Wrap-up: Arrest warrant issued against AD leader, Police commissioner investigates

Claire Bonello

Mar 6th 2008, 19:21

Can everybody get real? Here we have a situation where vat returns are not completed for a dormant company. It is not a question of not paying tax - it's a question of not submitting a return. There's a request for a pardon - which is usually acceded to in similar cases. This time it wasn't acceded to (wonder why when more serious cases were?). So a fine was converted to a prison sentence - last year! Strangely enough the arrest documents were delivered on the eve of the election, four hours after Medialink journalists asked Harry Vassallo what he thought about his prison sentence. People are suggesting that this incident has been engineered by AD to gain sympathy. Pull the other one - who would dish out an arrest warrant to himself to gain electoral brownie points? If it was happening to a major party politician people would be thronging the streets and being justifiedly worried about intimidation. Instead everybody comes up with fancy conspiracy theories. Campaigns can't get much dirtier than this

Rob Borg

Mar 6th 2008, 17:29

All I can say is that this was a normal court process and Vassallo should not be granted privilege because of his high position. It happened that the time has expired and the second part of the court process began
to apply.
Also, if you, as me, are fed up with seeing the same faces and this mud flinging and backstabbing campaign which is going on now, vote for new candidates contesting with the party which you think offers the best for Malta.
When the same persons, in either party, stay too long in power, they lose credibility.

Elaine Sultana

Mar 6th 2008, 16:17

BUT WHO INFORMED THE PN JOURNALISTS? WHY DIDN'T THEY INFORM ALSO THE ONE JOURNALISTS AND PBS JOURNALISTS?

Dr B Farrugia

Mar 6th 2008, 15:46

Some people are starting to panic, and this is how they silence their opponents. Are other people, parties or companies being directly or indirectly blackmailed ? The means for them justifies the end. This is shameful and unbelievable.

Claudia Formosa

Mar 6th 2008, 15:46

The Police have issued a Press Release which practically rubbishes what Clean Harry stated to the press yesterday.

It now transpires that the Police went to Clean Harry's house to discuss a theft which occurred close to a property owned by Clean Harry.

The Police PR continues saying that, since the Police Seargent knew about the two pending issues involving Dr Vassallo, he mentioned them to the latter and asked him to regularise his position.

Is this what Clean Harry told the press yesterday?

No. Clean Harry spinned it.

Mario Gauci

Mar 6th 2008, 15:45

Sorry to say but Harry Vassallo has lost all credibility by this. Shows that AD are in a downward spiral.

V Pace

Mar 6th 2008, 15:40

Really and truly, the only lesson that one should learn from this is not to trust someone as careless as Harry Vassallo (a lawyer "forgetting" that his fine could be transposed into a jail term) with a seat in Parliament, let alone around the Cabinet table.

johnfenech

Mar 6th 2008, 15:35

Dr.Vassallo you are asking whom ever is reading or heard about your misadventure to believe that you are innocent of knowingly breaking the law and as an aspiring minister I am eager to trust your version of the truth.
I will not even think of judging you let alone say that you are guilty but, shouldn’t you stop and reflect about those who will gain from this misadventure. One your supporters will vote for the AD irrespective of the substance of this case. Two since you are the victim in all probability you or your party stand to get more votes from the PN.
So DR.Vassallo you are surely not that politically naive to believe that a political Party will bite its nose to spite its face ...probably there is better saying in Maltese!!

Ian Briffa

Mar 6th 2008, 15:34

Number 1 AD to stop this filth from happening again. These are the things PN used to blame labour for in the MIntoff era. Disgusting. I was going to carry on with 2 on PN but they won't even get that from me anymore.

Claudia Formosa

Mar 6th 2008, 15:28

A few years back we had the MLP-GWU marriage.

Now, it seems that they already bought the rings for the MLP-AD engagement.

God bless.

james debono

Mar 6th 2008, 15:22

this game of justifying the unjustifiable shows how some people have lost the high moral ground. After all what's left to defend now except power?

Albert Galea

Mar 6th 2008, 15:20

Dear C Fenech.

Mention one government in the world that is perfect. Mention one electoral campaign in the world where the main issues are so "minor".

YES, in comparison with the unemployment, growing deficits, recessions, etc. that other country's have to deal with, the environment IS secondary.

Remeber this, that anywhere in the civilised world, the environment is cared for only if the rest of the affairs are in order. People care for the environment if they have a job, can pay the rent, have health care, etc.

It is also "expensive" to care for the environment; a weak economy canot afford to care for the environment.

As for the police force taking four months..first of all let's get all the facts before we start on wild conspiracy theories "it was PN", "it was MLP", "it was AD", we have heard everybody blaming everybody. But little fact except for Harry Vassallo not paying VAT and having ten years to get his house in order.

This Harry Vassallo issue could be spun in so many ways.

But the real question is WHO HAS BENEFITED FROM IT MOST? Answer:

1. AD
2. MLP
3. PN

So why should the PN instigate this?

And why all this sympathy for Harry Vassallo not paying tax? Just imagine it was a Nationalist MP?!

Joseph Micallef

Mar 6th 2008, 15:19

I have just heard the declaration by the Police. If this declaration was reported correctly and if Dr. Vassallo never mentioned the true reason why the police called on him, to opportunistically spin a story HE SHOULD RESIGN IMMEDIATELY.

Joe Galea

Mar 6th 2008, 14:56

Dear Busietta,
What sherlock Holmes said, has to be interpreted in the circumstance he said it.
Thos who r saying that MLP is benefiting from this is wrong. The problem with the very democratic GonziPN is that for them other parties than GonziPN should not exist in the first place. It's a blasphemous sin not to vote GonziPN...

claude portelli

Mar 6th 2008, 14:36

I am totally convinced that all this issue is simply yet another chapter in the dirty game the MLP are playing in this campaign to win the elections. I have no doubt in Gonzi's integrity and honesty and as the PN's general secretary said they are not that stupid to jeopardise the result of teh elections in such a low level game. The "new" labour would give in more easily to such dirty games.
c.portelli

Jeffrey Mallia

Mar 6th 2008, 14:27

By the way, what have AD to offer?

An Italo-Maltese candidate sitting on the extreme left of Italy's Parliament and a lawyer who forgot to send in his tax forms.

Claire Bonello

Mar 6th 2008, 14:24

To P Grech : There is no indication it was a "mock arrest" - the documents delivered by the police officers were quite genuine. I don't buy the fanciful theories about this being an incident engineered by the joint covert forces of the MLP and AD, just as I didn't buy the insinuations that violence in the 1980s was caused by Nationalist agent provacateurs.
The timing of this arrest warrant is suspect, as is the Nationalist media's foreknowledge of it. PN pundits can go on about peace of mind under a Nationalist government. This is just another incident which proves them wrong

Jeffrey Mallia

Mar 6th 2008, 14:22

The MLP-AD wave of change is hitting tsunami heights.

