In a normal country there would have been no need to organise a protest. In a country where love of democracy in all its facets rules, people would be out protesting all the time, not necessarily led by anyone.
In a country where critical thinking is paramount, Repubblika and all the forces of opposition would join together; not just for the sake of opposition but to make sure our future is better than our past and our present.
In a country where the bizarre is not the norm there would be no need for anyone to scream out to people of goodwill to join protest marches organised by Repubblika.
In a country where people care for all things democratic, for the rule of law, all men and women of goodwill, all opposition forces, all NGOs, all constituted bodies would join forces every time Repubblika called the people out to protest.
To say it is enough.
In fact, if this country of ours had not been hijacked by the bizarre, Repubblika and others of their ilk would be telling people – in their hundreds of thousands – to now calm down, to finally go home, to not vent their anger in violent manifestations.
In a normal country, people would be out in the streets, all over the country, protesting; screaming out for change, for a new beginning, for impunity to end.
People would be out shouting that enough is enough, that it’s time to wake up and stop the total rape of the country’s institutions.
If we, all of us, had any sense, we would not accept all that is happening, all that has happened and all that has been not only allowed to go unchecked but instigated by a regime that has for far too long defended the indefensible.
Besides the barrage of things that we should be protesting about, two things happened recently that should have got us all marching off to show our anger about what has happened to this country under the present government.
The court judgment that forced Nadine Lia to stop hearing a case instituted by Repubblika was a historic victory. Not just for Repubblika but for all people who believe in real justice.
This is a country where nothing seems to make any sense- Victor Calleja
It is abnormal – beyond bizarre – that a judge should have to tell anyone with the least amount of intelligence: “Certainly that would have provided far more certainty about justice being seen to be done.”
And the judge went on. Citing British case law, the court made it clear that “in any case where there is real ground for doubt, that doubt should be resolved in favour of recusal”.
That a judge should have to spell this out to another member of the judiciary must rank as the worst dressing-down in Maltese judicial history.
In a normal country, people would have spontaneously celebrated such a victory for Repubblika the minute it was announced. The victors were not Repubblika, its president, committee or members.
The victors were the Maltese people, we, all of us. Because this was a victory for the proper dispensing of justice. Not just the actual dispensing but also justice being seen to be done.
Victory celebrations for this little step forward in the fight for justice should then spark off protests that justice must be battled for. But, instead of protesting, people just carry on as if nothing has happened. As if the authorities should not be accused of anything untoward. As if such a judgment is just a daily occurrence.
Another horror story hit the news recently.
The European Parliament passed a resolution by an extraordinary majority saying it “expresses concern about the impunity afforded to key figures in the former prime minister’s administration, including the former prime minister himself, his chief of staff and the former minister for tourism, formerly the minister for energy”.
This, to me – but maybe I sound bizarrely tiresome – should have sent us all protesting and asking for resignations. It should have gripped the local media like no other news. It should have sent shockwaves through the ruling party’s core and made them investigate why they are failing so miserably in the eyes of Europe with regard to all things democratic.
Yet, hardly a whimper was heard because this is a country where nothing seems to make any sense.
Victor Calleja is a former publisher.