Government lashes out at Sant over abortion statement

The government yesterday lashed out at Alfred Sant for accusing the government of being so obsessed with joining the EU at any cost that if the EU were to set abortion as a condition for joining, the prime minister would accept.

This statement, the government said, was most defamatory and broke all the limits of decency expected of a person in public life.

"One would have to have lost all sense of values to come up with such a deceitful calumny while knowing it to be untrue."

In a speech at Dingli, Dr Sant yesterday said it was not true that the EU did not interfere in local matters.

He said that while in Malta, the president of the European Parliament Pat Cox had stated that the abortion issue had nothing to do with the EU, but a few weeks later the parliament passed a resolution saying that abortion should be introduced in EU member states and applicant countries.

In its statement, the government said:

"Any Maltese who treasures democracy should feel worried that the opposition leader has made it his life's mission to make a mockery of the truth and of any sense of decency and morality on which public life is built.

"Dr Sant knows that the government, led by Dr Fenech Adami, has, on every occasion that has come up in Malta, in the EU and at the United Nations, shown that it is strongly against abortion.

"After the socialist group within the European Parliament succeeded in passing a declaration in favour of abortion on July 2, the Maltese government again reaffirmed its position against abortion.

"This position was appreciated by all, to the extent that the Bishops, on July 6, noted with satisfaction the Maltese government's determination to reject abortion at all times.

"Dr Sant knows that the EU has no laws on abortion and no authority or interest to impose it on any country. Abortion is illegal in Ireland, which is a long-time member of the EU.

"Dr Sant knows that the recommendation in favour of abortion passed by fellow socialists has no validity at law.

"The European and Maltese bishops have issued statements saying that the EU has no say on abortion and that what is decided by the European Parliament is not binding. So much so that even the Pope and the Polish bishops are openly working in favour of Poland joining the EU," the government said.

In his speech, Dr Sant said he would ask Marin Hili, the Freeport chairman, to resign immediately on Labour being returned to power.

He said it was true he had retained Mr Hili as Freeport chairman when elected in 1996, but as Mr Hili had now bought a stake in the port of Venice, he would be asked to step down.

Dr Sant also said the country was facing an economic crisis as the economy was going from bad to worse.

Statistics showed both imports and exports were down. Factories were producing less and people were spending and consuming less.

No new investment was being attracted and tourism, the backbone of the economy, was also down, with some hotels not having 20 per cent occupancy.

In a statement, the Nationalist Party said Dr Sant was trying to make people forget that employment had gone up by over 5,000 and that the Development Corporation had approved 180 projects with a total investment value of over Lm80 million.

The PN government had also invested Lm30 million on 20 arterial roads and 300 local ones. It was also building a top quality hospital and had built over 1,000 apartments for social housing.