You'd think that, for AD politicians and sympathisers, Malta's problems all stem from the PN. I haven't heard more than a murmur against Lejber from that front.

It's a Koalixin in the making . . .

joe borg

Mar 6th 2008, 14:09

All you PN diehards, bad mouthing Dr. Vassallo, can you say even one word to justify the timing of this issue? Even one? Why now, why two days before the election? And what of all the abuse by the Ministers in Pariament? Oh I forgot, they have power on their side. Whether the PM decides to follow that up or not is entirely at his discretion, right? Objective justice indeed. Sad country. Even EFA in the worst of the Labour years was never imprisoned on whatever pretext. You make me sick Prime Minister. And to think I voted for your party all these years. To create a monster.

Jeffrey Mallia

Mar 6th 2008, 14:09

My income tax situation was not in order for some years.

I ended up paying a hefty fine.

And I did not ask for a presidential pardon.

Have I missed something here?!

Maria Attard

Mar 6th 2008, 14:04

Just wondering: what would have happened if one had simply replaced the words ‘Harry Vassallo’ with ‘Lawrence Gonzi’ in this story: would public opinion be just as consistent?

Joseph Aquilina

Mar 6th 2008, 13:47

MLP supporters show that the principle ideology of MLP – TWO WAYS TWO MEASURES! If this was a PN candidate then they would have instantly called Dr.Gonzi to retire! However the whole story changes when the candidate in question is from AD! And they want us to believe that MLP and AD are not thing – MLPAD!!

K Xuereb

Mar 6th 2008, 13:45

As Jason Busietta said, the question to be asked is who benefits from all this storm and we'll have a pretty good picture at the originator of all this debacle.

Looking at the reponses and comments, it's not hard to see who is benefiting.

Maria Dolores Fenech

Mar 6th 2008, 13:40

What is the purpose of this frame up? A. to discredit Dr Vassallo, accused of ‘stealing’ PN votes (remember ‘vote Harry get Freddie’?) and b. to make us forget Mistra Scandal. Dr Sant has already promised justice when he is elected Prime Minister; on the other hand PN has not seen it fit to give him presidential pardon. What a difference! Shame on the PN, how low can you get?

P Grech

Mar 6th 2008, 13:38

To Claire Bonello. Can you give me one good reason why the PN would have stage managed a 'mock arrest' which benefits AD and ultimately the MLP.

It was political opportunism of the highest order for Harry Vassallo to call a press conference - allege that the police had come home to arrest him when what they did was ask him to regularise his position - just like any other law abiding citizen!

I have had my fair share of fines and tax assessments that I did not agree with - the system might not be perfect but I ultimately have to grin and bare it and settle the 'bill'. I am unable to use my public image to gain sympathy to the point that some are thinking about collecting the fine for him!

This election is about one issue alone - WHO will run this country for the next 5 years - Alfred Sant or Lawrence Gonzi.

No it is not a perfect system but Yes it is a two party race. If you want AS as your PM then go ahead and vote for MLP or vote for AD. If you want LG then vote for PN. Deep down WE ALL know that the choice all boils down to that!

C Fenech

Mar 6th 2008, 13:38

Albert Galea...... of course.....
Our environment being blatantly abused by our policians and a police force that takes 4 months to execute a court judgement ...... are both SMALL issues aye !!

Jeffrey Mallia

Mar 6th 2008, 13:28

What a spinner this Harry is?! It was no arrest warrant he received - if it was he'd be in jail.

So apart from not paying a fine, Dr Vassallo is also a fully qualified spin doctor.

joe borg

Mar 6th 2008, 13:24

There is only one word for this. Desperation. It is a desperate move from a party about to fall clutching at straws. And no amount of excusing PN can change the facts. That Net TV came up with this first. That the timing is inexcusable. That PN has the power to do this. It confirms what I've been saying all along. That the politicians know already. They can see the people are not fooled. A change will happen. Whether you like it or not. And no amount of begging will change that. You have no sense of decency left. AD you have my vote. Whatever happens.

Alex Ellul

Mar 6th 2008, 13:18

Dear President of the Republic,

I have been good during my whole life as a Maltese citizen.
I have never owned a gun illegally and got a pardon.
I have never illegally imported a TV or Video recorder and then asked for a pardon.
I have never avoided payment of income tax or VAT and asked for a pardon.
I have always paid my taxes (about Lm 130,000 up to now, and I am an emplyee not a businessman).
I have never had skrmishes with the law.
In fact I have never done anything that goes against the law.
Can I have a Lm6,000 pardon please?

Rocco Siffredi

Mar 6th 2008, 13:15

SHAME SHAME on him. Dr Vassallo got what he deserved.

Mark Grima

Mar 6th 2008, 13:11

To the other Mark Grima on this thread: What dues are you referring to exactly? 18% of nothing = nothing. To all others on this thread who smell an AD/MLP rat: who is responsible for the police? Alfred Sant? Harry Vassallo? If some rouge element of the police has acted with political motives (whilst making a massive mis-calculation), then it is a reflection of the government’s incompetence in the field of law enforcement. Net TV chose to publicise the case, yet now, because it has back-fired on them, they claim they are only doing their job. They might have had an ounce of credibility in my mind, if it wasn't for the fact that the only AD election press conference they turned up to was yesterday's. This story is a symptom of a deeper malaise. It symbolises the reality of living in a country with a democratic deficit. When the DOI acted as a branch of the PN, by issuing a press pass to Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando in record time, we all dismissed it as trivial. Today it is the police "acting strangely" (according to Edgar Galea Curmi of the Prime Minister’s Secretariat). Sure. And Robert Mugabe's police force also "act strangely" at election time.

Robert Grech

Mar 6th 2008, 13:08

Why can't everybody be objective about this entire issue?

Dr. Vassallo can go into all the moral details of this case, but the fact remains that he had a fine to pay, he had all the time in the world to clear his name(10 years!). Why didn't he pay the fine or find an ammicable solution with the VAT department?

It is entirely up to the president if he should pardon Dr. Vassallo and not me, or you, or anyone else.

An investigation has started on the way this case has been handled, let's all be patient and see what happens.

Any person here who says that Dr. Vassallo should get away scot-free is telling the result of Malta to avoid sending their vat returns.

The courts are not stupid, and Dr. Vassallo could have reached some sort of settlement with the Minister in charge of Finance (he had 10 years to do this) as per Article 75 of the Value Added Tax Act.

