Between a riot and a rout

Noel Grima

All this inflamed spirits. Occupy Justice and Republika – and other similar groups – had been organising protests on a regular basis, usually on the 16th of the month, with speeches at the Daphne shrine in front of the Law Courts.

This time, said people on the spot, the people in the protest were really angry. From Castille they marched to the Daphne shrine and then they walked out of Valletta. But right at that moment Parliament rose and the members (the Opposition had walked out in protest) came out. The quite natural reaction was that the people rushed to the barriers shouting abuse.

Then Minister Owen Bonnici came out and was told by his minders to head towards Castille. In no time he was surrounded by the crowd, which banged and kicked the car, shouting abuse at the man who reportedly orders the candles and flowers at the Daphne shrine to be removed every night.

Minister Zammit Lewis, who was following, was either luckier or more street-wise for he retreated to the Parliament building and stayed there. Former police inspector and now Speaker Anglu Farrugia has called on the police to identify the rioters and prosecute them.

This was the first time the new Parliament found itself at the centre of a riot and many lessons should be drawn. The Renzo Piano building is purposely all for transparency but in this day and age (see what happened in Hong Kong) it must be made more secure. And Ministers (and the Speaker, as well) must stop this habit of parking their cars just outside the precincts. There are other ways of exiting the House.

The next days were filled by recriminations – and by the Prime Minister who suddenly decided to go back to his journalistic days and provide information on the current state of the police investigations. He had no reason to go there and, considering the entire issue, risks huge issues with conflicts of interest, quite unnecessarily.

People have been commenting on his haggard look in recent days. Ever since he lost whatever chance he had of exiting in glory to some EU post, he has become a prisoner of the Maltese situation. And the assassination of his nemesis, Daphne, has immeasurably complicated matters.