Army rejects MP's political discrimination charges

The Armed Forces of Malta have strongly denied claims that high-ranking officers were disciplining soldiers because of their political leanings.

Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday night, Labour MP Joseph Cuschieri warned an army officer the Labour Party would have no option but to take "the appropriate action in due time" if the officer persisted in taking it upon himself to discipline Labourite soldiers.

Mr Cuschieri said he had received reports from soldiers in different ranks that a certain "Captain Micallef" had disciplined them "unfairly and without justification", thus intimidating the soldiers.

An army spokesman told The Times yesterday that after seeking explanations from its two captains surnamed Micallef, the army had confirmed that "no reports have been received in relation to Mr Cuschieri's allegations".

The army spokesman insisted that "military discipline and administration of military justice in terms of law is never politically motivated".

Though there are two captains bearing the same surname in the AFM - Captain Darren Micallef, an adjutant in the First Regiment, and Captain Stephen Micallef, adjutant in the Third Regiment, the MP did not specify in Parliament who he was referring to.

However, Mr Cuschieri told The Times yesterday he had been referring to Captain Darren Micallef.

When asked if he had investigated the case, the MP said he would never speak in Parliament before having verified all the facts.

Mr Cuschieri said he had not spoken to Captain Micallef as he had no authority to approach an army official. It was not even ethical of him to approach the officer: "I drew the attention of the House of Representatives to make sure these things do not happen."

Mr Cuschieri would not say how many cases had been reported to him, adding "it would be unfair to escalate the issue at this point in time". He insisted he had not given any details of the cases he knew about when he spoke in Parliament because it would not have been appropriate, even for the officer's sake.

"If the government decides to investigate the case, the Prime Minister or the Parliamentary Secretary responsible for the AFM could reply in Parliament. We are politicians and we have a responsibility to point out these things. Sometimes it is best to try and change things without revealing all the details. My intention was to warn the person and not to destroy him," Mr Cuschieri said.

Army sources said yesterday both Captain Darren Micallef and Captain Stephen Micallef enjoyed a strong reputation of integrity and fairness in the army. Besides acting as their commanding officers' executive secretaries, adjutants in the army were directly responsible for discipline within their units.

"Army officers don't give a s*** about politics. Discipline is exercised because soldiers or officers would not have abided by the rules and definitely not because of their political leanings," the source said.

An AFM officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said it was unfair that an MP used his parliamentary immunity to mention by name officers who were simply carrying out their duty and who could not defend themselves publicly. When contacted, Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abela, who is responsible for the armed forces, said he would investigate the claims made by Mr Cuschieri.

The Labour MP, Dr Abela said, had not given him any details supporting his claims, adding he had never received reports that discipline in the AFM could have been politically motivated.