Christina Borg

Mar 6th 2008, 13:07

Would the story read any different if instead of Dr. Harry Vassallo it was a nationalist MP such as Dr. Louis Galea who was criminally convicted in 2005 to pay about 9,000 euros and to date he would still not have paid them? I am sure someone would have claimed that that this is a ‘friends of friends (hbieb tal-hbieb)’ doing.

andy spiteri

Mar 6th 2008, 13:07

in my opinion this is just a plan by gonzipn. however i feel very sorry for dr vassallo that he is the key person for pn party. remember 5 years ago this same party that time"fenech adami pn" convinced AD to say that voting them # 2 is as good as #1.This time the plan is more corrupted.i cannot understand pn voters why after all this they still support pn party its a shame to our country

james debono

Mar 6th 2008, 13:06

The parallels between JPO and Harry Vassallo are quite shaky.
In the case of Harry Vassallo the main issue was that NET phoned him before the police popped in. This blurs the distinction between state and party media. Maltarightnow already had a story which they replaced with an SPCA story after realising the big blunder.
In the JPO case Harry Vassallo simply expressed his sorrow that a politician with strong green credentials owns a tract of land in an application for a disco in the middle of the countryside.
The problem with JPO is "how can you protect the environment on the whole island if you can't do it on your piece of land?"
As far as i know AD did not say that JPO is corrupt they only expressed outrage against a development in the countryside.
Finally am not aware of anyone sending the police to arrest JPO a few hours after a party TV station phoned him.

Alfred Micallef Gomez

Mar 6th 2008, 12:55

Alfred Sant - Gonzi: what's the difference?

Prima facie Gonzi looks more credible than Sant, but now that the Nationalist are adopting such shallow tactics they have confirmed my suspicion: they're just the same political party fighting over irrelevant issues before the public just to keep their status-quo.

None of them deserves any vote, not even a no. 2! 1 AD for a breath of fresh air!

John Axiak

Mar 6th 2008, 12:48

Reply to Louise Galea:

1. Vassallo did something about it: he asked for a Presidential Pardon! Fenech Adami promoted a presidential pardon for a drug importer, though not for an innocent victim of our Legal System of Positive Law!! (Perhaps you should consider attending lectures on Philosophy of Law). Vassallo's only wrong act is that is he is a too kind! He should have forced the other person to become the legal representative or threaten dissolve the company. But let's face it, would you do that against a friend or an x-colleague?

2. This is something of a private nature and should not have come on the media because it involves Vassallo's relationship with a friend (or an x-collegaue). Wherein this relation it is crystal clear that there is no wrong on Vassallo's behalf! This issue should only have been publicized if there was an intrinsic element of wrong doing on Vassallo's part. Do we inquire into the relationship Alfred Sant or Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando had with their respective (former) wives? Or are domestic affairs more secretive than friend-to-friend (or x-colleague) relations?

3. Had other Maltese politicians (be it AD, MLP or AN) been in Harry Vassallo's situation they would have definitely found help to pay-up the Lm6,000 and put the case to rest. Let's be honest which party has the least amount of financial resources?

J. Micallef

Mar 6th 2008, 12:42

every one knows that there are rules to follow, and that these rules are equal to everyone, but the strangest thing is that it was issued in an election eve, Another strange thing is that net tv was conscious about this case even before that Mr. vassallo was informed and everyone knows that Gonzi was afraid about voting other alternatives apart from pn. so AS was't so wrong when he said that the police is beeing used as a "paraventu".

joe camilleri

Mar 6th 2008, 12:33

Had it been Dr Gonzi, instead of Dr Vassallo who refused to pay a fine and kept it hidden from the public for years. Would you have said miskin gonzi or expected him to resign? I think that Harry Vassallo should take the honourable road he preaches so much about and resign.

M.Cassar

Mar 6th 2008, 12:31

I strongly agree with David Friggieri. We need to know the truth. ASAP This determines where our votes go.

Albert Galea

Mar 6th 2008, 12:20

Aren’t we lucky!

Aren’t we lucky that this campaign has all been about mud-slinging, so-called scandals, small VAT bills unpaid, unjustified permits in nature zones, MEPA’s gross inefficiencies, Labour MPs evading tax for ten years, etc.

Aren’t we lucky that this campaign is NOT about our very freedom, unemployment, economic crisis, poor education / health care, dying tourist industry, dropping standards of living, no future prospects for Malta, budget deficits and increasing taxes?

We can blame the Nationalist Party for this; why can’t we have rampant unemployment, economic crises, dropping standards of living, etc.? Why can’t we have all these dramatically serious issues to discuss in this electoral campaign?!

Instead thanks to the PN having left Malta in a state of full employment, booming industry, no budget deficit, lower taxes, better standard of living, etc., the electoral campaign is reduced to mud-slinging on minor issues, when compared to the major issues we could be arguing about had the PN not done such a good job.

STOP this madness and arguing about extremely minor issues, when the BIG picture shows that Malta is doing extremely well. Sure, these minor issues are important and need to be sorted out, HOWEVER, let’s put things in proportion, if Malta was in a REAL mess, the Opposition would not have built their whole campaign on mud-slinging, but on substance. However, what serious issue can Labour complain about? What serious proposals have Labour put forward.

They cannot have any BIG issues, as there are NO big issues.

Aren’t we lucky? No, seriously, we really are!

If you seriously think that on the REAL and BIG issues Malta (and don’t think selfishly!) is worse off, vote for change. But don’t do so on the proportionately ‘small’ issues and petty bantering.

If you think Malta is better off, as it is as a matter of fact, not subjective opinion, vote PN, but also put pressure on the new PN government to sort out the small petty stuff that is also important.

Mark Muscat

Mar 6th 2008, 12:17

its simple, there are rules to follow and if they are broken, there are consequences! its not rocket science! it shows that no matter who you are, the rules always apply

J Debono

Mar 6th 2008, 12:15

Rebecca Sammut, the only surveys I've seen show AD consistenly getting 2.4%. Thats about 14% short of what AD needs to elect a seat.

Truth is that by voting for Harry we're going to get Freddie...

Claire Bonello

Mar 6th 2008, 12:08

David Friggieri has made the most pertinent observations.
Does nobody find it strange to see that the conversion of a fine to imprisonment and the prospective arrest was made known to Medialink journalists before the police actually arrived?Does anyone really believe that AD or the MLP have actually stage managed an arrest? How incredible is that? Also, this is about NON-SUBMISSION of a VAT return, not non-payment of taxes. More to the point - it's about non-submission of a return by someone who is no longer responsible for the company in question. Loads of pardons have been given for precisely the same administrative contravention. Why not in this case?

