Speaker turns down PN call for drug heist debate, parliament descends into chaos

Updated 8.25pm 

The Speaker turned down the Nationalist Party's demand for an urgent parliamentary debate on Monday on the theft of 200kg of drugs from a supposedly secure area managed by the Armed Forces of Malta.

The drugs were stolen from a container at an army base in Safi on Saturday night. The drugs, seized last year, were being held there following a request by the courts pending destruction. Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri offered his resignation, but Prime Minister Robert Abela promptly refused it.

On Monday Abela said retired judge Geoffrey Valencia will lead an inquiry into the theft, while the terms of reference will be published in the coming days.

Presenting the party’s request in parliament, opposition leader Bernard Grech said that on Sunday Malta “woke up in shock to find that 200kg of drugs are now in Malta’s streets, stolen from under the noses of our armed forces”.

“This was the responsibility of Byron Camilleri, who isn’t even here in parliament to answer for his actions,” Grech said.

As he spoke, PN MPs held up aloft posters with a series of slogans – “Pretend resignation”, “Condemned by the Ombudsman”, “Torture in prison” – emblazoned beneath Camilleri’s image, to shouts of “pantomime” from the government benches.

Responding to the opposition’s request, government whip, Naomi Cachia argued that a parliamentary debate on the matter is premature, with investigations into the case still ongoing.

“We appreciate the gravity of the matter, but we have an obligation to respect investigations into the case,” Cachia said, requesting permission for Prime Minister Robert Abela to make a statement to update the house on “the facts at hand, in full respect of the investigation”.

After the speaker ruled against an urgent debate, Abela rose to make a statement. But it failed to get off the ground amidst several interruptions, with government and opposition MPs trading jeers and insults. 

With the session descending into chaos, the speaker suspended the session in the hope of restoring order. It resumed a short while later. 

However, the sitting was suspended again when PN MP Alex Borg and the prime minister bickered over whom should retract insults first.

In a statement issued as the house was suspended, PL slammed the opposition’s behaviour during the rowdy sitting, accusing it of being “only interested in politically partisan games even on such a serious and sensitive case”.

“This evening Robert Abela went to parliament to make a ministerial statement to inform the house on the facts,” PL said. “However, the opposition couldn’t care less”.

Once the sitting resumed, Speaker Farrugia requested the leaders of both sides to apologise to each other. While Abela apologised, Grech said he was sticking to his claim that the government was corrupt. 

Abela said the administrative inquiry into the theft will be led by retired judge Geoffrey Valencia while the terms of reference will be published in the coming days.

"Whoever was involved in the crime should pay for his behaviour," he added, before the Speaker suspended the sitting for the fourth time as Abela's speech was disrupted by loud complaints from the opposing side of the house.

The sitting resumed soon after but the discussion could not continue as the house had to adjourn. The discussion on the drug theft is set to continue on Tuesday. 

In the wrap-up, PN MP David Agius insisted it was the responsibility of MPs to flag the current drug problem in Malta and ensure that youths are protected, calling the disappearance of 200kg a "grievous situation".

Moving on to the controversy sparked after Times of Malta revealed that AIMS had hired a former footballer who was previously convicted of attempting to bribe another footballer, Agius said whistleblowers should be emboldened to speak up. 

He was referring to Jean Claude Micallef's comments after he vowed retribution against people who leaked a service contract that put him under ministerial scrutiny.

'PM going against best interests of the public'

In a press conference earlier on Monday outside the Home Affairs Ministry in Valletta, shadow minister Darren Carabott said that in a normal country the minister would have gone by now.

"Instead, the prime minister has decided to go against the best interests of the public and refused Byron Camilleri's resignation. For this reason, we will be demanding an urgent debate in parliament," he said.

Carabott went on to list recent scandals involving the home affairs ministry, including the ID cards racket, the situation at the prisons and the escape of two Moroccans from a plane at Malta International Airport. They are still at large.

"Our country deserves a government that is focused on the future, and a home affairs ministry focused on providing peace of mind and security. Instead, the focus is on covering up one scandal after another."

Carabott said that if Camilleri was not allowed to resign, the government as a whole would have to bear collective responsibility. 

PN MP Graziella Galea said the theft was alarming.

"What security do we have when such a large amount of drugs is stolen from under the noses of the Armed Forces?" she said, adding that in a normal country, the scandals that happened under Camilleri's watch would each be grounds for resignation.

The prime minister was weak, Galea said, and did not have the guts to take action because he had lost all authority. 

The party has called on Abela to provide a detailed explanation in parliament about the theft, its links to criminal cases, and the market value of the stolen drugs.

It expressed solidarity with AFM soldiers who, it said, were being painted in a bad light following this incident.

Grech addresses media after parliamentary sitting

In comments outside parliament late on Monday, Grech said Camilleri had not even bothered to turn up in parliament, let alone be prepared to discuss what happened.

"Camilleri has every reason to hide because he knows there are many reasons for him to resign. The list of scandals he is involved in is long," he said.

Grech listed the "scandals" he said the Home Affairs Minister was involved in:

• Fake ID cards and stolen addresses used for votes
• The case of the Moroccans who escaped from an aeroplane
• Police Commissioner’s failure to act on the Pilatus case and the Vitals theft
• Social benefits and driving licences scandal to buy votes
• LESA fines scandal
• Torture and deaths in prison, with a condemning report from the Ombudsman
• A Police Force lacking resources
• Theft of 200kg of drugs right under his nose

"Yet, for Abela, this is still not enough to accept Camilleri’s resignation. Abela is unbothered by the fact that our streets are flooded with another 200kg of drugs due to the minister’s incompetence.

"Abela seems oblivious to what it means to have a loved one struggling with drug addiction. He appears unaware of reports showing an increase in people seeking help due to cocaine and cannabis abuse," Grech said, adding that by refusing the resignation, Abela was taking full responsibility for all his minister’s shortcomings.