Who is confusing whom?

I am sure The Times needs no one to help in its own defence from the criticism thrown at it by the Labour Party's media executive Mark Farrugia (November 4).

However, since Mr Farrugia points out that, according to him, The Times misreported his boss, Alfred Sant, because it is "possibly confused by the campaign of misinformation launched this week by the government", we cannot resist making a few observations.

First, to be fair, the precise words Mr Farrugia wrote in The Times were: "The Leader of the Opposition never said that last August the government bought shares in the Brindisi terminal company for Lm4 million".

This is the confusion the government's campaign of misinformation is supposed to have created. The alleged campaign of misinformation has been so effective as to have apparently also managed to confuse the MLP's own maltastar.com and Super One TV. In a report published last Tuesday at 7.30 p.m. (BOV Rebuts Austin Gatt's Leak Allegation) the following was stated: "BOV has rebutted the allegation made by Minister Austin Gatt that the information Labour leader Alfred Sant has about the Malta Freeport's purchase of shares in the loss making BTI came from the bank".

In a report broadcast on Super One TV last Monday the following was stated: "Mistoqsi dwar dak li qal il-Ministru Gatt, Sant sostna li qal il-Hadd li ghadda: dwar il-kaz ta' l-erba' miljuni kompla billi qal li l-gvern biex jaghmel tajjeb ghax-xiri ta' l-ishma kollha fi Brindisi Terminal f'Awissu li ghadda l-gvern nefaq 10 miljun ewro ohra f'dan il-port. Flus li l-gvern issellef mill-BOV". ("Asked on what Minister Gatt had said, Sant reiterated what he had said last Sunday: he went on to say that with regard to the four million (liri) to fund the purchase last August of all the shares in Brindisi Terminal, the government spent another €10 million on this port. The government borrowed the money from BOV.")

The fact is the government does not presume to stun into confusion either The Times or indeed the media owned by the Malta Labour Party itself. The Times, maltastar.com and Super One TV were perfectly correct in reporting Dr Sant's allegation that the government spent Lm4 million to purchase BTI shares last August, when it did no such thing.

Mr Farrugia expects The Times to ignore the statement delivered by Minister Gatt, repeated in three statements published by the Department of Information, that the BTI shares were purchased in February 2004 for a meagre Lm150,000 (not Lm4 million) and that the August transaction was a refinancing of BTI commitments that were transferred from an Italian to a Maltese bank. Dr Sant should read this line twice: Refinancing a loan is not equivalent to making a new investment - no new investment in BTI was made last August.

Faced with facts, Dr Sant is changing his story and, typical of his Orwellian style, is unleashing on The Times Mr Farrugia to convince one and all that, no, we never heard Dr Sant say exactly the opposite of what he is saying now.

I am attaching a copy of the relevant report on maltastar. com because by the time this letter arrives and by the time Mr Farrugia realises the contradiction between his letter to The Times and what his own party website says, the page will be removed from the site and Dr Sant's history will be rewritten as if nothing ever happened. I also send a video recording of the Super One TV report and that is where I rest my case.