The day we commemorate the anniversary of the historic creation of the Republic of Malta this year coincides with a national crisis. Our country is suffering from the painful consequences of a betrayal which saw those at the highest echelons of power putting first the interests of a small clique of people rather than the interests of the populace at large.
These past few weeks we have seen openly exposed the lethal combination between politics and big business; a combination which has led to a journalist being assassinated, among other things. However, the ugly consequences of a system which unabashedly allows the privileged and the wealthy among us to take decisions which impinge greatly on our lives has been felt for a long number of years. During these past 20 years, Malta has borne witness to several acts of privatisations – public land grabbing and of its assets; cases of corruption with no legal closure; and policies which favour and accommodate big business at all costs. This rotten state of affairs has been allowed to develop in a context where we see the two main political parties exerting huge control over our society and institutions, and which prioritise their party’s lust for power over the interests of the people. In fact, these institutions are mostly headed by state functionaries which were put in office deliberately to submit to the will of politicians and businessmen.
We need only look at the dismal state of our natural environment – particularly the issuing of countless and senseless permits to serve the interests of businessmen and patronage networks, and policies which were tailor-made to accommodate the interests of developers – to get a clear understanding of how the forces of power operate in our country and the tragic consequences which we have to bear.
However, now that we are facing this crisis, we can also take advantage of the opportunity to bring about real change, as opposed to a superficial one. We have the opportunity to demand a new kind of politics which favours the people and which allows for fair wages and suitable housing for everyone; which gives priority to our natural environment and quality of life; where independent and transparent institutions which serve our country, rather than political parties or businesses, are the norm and not the exception.
In conclusion, we hope that the grief that our country is experiencing at the moment will help us recognize the malady that has afflicted us, and gives us the strength and will to heal our scars. History teaches us that the people have the power to bring about the change they wish for. Republic Day is testimony to this fact.
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Uġigħ ir-Repubblika
Il-jum li fih infakkru l-kisba storika ta’ Malta Repubblika ħabat din is-sena ma’ kriżi nazzjonali. Pajjiżna qed isofri l-uġigħ ta’ tradiment fejn dawk fil-quċċata tal-poter servew l-interessi ta’ grupp żgħir ta’ nies minflok tal-poplu.
F’dawn il-ġimgħat rajna toħrog fil-beraħ it-taħlita letali bejn il-politika u l-big business; taħlita li wasslet, fost affarijiet oħra, għall-assassinju ta’ ġurnalista. Iżda l-konsegwenzi koroh ta’ sistema fejn min għandu l-flus jitħalla jiddetermina l-ħajjiet tagħna ilha tinħass snin twal. Matul dawn l-aħħar għoxrin sena Malta rat bosta privatizzazzjonijiet – is-serqa tal-artijiet u tal-assi tagħha; każijiet ta’ korruzzjoni bla ebda għeluq legali; u politika fejn in-negozju jiġi akkomodat dejjem u akkost ta’ kollox. Dan kollu sar f’kuntest ta’ kontroll qawwi fuq is-soċjetà u fuq l-istituzzjonijiet tagħna minn żewġ partiti politiċi li poġġew il-poter tagħhom qabel l-interess tal-poplu. Fil-fatt, dawn l-istituzzjonijiet huma fil-biċċa l-kbira tagħhom mmexxija minn funzjonari tal-istat li tpoġġew hemmhekk apposta sabiex joqogħdu għar-rieda ta’ politiċi u negozjanti.
Biżżejjed inħarsu lejn l-isfreġju ambjentali – il-permessi li ngħataw biex jinqdew is-sinjuruni u l-pampaluni, u l-policies li tfasslu ħalli jakkomodaw lill-iżviluppaturi – biex nifhmu kif ħadem il-poter f’pajjiżna u l-impatti traġiċi tiegħu.
Iżda issa li qegħdin fi kriżi għandna wkoll l-opportunità biex naħdmu għal bidla ta’ veru, mhux waħda kożmetika. Hemm l-opportunità li nitolbu għal politika favur il-poplu fejn ikun hemm pagi diċenti u akkomodazzjoni xierqa għal kulħadd; fejn tingħata prijorità lill-ambjent u lill-kwalità tal-ħajja tagħna; fejn ikollna istituzzjonijiet trasparenti u indipendenti li jaqdu lill-pajjiż u mhux lil xi partit jew xi negozju.
Għalhekk nawguraw li l-uġigħ li pajjiżna qed iħoss bħalissa jgħinna nagħrfu l-mard li għandna u jagħtina r-rieda li nfejquh. L-istorja tgħallimna li l-poplu għandu s-saħħa jġib il-bidliet li jixtieq. Jum ir-Repubblika huwa xhieda ta’ dan.