Robert Grech

Mar 6th 2008, 12:07

I have one question to everybody out there, why did Dr. Vassallo choose to keep this private?

"Dr Vassallo said he had waged his battle in private because of his personal interest, but now that the PN had chosen to make it public, he could promise to wage a campaign for law enforcement to be reasonable. People who failed to submit a piece of paper could not be treated like violent criminals."

I don't think PN or their media want to turnish Dr. Vassallo's image, i think it's more a case of Dr. Vassallo keeping this a secret from the electorate.

Paul Baldacchino

Mar 6th 2008, 12:03

Some say the PN are not so stupid to set this up. I ask whether the PN are so intelligent to set this up and then hide by spinning peoples’ thoughts that they are not so stupid to fabricate this conjecture. The PN’s statement follows this line.
Allow me to ask how come the PN journalist knew about the upcoming arrest so early in the dawn of this thing?
Please remember the last day mud sling by Hon. Edward when he was SO heart stricken remembering his son’s rejection by the University Committee of which Alfred Sant allegedly formed part. The court ruling obviously came out after the elections. I sincerely hope this will not be repeated although I am sure it will be repeated in the Mistra saga.

Jason Busietta

Mar 6th 2008, 11:59

As Sherlock used to say...tell me who benefitted of all this, and i'll tell you who's behind it!

JB

Andrew Sciberras

Mar 6th 2008, 11:49

To all the GonziPN apologists: If you think what you are writing here reflects in any way the general sentiment in the country you are very, very wrong. You are simply perpetuating your own delusions. The country is in shock not so much by what has happened, not so much by all the lies but by the level of hatred and venom this fair country has fallen prey to. God bless you and keep you Malta!

David Aquilina

Mar 6th 2008, 11:47

I will for sure vote PN considering that now it is evidently clear the bad approach both MLP and AD have to the public. All accusations made by MLP towards PN will surely be melted down or follow to lies as already been attributed to Jo Said regarding accusations to Minister Pullicino, This is not the way to pretend to be in governement, you need more un hypotetic matters......

Kevin Zammit

Mar 6th 2008, 11:47

This is a shame on this country of unspeakable proportions. The law being abused by bureaucracy. It is true these things happen but what kind of message are we sending to a foreign investor? You forget or neglect to mail in an 0 (ZERO) VAT form, Euro 14,000 fine or 2 year jail sentence!

Dr. Vasallo is lucky to be a public figure! I would really like to see if anybody dares arrest him. Absolute outrage! I hope a lot of people will vote AD over this.

Randolph Bugeja

Mar 6th 2008, 11:37

"What this makes sure is that those people who PN considers as "Nationalists sympathising with AD" become "ex-Nationalists turned staunch AD" who this time 'round have decided that it's time up for excuses and .. yes, they'll be using their vote wisely.
For a lot of these (us) this does away with any remnants of doubt.. and now it really doesn't matter who of the big parties wins." J Mallia

That's exactly what whoever orchestrated this wants people to think. That's exactly why the PN is not stupid enough to do that. And finally that's exactly why whoever planned this is rubbing his hands in glee.

Alfred Cassar

Mar 6th 2008, 11:32

I think we should continue focusing on what all parties are offering for the next 5 years and vote accordingly.

I'm sure that after the election we will find that a good 90% of what is being said about politicians now was all mud slinging. That's how dirty this campaign was, especially from the MLP side.

There is a verse in the Bible saying something like:
Let those who have never sinned throw the first stone.

Dr Vassallo was in duty bound to pay the fine (he's not different from the rest of us). However I feel that the timing was wrong for a decision to be taken by the police just a few days before the election.

Josanne Cassar

Mar 6th 2008, 11:23

There are more conspiracy theories posted on this site than a Mel Gibson movie. I have always known that we Maltese are, by nature, a suspicious people, but what many of the comments reveal is that many have completely lost their trust and faith in our political system.
No wonder so many are disillusioned and frankly nauseated at the depths to which this "election campaign" has sunk.

Mark Galea

Mar 6th 2008, 11:23

If I were in Harry Vassallo's position I would consider changing my political campaign and consider a military coup as a means of obtaining political change.

The political system (i.e. Single Transferable Vote divided into disctricts) in Malta is geared towards discriminating against small parties. Only a handful of states use this system in the world and no-state has circumvented its effect by introducing electoral districts!

To make matters worse the only possibility AD had for getting a seat (i.e. on Sliema Area) was trashed due to the changes in the the 10th Electoral district. As a matter of fact it is for changes in electoral district to take place there must be the consent of the Government and Opposition (vide sec 60 and 61 of the Maltese Constitution).

PN and MLP are in a position to offer and promise jobs, promotion and favors. AD can't! Now let's be sincere how many people vote for their respect tribes solely because they have been given a favoured by that tribe?

And the list can go on and on and on.....

Don't quit Harry, for me you are always a winner!

Amanda Mallia

Mar 6th 2008, 11:20

Harry is a lawyer, and should have known about all the implications of the case (legal or otherwise).

I believe he knew that a fine had been imposed, so then surely he could have followed up the case to see where his non-payment would lead him. If not to protect his political interests, then he should have done so at least to protect the interests of his family.

Whilst I sympathise with the innocent people involved in this case, the way I see it, AD/MLP could have been all too aware of the situation, and are using this as a last minute weapon against PN.

Elaine Sultana

Mar 6th 2008, 11:19

I think non of us should be the judge of this case. Does any one of you know the facts? I don't think so, so it's not up to us to see whether HV was unjustly or justly fined.

As for the political parties it would be very very foolish of them if they had anything to do with this case.

What i really want to know is, if the fine turned into arrest in October, and if it was truly conceled, who knew in October that he could benefit from such a situation? I mean, the PM called an election 4 weeks ago. So who in October knew that he could use this to his advantage in March? I guess this is some food for thought!

To PN-apalogists - lashing out on AD as stealing your votes is politically incorrect. We are a free country and parties do not steal votes, they OBTAIN them. If you have lashing out to do you'd better do it against yourselves because that's where the trouble lies, within your party, or else you wouldn't have lost votes to AD

James De Giorgio

Mar 6th 2008, 11:19

Sant and the entire MLP camp must be wringing their hands in glee. Clearly the election is theirs now.

Great move MLPAD.

Joseph Aquilina

Mar 6th 2008, 11:19

AD supporters you should be the first to feel betrayed by a leader who did not tell you all the truth and tried to use his status in your party to gain a personal advantage!

