Stripping Malta of its beauty, forever

One cannot help but notice the steady downward spiral Malta has been taking, solely driven by sheer and utter greed of those in power and outsiders. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier[/attach]

It is with great sadness and heartfelt sympathy that I am having to add my comments to the article ‘From a wonder to a monster’ by Josie Muscat (December 10).

The historical beauty of a gem that lives in my memory is very much the same Malta described by Muscat. I recall the wonderful times when I left Malta as a young man way back in the late 1960s. 

Ever since then, whenever I had the opportunity to return back to visit relatives and friends, one could not help noticing the steady downward spiral Malta has been taking, solely driven by sheer and utter greed of those in power and outsiders, supposedly in the name of progress. This came at the cost of losing our hereditary identity and historical beauty.

As the saying goes, ‘beauty is in the eyes of the beholder’, and therefore, one can only admire and appreciate what one’s eyes can see and witness.

Regretfully, the passage of time and what certain individuals perceive as progress have managed and continue to strip Malta of its unparalleled beauty, forever.

I know there will probably be many who would say “but, look how economically successful Malta has become, as result of its continued development.”

On the flipside of that, one would ask, how far are true Maltese people prepared to permit such a sacrilege to be committed in defacing the very beauty of their own beloved motherland? 

Poor Malta!

Victor Calleja – Kent, UK

Abortion law changes

Reference is made to the article entitled ‘Pro-life lobby distances itself from calls for referendum ‒ A petition was launched on Sunday calling for a referendum to strike down ‘abortion’ amendment’ (December 5).

Partit Popolari is surprised that Life Network Foundation appears to be actively defending the changes in the law that may be plausibly exploited through practice and test cases and, ultimately, through the courts to allow abortion in cases of merely possible and long-term non-physical risks to health, which is now explicitly permitted by the law.

While the changes to the law were less harmful than those originally proposed by the government, and Life Network Foundation deserves partial credit for this shift, the changes themselves nevertheless greatly weaken the protections that unborn children enjoy under Maltese law and open a clear pathway to the gradual introduction and normalisation of abortion in Malta, even without further changes to the legislation.

The mere fact that this is a ‘lesser evil’ relative to the original proposal does not change the fact that it is an evil, which is why we have joined forces with other parties and organisations in an attempt to make the public aware of the nature of the changes and, ultimately, to restore the protections that have been removed.

Antoine Sciberras – General secretary, Partit Popolari, Birkirkara