Inkjesta

Nittama li barra mill-inkjesta maġisterjali u polizjeska li kellha ssir fuq l-inċident tal-waħx li seħħ fix-xarabank turistiku ġimgħa u nofs ilu, qed issir inkjesta oħra ta’ tip amministrattiv.

Dak li ġara fit-triq ta’ Ħaż-Żurrieq m’għandux jitqies biss bħala fatt orribbli u partikolari, hekk li kull ma għandu jsir hu li jinstab x’mar żmerċ biex wassal għalih. Jista’ jkun riżultat ta’ falliment fil-mod kif namministraw it-tmexxija u l-ħarsien fit-toroq u t-traffiku; kif nilleċenzjaw ix-xarabankijiet turistiċi u min isuqhom; kif nissorveljaw l-impriżi li jservu lit-turisti… u l-bqija.

Inkjesta amministrattiva tisma’ – b’mod “orizzontali” – lil kull min għandu sehem f’dawn il-ħidmiet u kull min hu relatat magħhom; tqis il-fatturi kollha u tagħti l-ġudizzju tagħha dwar kif nistgħu ntejbu l-operat tagħna fl-oqsma involuti ħalli t-traġedja taż-Żurrieq ma tirrepetix ruħha.

Eżerċizzju bħal dan joħroġ minn dover morali, mhux biss wieħed ta’ effiċjenza amministrattiva. Għandna l-obbligu li nwettquh, anke b’sens ta’ rispett u sogħba nazzjonali lejn dawk it-turisti u l-familji tagħhom li ġew Malta għal btala u spiċċaw imwerwra, feruti u ħafna agħar.

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SUFFARA

Jien wieħed minn dawk li mhumiex jifhmu xinhu s-sens ta’ min fostna, isostni li l-mara li tgħid li saffret is-suffara fil-każ tal-Pilatus Bank ma tinġabx Malta. Jekk ma tiġix, qatt ma se nkunu nafu l-istorja kollha tagħha. Jew għaliex l-istorja li qalet tidher li qed tikkontradixxi dik ta’ ieħor li wkoll jgħid li saffar is-suffara.

Jew irridu nafu l-verità kollha dwar il-bank, jew ma rridux.

Min qed jistaħba wara l-fantasija li kieku kellha tiġi hawn Malta ħajjet is-saffara se tkun f’periklu għalija qed juri li jippreferi li l-verità, hi xinhi, ma toħroġx. Tgħid għaliex?

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NEMMNU?

Jiddispjaċini imma għadni m’inix konvint li hemm każ: dwar dak li ġara fl-avvelenament tal-aġent doppju Russu Skripal u bintu; u dwar l-attakk kimiku fuq Douma, allegatament mill-President Sirjan Assad.

Ma tressqux provi biżżejjed serji.

L-oġġezzjonijiet ta’ min ħareġ b’verżjonijiet differenti twarrbu bla kumment jew ġew ridikolati.

L-istqarrijiet tal-“Punent” dwar x’ġara jew ma ġarax baqgħu vagi fuq id-dettalji, dommatiċi fuq il-konklużjonijiet.

Dan mhux mod kif jiġu ffaċċjati kriżijiet. Ovvja li l-magna ta’ propaganda tal-gvern Russu hi qawwija u taħdem bħal romblu. Tista’ tafdaha?

Imma l-istess jista’ jingħad, anzi agħar, dwar is-sistema ta’ propaganda tal-“Punent”. Biżżejjed wieħed jiftakar dwar kif tqajmu l-irwiefen kollha kontra l-aramamenti li jeqirdu l-miljuni, li suppost kien qed jiżviluppa Saddam Hussein.

Snin wara, r-rapport Chilcot fir-Renju Unit wera kif dan kollu kien ħrafa.

English Version – An inquiry

I hope that in parallel with the magisterial and police inquiries which were being carried out concerning the horrible accident which occurred in the tourist bus a week and a half ago, an administrative inquiry is going on.

What happened in the approaches to Żurrieq should not be considered as just a hideous, one-off event, so that all which needs to be done is establish what went wrong and what led to it. It could have resulted from the way by which traffic is organised and security is maintained in our roads; from how tourist buses are licensed as well as those who drive them; from how we monitor the way by which companies that service tourism operate… and the rest.

An administrative inquiry, operating in “horizontal” mode, would listen to the submissions of all those who participate in these activities or havesome connection with them. It would consider all relevant factors and come to some decision regarding any improvements to the method of operation in all relevant sectors, in order to ensure that the Żurrieq tragedy is not repeated.

Such an exercise would not merely be motivated by the urge for administrative efficiency. It also follows from a moral duty. We need to see it accomplished, even by way of respect and national soliarity towards those tourists and their families who came to Malta on holiday and ended up terrorised, wounded or worse.

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Whistle blower

Along with others, I fail to understand what the intention is of those who from inside our society, insist that the woman who claims to be a whistle blower about Pilatus bank should not come to Malta. If she stays away, we will never know all her story. Or why her story appears to contradict the story of another claimant for whistle blower status.

Either we want to get all the truth and nothing but the truth regarding Pilatus Bank or we don’t.

It seems to me that whoever is hiding behind the fantasy that were she to come to Malta, the whistle blowerwould be in danger of her life, is actually showing a preference for the truth, whatever it is, never to emerge. One wonders why.

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Should we believe?

Sorry but it is still difficult to believe that the case has been definitively made: regarding the poisoning of the Russian double agent Skripal and his daughter; as well as regarding the chemical attack in Douma, allegedly by Syrian President Assad.

Sufficiently clear proof is yet to be published.

The objections of those who presented alternative versions to explain events were either simply ignored or ridiculed.

The declarations made by the “Western” powers about what really happened or did not, remained vague on the details, dogmatic in their conclusions.

This is no way by which to face up to a crisis.It is obvious that the Russian government has a powerful propaganda machine that rolls forward like a tank in action. Can one trust it?

But the same can be said, perhaps worse, about the “West”’s propaganda system. One need only remember the huge media storms that were mobilised to denounce the mass weapons of destruction that Saddam Hussein was allegedly developing.

Years later the Chilcot report in the UK demonstrated how all this had been fiction.