James Micallef

Mar 6th 2008, 11:17

@Albert Galea - HV did NOT refuse to pay a VAT bill, there was no VAT due. The Lm6000 was a fine for not presenting zero returns for a company he no longer represented. Its the company that is to blame not HV

James Micallef

Mar 6th 2008, 11:15

@Claire Pace Harmsworth - Did you even read the story? HV asked for a presidential pardon following the fine, and not, as you are saying, for the jail sentence issued 5 months ago that he had no idea about.

mario sultana

Mar 6th 2008, 11:13

Many are saying that PN would not be so stupid to shoot itself in the foot by sending Harry Vassallo to Jail and give political mileage to MLP. However let's put it straight. It was a PN journalist who started this chain of events like hay fire. The police where compelled to take action because they would have appeared in the public eye as not carrying out their duties. If the PN wants to wash its hands from this situation it must state that she has nothing to do with the net tv journalist. This will be hardly gullible in my opinion.

Danny Attard

Mar 6th 2008, 11:12

I feel sad that I will go to vote on Saturday because I feel that the democracy of my country is being tampered-with by obscure hands and interests.

Andrew Camilleri

Mar 6th 2008, 11:12

the MLP strategists are geniuses according to a lot of people on this forum. They did the unthinkable - they used a NET TV journalist for their own and ultimate bombshell!! Come on guys, please respect our intelligence!

Amanda Mallia

Mar 6th 2008, 11:11

For those of you who missed Edward Gatt's post below, I am reproducing it to stress the point:
"Let us for a moment assume that Harry's Vassallo's arrest (warrant) was politically motivated.

Ask yourself - Which parties will gain out of making Harry Vassallo seem like a martyr? PN, MLP or AD?

Voters should focus on which party should be rewarded for the results obtained in the last five years and which party offers the better prospects for the next five years.

It is in the MLP & AD's interest to shift the focus on other matters during the last couple of days."

TMercieca

Mar 6th 2008, 11:10

Here is what I think happened on the issue.

NET Journalists tried to dig for dirt on Mr. Vassallo, and this story emerged. The person responsible for the court case was pressured as to why no actions took place and off course in order not to receive any blame he rushed the warrant out..

This whole thing backfired on PN, yes it's a blow beneath the belt.

One could have waited at least one more week to publish this but no whoever is responsible waited for Wednesday knowing that Thursday the campaigns will come to an end and that on Friday there cannot be any press conferences or other election related activities.

Come on this is 2008 not 1980!!.

Wally Vella-Zarb

Mar 6th 2008, 11:06

Many are asking, in this forum and elsewhere, who stands to gain from this sordid affair. Please do not forget that, ancillary to 'making a gain' there is also the strategy of 'containing a loss'.

By attempting to discredit AD, it is GonziPN that makes a virtual gain by 'containing' the loss that it is suffering through the exodus of dissatisfied ex-PN voters and unconvinced floaters.

As for the 'lecture' on the three pillars of Justice, first of all the Courts do not deal in 'Justice'. They deal in 'Rights'.

The Courts have no option but to apply the laws as set out by the Legislative - even if they are absurd.

The Legislative enacts a law with sections that defy logic, vis. exacting a fine for failure to submit a 'nil-return', in other words, a blank piece of paper.
The Executive has the task of enforcing decisions taken elsewhere (e.g. the Court) and this often filters down to the 'discretion' of the lower ranks. It could well be that a junior clerk is inefficient.

It is just as likely that 'someone' thought it best to 'sit on it for a while'. The end result is the same: a shameful timing of a legitimate Court order, brought about by shameful legislation, and causing harm to Harry Vassallo and AD.

E Bajada

Mar 6th 2008, 10:57

Rebbeca i totally agree with your comments .Do they really think were all still at kindergarden .

Joseph Aquilina

Mar 6th 2008, 10:53

The main difference between this and JPO case is that this case came out from an IMPARTIAL COURT while JPO case came out from Dr.Sant and MLP propaganda. I guess we can all agree that the foremost has much more credibility then the latter right!? That is the big difference!

R Grech

Mar 6th 2008, 10:48

Who stands to gain with such a move PN or the new MLPAD?? Think about it ...

F Rizzo

Mar 6th 2008, 10:46

it's incredible...we have been shown proof of JPO knowing about the disco development plans - on this e-newspaper too to say the least, not only on a politically affiliated newspaper - and we still fail to see the truth. then when it comes to a political party leader who hasn't paid the returns of a company he is not in charge of anymore, we act all rightful and be keen on justice...
are we so patisan to such an extent that we really don't try to see a clear picture? well, i must admit that HV's statement only received coverage on this particular station will help one party, yet i seriously doubt if it was given exposure on the tvm news and/or in what way too...it is darn too unfathomable to seriously keep voting for a party under whose legislation stipends were decreased in certain areas of study, whose prime minister was magically transformed into a president criticizing an archbishop, a legislation under which i've seen too many cranes sprouting on the islands, which promised by this year that smartcity is to be started this year, under which proposals to move the resits to a later month have been made (which i've read on the times education supplement!!) and proposals to charge health services...call my rant political propaganda or desperation or brainwashing, but how can one want change, if the same government is re-elected?
to finish off, gonzi only after sant asked the commissioner to investigate and calls sant's action a U-turn...*scratch my head in bafflement*

Victor Vella

Mar 6th 2008, 10:43

AD have always insisted on transparency and perhaps the best example for this should come from its leader. I say that it is shameful to blame PN for the recent developments on this case. Some days ago, I heard an AN spokesman comment on TV about other political parties and VAT payments. Shall we blame AN as well? It is not in PN's interest to be involved in such a tactic on the eve of elections. Dr. Gonzi has repeatedly said that he wants to stay away from mudslinging practices. Such tactics have been applied by the MLP. We are all smart enough to understand that PN would not benefit from such a development of events. I again insist that the AD leader should have been more transparent to give a good example even if faced with such a legal complication. I am sure that the electorate would have understood and reached their own conclusions. Mudslinging has been the trademark of Dr. Sant and the MLP and blaming this development on PN is really stooping to a lower level. As for the comments being levied on the Police Commisioner and the Police Force, I think that we should all be appreciative of the good conduct and impartiality that has been demonstrated guaranteeing us citizens safety and peace of mind.

clive demicoli

Mar 6th 2008, 10:41

Would the PN commit political suicide on the eve of the election? What is wrong with the court journalist of Net getting to know about this? It is what journalists should be doing. The truth is that Harry had to pay a fine, he didn't. As a lawyer he should know the consequences of that!

mark Bonello

Mar 6th 2008, 10:37

Shame on you Enrico.....I also expect you to pay interest on the fine since it's been so long.....and for my vote.....forget it!......Oh, and how about an apology for being so naive!

