Demonstrators march to Castille in national protest against planning reform

Updated 5.19pm

Demonstrators marched to Castille Square in Valletta on Saturday as they piled on the pressure for the government to scrap its plans to dramatically overhaul planning laws. 

Endorsed by around 70 organisations, 163 academics and various political parties, the Ġustizzja għal Artna ('Justice for our Land') campaign is seeking to have Bills 143 and 144 withdrawn from parliament and reform plans opened to broad consultation. 

Banging drums, holding placards and chanting "irtirawhom issa" ('Withdraw them now'), demonstrators gathered outside the law courts at around 10am  as they prepared to march down Republic Street to Castille Square, outside the Office of the Prime Minister.

The crowd - which featured people of all ages and from all walks of life - then convened in Castille Square, outside the Office of the Prime Minister, to hear speeches by select speakers. 

A 21-year-old attendee said he was there because "parliament has gone way too far". 

"Greed, stupidity... they're just unwilling to learn new alternatives to give Malta a better lifestyle," he said. 

Another demonstrator, Jessica, said she was worried about the Malta her children would grow up in. 

"The situation is very worrying... I love Malta and want the best for Malta. If these laws come out, we won't live in a democracy any more," she said. 

Demonstrators walk up to Castille Square. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

A group of men from Mellieħa said they were dismayed by the lack of consultation carried out before the bills were introduced into parliament. 

"Zilch," one complained. 

'Takeover by sharks'

Ramblers Association president Ingram Bondin likened Saturday’s event to another protest, titled Xebbajtuna, held two years ago. 

Robert Abela has since tried to make a joke of that demonstration by satisfying developers’ “wishlist”, he said.

“They thought they could hide this reform from us. Why? Because it’s not a reform for us, but for millionaires. He saw your anger and held a fake consultation to quell it but you showed him otherwise,” Bondin said.

As Bondin decried the “takeover by sharks”, the crowd yelled “corrupt!” and “revoke the bills!”

Another protest next week?

Andre Callus from Moviment Graffitti said that they would be organising another protest next weekend if the government did not withdraw the bills. 

“If they think they can change a comma here or a full stop there and be done with it, we will be summoning you again next week,” he said. “We have to win this fight because otherwise they will ruin us.”

Callus recalled former prime minister and Labour leader Alfred Sant talking about barons (barunijiet) in the 1990s. “And he was right. But nowadays these barons have seized more control than ever before. They want more, more, more until they have taken everything.” 

'You won't be able to escape construction'

Caroline Caruana from the Marsascala Residents Association galvanised the crowd, warning that the laws would mean “you won’t be able to escape construction, because local plans will mean nothing.”

“They are trying to silence you in the name of what they call ‘progress.’ But progress for who? Not for us. There is no respect,” Caruana said.

'Our identity is being lost'

Astrid Vella from Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar warned that Malta was being slowly destroyed.

“We are losing people to emigration or causing couples to stop having children because of the environment we live in. We ruined Paceville and St Julian’s; now we are doing the same to Valletta. We have seen so much of our national character taken away. Our identity is being lost.  Tourists, who they care so much about, are looking for our traditional buildings, not developers’ towers.”

Quietly tabled bills

Bills 143 and 144 were quietly tabled in parliament last July, but plans to fast-track them into law ran into major public opposition and forced the government to pledge to revise them. 

Work to revise one of the two bills, Bill 144, is reportedly nearing completion, but reform of the second, more controversial Bill 143 remains ongoing. 

Activists, academics and student organisations say the bills should be scrapped altogether. 

Apart from the two bills, the government has given notice of its intention to introduce legal notices that would allow developers to regularise illegal developments on Outside Development Zones. 

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Protesters gathering in Valletta on Saturday are calling for three things: the immediate withdrawal of the bills, the suspension of works on appealed developments, and the release of a White Paper for genuine consultation.

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

In a statement issued just before the protest, ADPD - the Green Party warned that the bills, if passed, would "take the country back to the Stone Age." 

"These proposals are part of a larger project aimed at removing every single regulation that aims to protect the interest of the public and our communities," ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci said. "The proposed laws give the Planning Authority the right to ignore its own regulations when and how they deem fit.”

Representatives of ADPD, Momentum and the Nationalist Party were all spotted within the crowd. 

"Today the streets of Valletta were filled with a huge crowd and a clear message that cannot be ignored," Momentum said in a statement following the protest. "This demonstration was a powerful rejection of the government's dangerous proposals and devious 'consultation' process."

"What a great turnout. Will the government steamroll over this crowd? Will they continue with fake consultations or will they actually listen and rescind their outrageous proposals?" Momentum general secretary Mark Camilleri Gambin said.