President asked to withdraw Tony Zarb's Republic Day honour

Former Nationalist Party secretary general Paul Borg Olivier has written to the President asking for Tony Zarb's Gieh ir-Repubblika honour to be withdrawn after he compared protesting women to prostitutes

Former PN secretary general Paul Borg Olivier
Former PN secretary general Paul Borg Olivier

Tony Zarb may have pulled down the offensive post but his action is nowhere near being forgiven with the latest twist seeing former PN secretary general Paul Borg Olivier roping in the President.

Borg Olivier has formally asked the President to withdraw the Republic Day honour bestowed on the former General Workers' Union chief in 2015.

In his letter, Borg Olivier described Zarb's comments as an assault on the dignity of women that was unbecoming of someone who was awarded the state's highest honour.

In an inflammatory Facebook post on Thursday night, Zarb compared the women protesting in front of Castille to prostitutes. The women are camping in the square in front of the Prime Minister's office demanding the resignation of the police commissioner and the attorney general as well as reforms to ensure the country's institutions functioned independently.

Borg Olivier's decision to write to the President follows a Tweet by PN MP Jason Azzopardi who also called for Zarb's Gieh ir-Repubblika medal to be withdrawn.

The GWU has also distanced itself from Zarb's comments in condemning hate speech.