PN leader to join civil society’s protest against Zonqor development

I welcome the Front Ħarsien ODZ national protest against Żonqor development. I will be there. #SaveZonqor pic.twitter.com/xXolE7hgUC

— Simon Busuttil (@SimonBusuttil) June 8, 2015

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil will be joining a protest being organised on Saturday 20 June against the proposed development of a university in an ODZ site in Zonqor.

“I welcome the Front Ħarsien ODZ national protest against Żonqor development. I will be there,” Busuttil tweeted.

The national protest is being organised by Front Harsien ODZ and will start outside the new parliament building at 10am.

"We will call on the government to abide by the 2006 local plan for the south of Malta," FHO spokesman Michael Briguglio said. "The protest is non-partisan one and we invite civil society to join us."

Front Harsien ODZ was set up last month in retaliation to the proposed construction of the ‘American University of Malta’ at Zonqor Point, that will take over 90,000 square metres of pristine land.
Only a few hours after the protest was announced, seven environmental NGOs – Din l-Art Helwa, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Friends of the Earth, Ramblers’ Association, Birdlife, Greenhouse, and Nature Trust – declared that they will be participating in it.

“Development that increases the urbanisation of ODZ areas is unacceptable, and compromising on this point has caused untold damage to the nation’s countryside over the past years,” the NGOs said in a statement. “Any new investment should take place within the development boundaries. We condemn any attempt to once again alter the development boundaries, as well as the attitude being taken that investment is only viable if located on ‘cheap’ ODZ land.

“The remaining ODZ land serves as an invaluable public benefit and should not be sacrificed to the advantage of private investors just because its location outside the development zone makes its market price artificially cheap.”