Melvin Gouder

Mar 6th 2008, 10:31

Maltese politics are turning nasty and at the final squeeze to grab some votes things can get a little more sour. This will backfire for sure. This will actually make Mr. Vassallo stronger. I wont be voting AD (not because of this issue) but I guess GonziPN just landed some more votes to AD at the eve of the 'battle'.

James Micallef

Mar 6th 2008, 10:31

Looking at this story for the first time, my first reaction as an AD supporter was - No way will I give my 2nd preference to PN, as I had planned to. And looking down the list of comments, it seems that both AD and PN supporters had exactly the same reaction: No way could MY party be the culprit, it must be the others, no way am I giving them my 2nd (or any other) preference. In an earlier post, Andrew Borg Cardona asks: Who benefits? and answers himself: AD. But from the comments on this forum it is clear that there has been no massive, or indeed minor, defection from PN to AD. So what was the outcome of this whole sorry saga? This election was on course to have an unprecedented level of cross-party voting between blues and greens, and the effect of this story, indeed the aim of it, is to torpedo the cross-party voting by polarising the blue-green vote. The PN would lose a few hundred second-count votes that it would have got from AD supporters, but would also deny AD the thousands of inherited votes that could give AD a seat in parliament.

tony caruana

Mar 6th 2008, 10:24

Vote Gonzi Get Mintoff !!

Claire Cassar

Mar 6th 2008, 10:22

I think it's enough now!!! We can't keep listening to all this crap! We need to focus on Saturday's election and chose what is best for MALTA! We have seen Malta grow in many ways these past years. Let's not spoil it now, we can't trust Dr Alfred Sant, he already proved that! By not voting or by voting another political party to teach PN a lesson will have all of us suffering the consequences under a labour government! (God forbid).
Think of our future and if you want further progress vote PN (we have no other choice at this stage!).

Randolph Bugeja

Mar 6th 2008, 10:18

Great logic E Bajada. You seem to think its wrong for the NET journalist to ask HV about this fine... why? Haven't One TV journalists been chasing stories too?

I have to hand it to Harry though.. he gave the whole story a great spin. However everyone seems to be missing the fact that Harry has NOT been imprisoned (which confirms the Comm of Police's version of events) and that it was HIS choice to make this public. Net TV never reported this story before Harry went public. To me it looks like Harry (who clearly knew about all this all along - which is why he applied for a presidential pardon twice) thought that NET TV would make this public and anticipated them by pointing an accusing finger towards the PN.

Clever Harry... you made everyone ignore the fact that you owe fines which normal people have to pay.. and are now trying to gain political mileage by spinning this story into an attempt by government to imprison you.

And some people here want us to vote for him for AD - 'gvern ghal kulhadd'. Yeah right.

Claire Bonello

Mar 6th 2008, 10:17

Edward Gatt seems to think that it is a bureaucratic tangle which has resulted in arrest documents being delivered on the eve of the election. He seems to suggest that the opposition parties are benefitting from it. Why not go one step further and suggest that AD engineered the incident itself? This borders on the ridiculous as does the suggestion that this is a case of tax-evasion. It is not. It is a case of a non-completion of returns by a person who has not been a director of a company for ages. People are missing the point.
The point is not that VAT should not be paid - of course it should be - by every one including every AD activist. The point is that this is about "non-completion of Vat returns for a company to which Harry has not been associated with for 10 years. The point is that the magistrate has no discretion not to apply the fine. The point is that a request for a pardon is standard procedure because of the strictness of the law (lawyers regularly apply for several on behalf of clients and they were often granted). The point is that the judgement was converted to a prison sentence in OCTOBER. The point is that the arrest documents were delivered yesterday. The point is that the Medialink people knew all about it a full four hours before the police came along to throw Harry in jail. The point is that people like Queroz and Zeppi l-Hafi were given presidential pardons, but Harry Vassallo, leader of an opposition party was not given a presidential pardon for what is an administrative offence.

Joanne Tonna

Mar 6th 2008, 10:15

It is only now that I realise (silly me!) I am definately on the bluish side of the country but now I think that my hero spat at the sky and it came straight back to his face.

When he mentioned the VAT arrears that a candidate had, he expected the LABOUR REPORTERS to rush off and investigate! The uncovering of such a story by the Labour would have definately had the desired impact. Think about it.

P.John Darmanin

Mar 6th 2008, 10:15

Somebody once said that the law is an ass! I disagree with this statement not because I believe in the law but because I believe no ass deserves to be so discredited. The law is not only stupid but it may be malicious.

To condemn an innocent person to pay a huge sum of money for an act or omission which he is not responsible for, solely because legal formality points out to him is crudely grotesque. A law is a tool with which to administer justice and not to cloud reasoning with technicalities. If what Dr. Harry Vassallo claims is true, then the law is a flagrant example of missing the wood for the trees.

I am a common man of the street, and this is perhaps why I do not see eye to eye with the law. Take the case of Dr. Vassallo, for example. The law establishes a fine for not paying or not filing vat returns; fair enough! But although on paper it was Dr Vassallo’s duty to do this, in reality according to him it was not. So the law punished the wrong person and that act itself is not only stupid but malicious. The law should be punished for committing a grave injustice against the fundamental principle of correctness, whoever the law may be! It is ludicrous enough to send a person to prison for not filing a form, it is madness if the law knows it is condemning the wrong person to prison just because formalities dictate so. Are we poor citizens to expect the law to be of the same level of intelligence as a computer? To let formalities and technicalities to overcome reality is to defy human reasoning; it is rubbish in rubbish out!

Old lady Justice should be blind, although we all know that totally blind she is not. I hope she is not blind in distinguishing between facts and technicalities and hope that they do not balance the scales she holds in her hands.

And what happened to the old separation of the three powers? In Dr Vassallo’s case. It seems that all three have got together to rally against him on the eve of such an important appointment! Who needs an administration that tries to snare a person for having innocently or accidentally tripped on a legal formality unless we are not double or triple sure that all laws are obeyed all the time by everyone! Somebody does not see the beam in his eye here!

Charmaine Calleja

Mar 6th 2008, 10:13

It's interesting how Vassallo was informed of his arrest by a Net journalist and then Joe Saliba said that he knew nothing.

Joseph Aquilina

Mar 6th 2008, 10:13

After reading what AD statements I decided what I want to do when I grow up. I will start by trying to make as much money as possible by doing as much illegal things as I can, and then, when I am nearly caught (or caught) I will enter into an opposition party and blame everything on the ruling party! How’s that for a career path? Obviously I am joking – however it is disgusting they AD are trying to paint their leader as innocent when an INDEPENDENT COURT decided otherwise – or they are now going to accuse that out court system is also corrupt!! That would really be the cherry on the cake in this election!

m farrugia

Mar 6th 2008, 10:13

Let's not let anyone distract us during the last days of such a succesful and convincing PN campaign.


