mr Cachia said when contacted that the band club had a rule whereby "whoever damages the club's relationship with a third party is no longer welcome to our activities".

The issue goes back a month when Nationalist councillors Melvyn Mangion and Mario Ellul proposed changing the square's name to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the martyrdom of the saint from Alexandria.

During a council meeting on September 22, the PN councillors also suggested renaming St George's Square to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Square "to do justice to a statue of Our Lady which is to be found in this square". This would have squared up with St Catherine's arch rivals - the Queen Victoria Carmelite (Tal-Karmnu) band club.

Since Zurrieq already has two places named after Our Lady of Mount Carmel - Carmelites Square and Carmel Street - while only one street is named after St Catherine, the councillors said the main road to Zurrieq, Valletta Road, should be renamed November 25 Avenue after St Catherine's feast day.

While the two PN councillors voted in favour of the motion, Mr Farrugia, the Zurrieq mayor known to be a staunch supporter of the Queen Victoria Carmelite band, voted against, along with Mr Zammit and Mr Grixti. The other two MLP councillors - vice-mayor Silvio Izzi Savona and councillor Joseph D'Amato - abstained.

The PN councillors said the abstentions of Mr Izzi Savona and Mr D'Amato surprised those present for the meeting as these were known to be in favour of the motion.

"St Catherine's supporters who were present at the meeting were visibly irked by the abstentions, and Mr Izzi Savona retorted by saying he was obeying his party's orders," Mr Ellul told The Times.

Asked if the MLP administration had imparted orders to Zurrieq councillors to vote against the motion, MLP secretary general Jason Micallef said the party thought that the name of the square should not be changed because Republic Day had been "a national achievement brought about by a Labour government".

"Labour councillors represent the party and they act according to its policies," Mr Micallef said, pointing out that the MLP had not intended to show any disrespect towards St Catherine.

A similar reason was brought up by Mr Farrugia. "There had been an agreement between MLP councillors on how we would vote," the Zurrieq mayor said, expressing surprise at the action taken by St Catherine's band club.

When contacted yesterday, Mr Izzi Savona said he did not wish to express himself because "the matter was very delicate".

"I have my political and religious sentiments and I am very disappointed by what is being said by certain quarters," he said.

But Mr Izzi Savona and Mr D'Amato's abstentions have troubled St Catherine's supporters, who did not hide their annoyance saying the two councillors "get elected from our band club".

St Catherine's band club president Anthony Bonnici said the committee had confirmed with high MLP officials that the party had told the councillors to vote against the motion or to abstain.

"We know that Mr Izzi Savona and Mr D'Amato were themselves unhappy that they had been forced to vote against the motion, therefore their position is different from that of the other councillors," Mr Bonnici said when asked if the club would take action against the two councillors who abstained.

He said St Catherine's band club includes both Nationalist and Labour members and the club always tried to steer clear of politics.

"Our action towards the three councillors was motivated by the fact that they did not allow a democratic vote to be taken and not because we were unhappy that the motion was turned down," Mr Bonnici said. The renaming of the square was a purely local issue and we feel the MLP should have let the councillors vote freely, he added.

Asked if the issue will be discussed during the society's annual general meeting due on Sunday, Mr Bonnici said it was not on the agenda but did not rule out that members could raise it at some point.

A Zurrieq resident said people voted according to their band club and not according to their political party.

"If I am a Carmelite supporter I will vote for a candidate who supports that band club irrespective of whether he is a Nationalist or a Labourite. Similarly, people of St Catherine's are supporters of that club before they are Nationalists or Labourites, and that's how they will vote in local council elections," he said.

The way partisan support mingles with people's allegiance to rival band clubs, however, might be more complicated than it seems.

The Carmelite Queen Victoria band club lost no time in thanking Mr Izzi Savona and Mr D'Amato for not voting for the motion. In a letter which appeared in l-orizzont on Wednesday, the band club's PRO, Alan Mamo, said the motion presented by the Nationalist councillors was an "irresponsible" one.

Mr Mamo said it was "a pity that the PN councillors had rubbed salt into an open wound with the intention of bringing about further division in the village".