Mintoff hits out at Sant, Fenech Adami

Opposition leader Alfred Sant and the future President Eddie Fenech Adami were in former Labour premier Dom Mintoff's sights as he addressed a meeting for the Maltese Arise Front in Valletta yesterday.

Mr Mintoff criticised Dr Sant for wanting the government to spend more money to celebrate Freedom Day. "First he ignored this memorable day for many years. Now that we've lost our freedom, he wants the government to spend more money on celebrating it," Mr Mintoff said.

He said the opposition should take tangible action against Dr Fenech Adami and not simply say that "they will respect the office (of President). If the person occupying the office has betrayed Malta by making us lose our freedom how can you respect him," Mr Mintoff asked.

He argued there was no difference, as Dr Sant was saying, between the person in office and the office. "If Dr Fenech Adami were to come here and someone beat him up, they would be beating both the President and Dr Fenech Adami. So what's the difference," he asked.

Mr Mintoff said the government wanted to award him with the medal of Kumpann tal-Unur ghall-qadi tar-Repubblika on the day marking the 25th anniversary of Freedom Day but he said he could not accept to receive the medal from the President in the same year Malta was losing its freedom.

He said he had asked the Police Commissioner to collect the medal on his behalf from civil service head Joseph R. Grima and keep it until Mr Mintoff or his heirs decided what to do with it.

A small crowd numbering 200 at most braved the drizzling rain to listen to Mr Mintoff, who spoke using the plaques marking Malta's independence and Freedom day as the backdrop.

"This is our 300th meeting," he said, before being corrected by Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici. "They tell me it's our 40th meeting but I get confused as I have spoken in so many meetings," he said to applause.