AD attacks Government on boathouses agreement

Alternattiva Demokratika - The Green Party yesterday described the agreement between the "spineless" government and the "arrogant" boathouse owners in Armier as a dangerous precedent.

AD chairman Harry Vassallo said AD opposed this agreement and the way a small lobby group was holding the government to ransom by threatening to boycott the EU referendum, to the detriment of society.

"These arrogant boathouse owners use their power to blackmail governments with their vote. This is resulting in a democratic deficit because such arrogant minorities are imposing their will on the majority," Dr Vassallo said during a press conference yesterday.

"We cannot stand silent when the government changes the rules of the game instead of enforcing the rule of law," he said.

Last month the government signed an agreement with the central committee of the Associations of Boathouse and Caravan Owners, under which the company set up by the central committee, Armier Developments Ltd, was given the green light to develop 1,575 boathouses.

The proposed footprint would be 23 hectares and would span the entire l-Ahrax coastline, from Ramla tal-Qortin to White Tower Bay.

"This is nothing but a reward for an arrogant lobby of squatters who have illegally ruined our coastline for decades. To add insult to injury, the squatters will reap the financial benefits from the new scheme," Dr Vassallo said.

Dr Vassallo also said that while the government awarded those who squatted on public land for years, the Labour party remained quiet in the light of such a "farce".

"The silence of the MLP on this issue exposes the true nature of the party's environmental policy," he said.

"If the MLP has the environment at heart it should condemn the agreement reached between the government and the illegal squatters," he said.

Dr Vassallo also pointed out the implications that this agreement had on the common, law-abiding citizen.

"This agreement shows that might is right and that law-abiding citizens are disadvantaged when compared with members of arrogant lobby groups," he said.