Law seen sending message of Malta's commitment against terrorism

Labour MP Jose Herrera said yesterday that the enactment of new provisions on terrorism within the Criminal Code sent a message to the world that terrorism in all its forms was unacceptable for Malta. This gave credibility to the country.

Speaking in Parliament, Dr Herrera said one needed to take precautions against both direct and indirect acts of terrorism. For example, Malta, a financial hub, could be used for the laundering of funds derived from or linked to terrorism, Indeed, this bill rightly provided for this scenario.

Referring to the definition of terrorism found in the bill, he said that research and development of nuclear weapons should be included in the clause which referred to chemical and biological weapons.

He reiterated the view that some of the penalties in the bill were far too low: conviction for funding terrorism made one liable to a maximum prison term of only four years. Similar crimes involving drugs drew a prison sentence of up to life imprisonment The courts should be able to apply the same penalty for terrorism cases. What was even worse in the bill was that those people who actually used funds for terrorism, and hence were directly involved, could only be jailed for up to 12 years. This too was unacceptable.

Dr Herrera also insisted that prison terms should not only be tough, but served in their entirety. Malta had been embarrassed when terrorist Ali Rezaq, convicted over the Egyptair hijacking which killed 60 people in Malta, was released from prison after a mere seven years.

Earlier in his speech Dr Herrera underlined the importance for Malta of upholding its policy of neutrality.

Most of the countries who were targeted by terrorists were not neutral, he said.

The Opposition, he said, had not yet taken a decision on the EU Constitution, but it was important that through this treaty, Malta would not lose its neutrality. This had to be safeguarded at all costs even if an addendum to the constitution was required.

He warned that having too many warships visiting Malta could also create targets for terrorists.

It was true that the world no longer had two superpowers and one could not therefore speak of equidistance between the two, but the concept itself, which was found in the Constitution, was still relevant.

Concluding, Dr Herrera said this bill could also have included measures to strengthen the arm of the Security Service and the Police in their investigation of terrorism.

Malta, he said, should also have agreements for cooperation with other countries in the battle against terrorism.

Labour MP Evarist Bartolo, who spoke earlier, said there had been several instances when Maltese territory was used for terrorism. Malta, therefore, could not act as if it were not part of the world which was threatened by terrorism.

The tourism sector was one sector affected by terrorism.

Because of terrorism, people travelled less and ventured less far away.

A country such as Malta had every interest to prevent terrorism and to avoid being used as a country from where terrorism was planned or financed.

It was wise for the country to continue following a policy which encouraged people to dialogue, rather than confront one another. More initiatives had to be taken for Malta to serve as a forum where different religions and cultures could get together. For terrorism to spread there had to be hatred and confrontation between peoples.

One of the ways of fighting terrorism was to promote a culture of tolerance and celebrate diversity. Mr Bartolo said he was worried that even in Malta there was racial, religious and cultural hatred. A lot still needed to be done to spread more respect, especially in schools. He recalled how, as a child at school, he was taught the phrase Alla taghna kbir u Mawmettu l-hanzir. This, he said, was wrong.

Malta should be a place which welcomed people who were in conflict to discuss their problems. It should also work towards eradicating the causes of terrorism.

The fight against terrorism also had to respect human rights. To deny the people their rights would be to play into the hands of terrorists.

Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo spoke on how terrorism, or the threat of terrorism, harmed not only tourism but also the manufacturing sector. Even if no terrorism took place in Malta, it could affect Malta's markets.

This was among the reasons why Malta needed to team up with the rest of the world in the fight against terrorism, rather than try to fight on its own.

New methods of terrorism were continuously being created and the law had to be such that it left no loopholes when prosecutions were made.

Ways should also be found to prevent "friendly" states from using Malta's facilities to act against other friendly states.

Mr Vassallo also complained that some of the penalties proposed in the bill were too lenient.

Interjecting, Parliamentary Secretary Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici said the bill was intended to recognise as a crime even the plotting of terrorism.

Concluding, Mr Vassallo said terrorism could not be fought solely on the strength of legislation but also on the basis of security and actions to remove the causes of terrorism.

Nationalist MP Mario Galea, who was recently in Palestine as an observer of the Palestinian election, gave an eye witness account of what it was like to live in a country were terrorism was commonplace. He said the situation was such that people hardly batted an eyelid when a bomb went off some distance away. Terrorism and occupation, he said, had seen villages divided by the infamous security wall being built by Israel. Palestinian villages had seen unemployment soar to 80 per cent. Some villages were virtually prisons, with the sole entrance closed between dusk and dawn. Travel meant negotiating a large number of checkpoints.

Mr Galea also underlined the need for all countries to tackle the causes of terrorism.

The Euro-Mediterranean process could be developed into a tool to fight the causes of terrorism, he said.

Joe Mizzi (MLP) said it made sense to legislate against terrorism, but the country also needed stiffer security.

More importantly, the community of nations needed to counter the root causes of terrorism, which included poverty, racism and discrimination as well as occupation.

Events such as the opening of the new holocaust museum in Israel should serve not only to remind the people of the past, but also to prevent a repetition in the future.

Parliamentarians from all parts of the world had a major role to play in bringing about greater harmony. If they all succeeded in their quest, terrorism would eventually become a thing of the past.