Driving along Princess Margaret Street in Ta' Xbiex, I just could not believe my eyes at the way the cypress trees along this street were pruned. These trees are strictly protected trees, listed in Schedule I of the Trees and Woodlands (Protection) Regulations, Legal Notice 12 of 2001. I was so shocked that I drove round the block to have a second look. Unbelievable!!

I sat in my car to recover from the shock. I asked myself whether there was an official campaign against trees growing in the Maltese islands.

Mutilated trees in urban areas, mutilated trees in special areas of conservation, dead trees in urban areas, dead trees in public gardens, imported trees in urban areas, imported trees in public gardens, imported trees in natural habitats...

Am I under the wrong impression that Malta is a member state of the European Union? Are the European Union flags flying over a number of official buildings real, or fictitious?

But if this is not a hallucination, then there must be somebody who is responsible for these obscenities.

If there is somebody who is responsible and accountable to the people, may he please stand up and bear the brunt of such responsibility?