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Karl Schembri
They were meant to serve as a deterrent, or short of that to expose vandals, but the security cameras installed near Portes des Bombes have so far served for none of this, as the latest act of vandalism remains unsolved. As if no cameras were put there.
A year since the monument was last vandalised and a new CCTV system fixed on site, vandals attacked the historic gateway to Floriana once again last Monday night, this time with green paint, and the police are still at a loss despite the footage passed on to forensic experts.
While the police have officially remained silent about the course of investigations for a whole week, heritage experts and the Floriana council fear the worst as no hints of arrests were given until yesterday night, shedding serious doubts about the efficacy of the cameras installed.
Set up and managed by the Works Division but also linked to Police headquarters, the cameras are understood to have yielded unclear footage that is inconclusive to apprehend the vandals.
The gateway built in 1721 by Grand Master Perellos as part of the Floriana fortifications has been targeted four times by unknown vandals over the last year and a half, always to the authorities’ instant condemnations, but nobody was ever brought to court over the attacks.
A spokesman for the Ministry for Resources and Infrastructure, which is responsible for the surveillance and upkeep of the monument, would not confirm or deny reports that the footage available is of little help to investigators.
“The police investigations are still ongoing,” ministry spokesman Charles D’Alfonso said. “There is obviously the CCTV footage, but I can’t say anything else at this point. We have to let investigations take their due course.”
Floriana Mayor Publio Agius, whose locality has also been targeted in the past by Valletta hooligans, said the cameras would be useless if they do not lead to any arrests. “I just hope the cameras serve their purpose, because if not we’re back to square one,” he said.
“If that’s the case they might as well dismantle everything. It would mean that more sophisticated technology is needed. Something definitely would have to be done.”
The mayor also complained that the police did not even inform him of the vandalism. “I got to know about it from the internet,” he said.
Expressing his condemnation of the attacks, Heritage Malta chairman Mario Tabone said the reason for installing cameras was to prevent vandalism. “Short of prevention, one expects the cameras to reveal the vandals’ identity and the police to arrest them,” Tabone said.
“Every vandalism attack on our monuments, apart from the substantial damage to our heritage, is also indicative of our lack of self esteem. These monuments are an expression of our identity. Besides, the money spent to restore vandalised monuments could be used to improve other heritage sites.”
While last week’s attack is not as damaging as the outrageous incident of May last year, when burnt oil was thrown onto the monument requiring extensive and hefty restoration, any efforts to clean the stone from the paint still leaves extensive damage because of irreparable damage to the patina.
“The damage is substantial, not because of the extent of the vandalism, but because every time you clean and restore Maltese stone, even if done in the most professional way, you weaken the patina of the stone,” said the Chairman of the Valletta Rehabilitation Project, Ray Bondin.
The Acting Superintendent of Cultural Heritage, Nathaniel Cutajar, said he interpreted the vandalism as an attack against the Floriana community.
“Monuments are a social symbol. Unfortunately they are not seen as a symbol of unity but of divisiveness, attracting this kind of vandalism,” Cutajar said. “The more a monument is on the outskirts of a locality; the more they are exposed to vandals who want to attack that community.”
kschembri@mediatoday.com.mt
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