Dr Gonzi is surely investigating the matter since it was very immature of the police to take action on the eve of the election. Such irresponsible action by the police can only do harm to the PN & no one else. The Police official responsible should surely answer why he only took action on the eve of an election.
Yesterday One TV made quite a fuss about this arrest warrant, they even interviewed Dr Vassallo. Lately One TV have been giving quite a good coverage to AD.

Who knows maybe it's an MLP AD plot instead of a PN plot , after all.

Anyway, the issue next Saturday will still be who is the party best fit to run a country, based on its past performance & on its electoral proposals. The PN has surely proved time & time again they are ready to face challenges & help the country move forward by being positive, stimulating the creation of jobs, ensuring peace of mind and stability, investing heavily in education, health and tourism.No other issue should distract the electorate.

David Friggieri

Mar 6th 2008, 10:11

We need FACTS from all parties very very fast.

1) why was this warrant issued now?
2) who ordered the warrant to be issued?
3) who tipped off NET journalists about the matter?

All the rest is conjecture at the moment. It is so depressing that people can't say 'Oh, this is strange, it looks fishy, it doesn't look good, let's wait for clarifications'.

No, individuals prefer to take off from their own partisan platform and spin things accordingly to suit their cause.

Absolutely rock bottom!

Rebecca Sammut

Mar 6th 2008, 10:10

How gullible can some people be? This is a desperate move by the PN scaremongers to tarnish Harry Vassallo image.

Wake up and smell the coffee people.

It was a NET TV journalist - not Super 1 who asked Dr.Vassallo about the case BEFORE he was served by the police. You do not need to be too smart to understand WHY or HOW the NET TV journalist was aware of this.

Dispare and anxiety make strategists commit the most stupid blunders and this one is the biggest one of the campaign.

This latest mud slinging, coupled with a chain e-mail going round the country telling people not to vote for AD, just proves that the rumours that (if recent polls are to be believed) we will be having a coalition government.

Harry I promise you my No1 vote.

Joe Saliba and Co - now you will nothing from me.

J Mallia

Mar 6th 2008, 10:09

So D. Frendo believes Joe Saliba got his 10 points... frankly I doubt it.
What this makes sure is that those people who PN considers as "Nationalists sympathising with AD" become "ex-Nationalists turned staunch AD" who this time 'round have decided that it's time up for excuses and .. yes, they'll be using their vote wisely.
For a lot of these (us) this does away with any remnants of doubt.. and now it really doesn't matter who of the big parties wins.

Joe Mizzi

Mar 6th 2008, 10:05

sorry.... I should have read more of that 'article'... wherby it states "(b) no account shall be taken of a sentence of imprisonment imposed as an alternative to, or in default of, the payment of a fine." Apologies.

Joseph Micallef

Mar 6th 2008, 10:02

Ooooh how dreadful....someone guilty of evading legal obligations is asked to pay his dues 10 years down the line on the eve of an election.....and the PN strategists are such idiots that they disregard political communication basics and decide to shoot themselves in the foot. Does it take a nuclear scientist to understand that these tactics fit perfectly with the spirit of the MLP/AD opportunistic campaign and smell fishy to say the least.

But why, in this day and age one still finds people who abdicate from their natural gift of thinking.

John Schembri

Mar 6th 2008, 10:01

"Tra due litiganti il terzo gode"Any way one looks at it the MLP stands to win.Someone really has an eye for detail.
To keep focused on the Election Issue : with Stephen Cachia's statement regarding the Police and the PN one can easily assume that a coalition of AD with PN is now out of the question." Harry you have been used , throughout the whole electoral campaign, and thrown out at the right time , for Sant to be elected." A day is a long time in politics.

Arianna camilleri

Mar 6th 2008, 10:00

I wonder if this is the bombshell which had to explode against the nationalist party ! I dont think that p.n are so stupid to have something to do with all this even though as it seems it is a fact this time !!!....

Mark Busuttil

Mar 6th 2008, 09:59

with comments like Chris Mizzi's, it's now very clear that the whole MLP plan worked out perfectly. It could have been an "oversight" of their loyal member in our Police squad! VOTE Harry get Freddy!

Mark Grima

Mar 6th 2008, 09:58

No this is not a conspiracy by the PN and or MLP. Harry Vassallo should have paid his dues, as we all should. He had been warned for months and months. AD are not a threat to the PN nor the MLP. AD have their agenda, which has a great deal of merit in many cases, especially environmental, however unfortunately a vote for AD is a "wasted" vote, as AD will not get a seat and it will be either PN or MLP that will govern outright.

If you DON'T want PN to govern, vote MLP, and if you don't want MLP to govern vote PN.

If you vote AD and then get either PN or MLP as your government, as you certainly will, don't complain, as your vote for AD achieved this in part.

Having said that keep up the pressure AD on our environment, as it is a mess. And you can hopefully do this from within or outside government.

AD can still "govern" as they have done successfully for the last 15 years, from outside government. They have no doubt had an effect on environmental policy

Joe Mizzi

Mar 6th 2008, 09:52

I found this on the internet...(http://www.maltadata.com/context.htm) Once you have read it, I would like an answer as to what happens next?

Malta Constitution: Electoral Provisions
(As amended in 2007)

54. (1) No person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of the House of Representatives -


(f) if he is under sentence of death imposed on him by any court in Malta or is serving a sentence of imprisonment (by whatever name called), exceeding twelve months imposed on him by such a court or substituted by competent authority for some other sentence imposed on him by such a court;

Albert Galea

Mar 6th 2008, 09:46

Frankly, a two-year sentence for negligence in paying a LM6,000 VAT bill seems a bit harsh. However, Harry had been warned and warned again. And he did ask for a presidential pardon.
HOWEVER, for all of you who believe that there is some great conspiracy by the PN, are you INSANE?! The PN spin-doctors are not that stupid. What could they gain by this?
Secondly, do you think that the Police, Judiciary and PN are one and the same? You have been watching too many fantasy movies and conspiracy theories.
First of all the judiciary, Police and VAT department is mainly made up by LABOUR people (as is MEPA). But this is IRRELEVANT, fortunately the dark days of the early 80s were Malta was in fact a POLICE STATE are over. Thanks to the Nationalist Party AND also, it must be said, Dr Alfred Sant, who successfully fought the violent and undemocratic part of his Labour party.
Bottom line, Harry Vassallo should have settled his dues to the state as we all have to. If not, he should suffer the consequences. Although 2 years in prison seems a bit harsh.
But don't blame this on the PN or even the MLP, but the Police and Judiciary. And ultimately Harry for not getting his ship in order before a General Election.

