‘I had passed through Msida minutes before the bomb exploded’ - Joseph Muscat
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat revealed that just like many other commuters, he had driven through Msida only 15 minutes before a car bomb went off.
Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela made a statement to the House about the Msida bombing. He said the Cabinet of Ministers would be discussing this latest car bombing incident in today’s scheduled meeting.
“The government is not dismissing its responsibility to the security of our country,” he said. “But let us realise that this is not a normal situation and these are not normal incidents.”
The Prime Minister said some members of the Opposition were attempting to politicise this situation, something he said had never been done in previous legislatures.
“Let us not forget that under previous governments, we had foreign agents coming to Malta, shooting people in broad daylight on the Sliema front, and making a getaway on a speedboat,” he said, referring to the 1995 assassination of Fathi Shqaqi, co-founder and Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine.
Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said that people were worried about their security, with five incidents of car bombs in the past 12 months, but even more so now that it had become apparent these car bombs could – and did – leave innocent bystanders injured or worse.
“Organised crime is present in Malta, as evidenced by these car bombs, and it is obvious the government is not doing enough to counter it,” he said. “Either that, or else the government has tried, but failed.”
Dr Busuttil said there existed a lack of confidence in the police force, especially with a police commissioner who was more intent on expressing his support for the government than for doing his job.
There is also a lack of competence within the police corps, because many experienced and capable officers had left the force, not able to stand the situation they had found themselves in.
“It is not enough for the minister to come here and tell us he was shocked,” he said. “Your job is to ensure these things do not happen in the first place.”
The Opposition leader reiterated his call to have the police commissioner elected by a two-thirds majority in Parliament as a first step towards re-establishing confidence in the police force.
He also reminded the government that Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi, in November 2016, had recommended the setting up of a parliamentary committee for security.
Shadow Home Affairs Minister Beppe Fenech Adami said that the Opposition had warned Minister Abela, in a previous discussion in Parliament, that future car bombing incidents could hurt innocent bystanders.
“In today’s car bomb, we were proven right, as these criminals showed they are prepared to be indiscriminate in their execution of the crimes,” he said. “At last count, there were seven innocent bystanders hospitalised in the explosion this morning.”
Dr Fenech Adami asked the minister to explain what measures the police force had implemented over the past 12 months, following the first car bomb incident, to investigate and counter this new threat.
Shadow Justice Minister Jason Azzopardi asked the minister whether the police could tie this organised crime to a particular criminal activity, such as drug trafficking, and if there were any persons out on bail who were being investigated for complicity or involvement in previous car bombings.
Responding to the Opposition’s comments and questions, Abela said that any lack of confidence in the police force was due to the Opposition’s incessant and unwarranted criticism of the corps.
As to the recommendation that the police commissioner be elected by a two-thirds majority vote in Parliament, he said that the Opposition failed to realise that even the unions representing police members were against this proposal.