Abandoned town

In the 1860s, the British colonial government constructed a new town and port in Marsa. The site was named Albert Town, after Queen Victoria’s consort, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha (1819 – 1861).

Albert Town, which had acquired a population of over 600 people by 1890, has since been abandoned.

Albert Town, which had acquired a population of over 600 people by 1890, has since been abandoned. Is the area’s dilapidation a cause or an effect of this shocking abandon?

Does anybody really care?

Mark Miceli-Farrugia – Ta’ Xbiex

‘They are all Hamas’

The German embassy has taken note of Ranier Fsadni’s article, ‘They are all Hamas’, on the current operation of Israeli forces in Gaza (February 22). As Germany has been explicitly mentioned, I deem it necessary to set right two aspects: 

Firstly, genocide, as defined by the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, requires acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, members of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.

While it is up to the International Court of Justice to assess South Africa’s current legal proceedings to this effect against Israel, the German government does not see such intent in Israel’s self-defence against Hamas’s armed terrorist attacks.

Secondly, it is true that the Genocide Convention was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1948, in response to the Holocaust committed by Nazi Germany, extinguishing the lives of approximately six million European Jews. 

However, the allegation that Germany has experience with some seven genocides, as the completely misguided comparison with Elizabeth Taylor’s husbands suggests, is not only legally wrong and utterly inappropriate but also belittles the unique severeness of the Holocaust.

Tanja Beyer – Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Ta’ Xbiex

Historic milestone by the pool

In reply to a parliamentary question by Nationalist MP Charles Azzopardi, Culture Minister Owen Bonnici was quoted (February 9) to have said that Heritage Malta spent almost €2.8 million on recovering items of value.

An interesting question would be: what is the minister doing to order fellow colleague Minister Anton Refalo to return the historic stone dating back to Queen Victoria, after it was stolen (how, when, by whom?)?

It has been proven that the historic milestone is illegally found in Refalo’s residence, by the pool, to be exact. Returning the milestone to its rightful place and owners will cost nothing to Heritage Malta as Refalo should rightly foot the bill.

Years have passed since Refalo’s scandal came to light and, yet, it seems the Gozitan minister is above the law. In view of this, Prime Minister Robert Abela should have never let him contest the elections, let alone give him a ministerial portfolio. However, remember, we are dealing with the Labour.

Emily Barbaro-Sant – Mosta