Lawrence Gonzi tells PN executive that whoever was responsible for Safi beatings will have to pay the price

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told Nationalist executive members last Thursday that he was preoccupied the beating of asylum seekers at Hal-Safi had got to the European Union, and said that those who were responsible for what he described as ‘a cock up’ (bawxata) would have to pay a high price, MaltaToday has discovered.
The Prime Minister made his statements in the presence of deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg, the minister responsible for government’s detention policy. His comments send an ominous message to Brigadier Carmel Vassallo who was present at the much publicised beatings of a peaceful protest by African and Arab asylum seekers. Many executive members at the PN executive interpreted his comments as pointing a finger at the commander in chief of the army. It would a calamitous history for the Maltese army who has had to live with the resignation of another Brigadier, that of Brigadier Maurice Calleja in 1994.

Talking to the PN executive members the Prime Minister changed the subject to the ongoing debate about improving Malta’s competitiveness saying he was not authorised to divulge the union’s counter proposals to the government’s. He admitted there were great differences between the two sides, but was confident that a social pact would be reached.
Lawrence Gonzi then referred to the ECOFIN (EU finance ministers) meeting he had just attended and talked about the positive reaction to the government’s attempts to control its financial deficit.
The executive meeting was dominated by comments on the local council elections. During the meeting, a veteran executive member, the 75 year old Manwel Saliba lamented the fact that free medicine was longer being provided for those over 75 which he said had come about because of a belief that medicines did not have an effect on the over 75 year olds. He said that he himself was not eligible for free medicines.
Saliba added: “If you think that the PN is still popular you are all very mistaken.”
He continued by saying that many Nationalists were refusing to renew their membership.
The meeting came to an end with the approval of the list of as yet unnamed PN candidates for the local council elections.