Protest march against proposed golf course

Alternattiva Demokratika - the Green Party yesterday appealed to President de Marco to declare that the land at Tal-Virtù where a golf course was being proposed will not be given out to private interests.

The appeal was made by AD chairman Harry Vassallo during a news conference outside the Palace in Valletta at the end of a protest march along Republic Street against the proposed golf course at Tal-Virtù overlooked by the Verdala Hotel.

The protest was organised by the Front Kontra l-Golf Course, which is made up of 18 organisations including AD, Nature Trust, Farmers' Central Cooperative Society, Friends of the Earth (Malta) and Moviment Graffiti.

The hotel belongs to AX Holdings Ltd, the proposers of the golf course.

The land at Tal-Virtù used to belong to the Church but, following the agreement between the Holy See and the Maltese government, it was passed on to the state on condition that it would only be given out for social, cultural, educational or agricultural purposes.

Dr Vassallo said that for the past six years the growers tilling the land at Tal-Virtù have had their livelihood in the balance because AX Holdings had applied for a development permit to the then Planning Authority to establish a golf course on the site.

The PA had accepted the application even though AX Holdings had declared that the land did not belong to them, and asked the company to prepare an environmental impact assessment, he said.

"For AX Holdings to have possession of the land, the land would require a declaration by the President of the Republic saying it was needed for a public purpose.

"Giving that land for a public purpose goes against the laws of Malta and against fundamental human rights.

"Last Tuesday's public hearing on the proposed golf course confirmed that the proposed development lacked the backing of the growers and of civil society, was unsustainable and, therefore, should not be given the go-ahead," Dr Vassallo.

The AD chairman said that every year about two square kilometres of agricultural land were lost to development, which means that in 50 years' time there would be practically no fields left.

"How can Malta say on one hand that it will be seeking EU funds for rural development and on the other propose to give away so much agricultural land for a golf course?" he asked.

Nicholas Cassar, one of the farmers among the 100 protesters, said that his farmhouse dated back to 1788. His application to the then PA for an organic farm had been turned down. Apart from various crops he cultivates about 1,200 vines.

Joe Farrugia, president of Ghaqda Bdiewa Progressivi, said during the news conference that the fight against the golf course at Tal-Virtù was a "holy war" because growers, even part-timers, had a legal right to work the land.

"Yes, there are part-time farmers just like there are entrepreneurs who have so many other interests, apart from their main source of income. If the golf course fails, the losers would include not only the current growers but all the Maltese. We don't want a repeat of the Price Club disaster," Mr Farrugia said.