Claire Pace Harmsworth

Mar 6th 2008, 09:44

What amazes me is the fact that Harry Vassallo said he did not know about October's verdict but then again stated that he had asked for a Presidential Pardon!!! Hello???!!! Was he awaiting to be pardoned or was he waiting for the elections to arrive to look like a VICTIM! To me this is not something coming from PN but from AD themselves. PN have no control over court issues for sure!

Alex Abela

Mar 6th 2008, 09:42

This story could be a frameup by MLP supporting police officers!! And howcome the version provided to the police commissioner does not coincide.

Romina Grech

Mar 6th 2008, 09:40

How come everyone is sympathizing with Dr Vassallo and none with JPO? Is it the same that Dr. Sant is doing putting things up in the last 4 days of the electoral campaign on JPO?! Two weights! Two measures! Dr.Vassallo is responsibility to his mistakes. He should have regularized his position and not leaving everything for a Presidential Pardon! How dare you are Dr. Vassallo!! Taking advantage of your position when you should be blaming yourself for your own mistakes! After all ... everyone must smell his under arm and this clearly shows that there are NO SAINTS in politics!!

Louis Galea

Mar 6th 2008, 09:39

Much pros & cons have been stated below. But my question is if Dr Harry Vassallo is a professional Lawyer, should'nt he know better as to how Court procedures take their course? He obviously knew the implications he got into, as a matter of fact he asked for a Presidential pardon! If he knew that he was under this legal pressure, How come he did nothing about it? Does he think that being in the lime light as a party leader, exempts him from the rules of Law? Had I been involved in such a mess, I would have certainly done something about it long before things would get any worse! Similar matters, such as Court Orders, Tax or Bill payments etc. fall under the Policy of Tardare Si....ma Scappare No!

Mark Galea

Mar 6th 2008, 09:39

How can anyone call the PN corrupt, dictatorial, morally ill and sick minded, I wonder? How can you excuse Dr Harry Vassallo and be so quick to throw mud at JPO? I do not believe that ANY party is totally free of corruption BUT at least Dr Gonzi is doing something about it and has a record of taking all suspect cases to the Police Commissioneer. I shall be voting PN not because I hate MLP or AD BUT because as a mature and responsible citizen I believe that PN is the only party that can offer a plan, a direction for this country. PN has shown great leadership and has brought about its promises. It campaigned for Europe and now we're on the European map. It campaigned for the Euro and now we're in the Eurozone. What is MLP offering? A turning back and an undoing of achievments which we AS A NATION have struggled for. So come on...please grow up and show some concern for the future of this country and our children, and stop the mudslinging!

Vicki Soler

Mar 6th 2008, 09:37

I am sure that PN are not behind this. I appeal to all those floaters with sense to vote PN even more now , as this was done only to harm the PN and favour MLP

Anthony Mizzi

Mar 6th 2008, 09:34

And I had thought the GonZIPn could not sink any lower in this electoral campaign, and had the ardor to blame it on the M.L.P. It was Dr Vassallo himself that is quoted as saying that the PN had chosen to make it public.

It is a disgrace that Dr. Vassallo gets treated in this manner, and not even considered for a Presidential Pardon. Similar cases like Dr. Vassallo’s have in fact been given Presidential pardons and these pardons have also been given to applicants who certainly have lesser qualities or should I say dubious qualities than Dr. Vassallo.

If anything, Dr. Vassallo should be given the Gieh Ir-Republika for his continuous efforts in favour of a better quality of life on the Maltese Islands and certainly not an arrest warrant on the eve of a general election.

Godfrey Pirotta

Mar 6th 2008, 09:30

How qucikly people change their clothes in this country. For the Martinelli's and others of the same club Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando was a victim of dirty tactics. Now they want to convince us that nothing is amiss in the Harry Vassallo case. These people must have mirrors for occasion. All I can say is God save us from these people being our judges or our jury.

L Agius

Mar 6th 2008, 09:23

It is now very clear that the police went to Harry Vassallo to ask him to regularize his position. Harry, being opportunistic, saw an opportunity to take advantage and damage the PN. He called a press conference, played the martyr, paraded his family and poured scorn on the PN.

A lawyer who tried twice to get a Presidential Pardon; knew the full consequences of all his actions; knew the fine would be commuted to a prison sentence and lo and behold now plays victim!

Clever ploy Harry but we are not all that gullible.

Gian Paul Gatt

Mar 6th 2008, 09:22

For the first time in my life I will be voting MLP. Enough is Enough.

Chris Zammit

Mar 6th 2008, 09:22

It's big talk from people who to gain victory use any method like promising things that cannot do or say a thing and ther is a U turn Or "we were not expected to find thid and we cannot do what we said " people. Come on

Victor Fiorini

Mar 6th 2008, 09:18

If PN had nothing to do with this, then some one answer me why the NET journalist knew about this before Harry Vassallo did? If you are tempted to say 'good journalism', think again.... if the arrest was converted to an arrest last october, and was public, how come the NET journalist found out about it only yesterday, and not 5 months ago? And more worryingly, how come NET journalists got to know about it on the same day harry did, pnly a few hours before him?

Smelling something fishy? Cause it s like I am living in a fish market!

Michael Attard

Mar 6th 2008, 09:05

Well we all seem to agree that whoever did take this decision made a very stupid one!

What is even more stupid is to think that after 20 years of Nationalist goverment, Labour is still running the police force, the VAT department, MEPA, Water services corporation, Enemalta, tax department and the Broadcasting authority.

To believe all the reasoning and justifications that have been fired this week from the PN camp, you would also have to believe all of that. And yes Matthew Borg.. we all know about the

- Executive
- Legislative
- Judiciary

Not being blue does not mean you're stupid. Everything looks nice and pure and paper, but we all know that in practice it is quite different.

N.GRECH

Mar 6th 2008, 09:04

Shame on Dr. Vassallo .

He had all the time in the world to regularise his position.

As a leader of a political party he should set examples and should not have let this matter get this far in the first place.

It appears that this matter has been on-going for years, and that the case was decided months ago. Why, then, did Dr.Vassallo say nothing about it ? He should have been the first to let his supporters know, instead of letting them find out in this manner.

We now also understand that while Dr.Vassallo campaigned for the rights of landlords versus protected tenants , he himself is a protected tenant and refuses to hand the property back to the owners.

Daniela Mallia

Mar 6th 2008, 08:59

I'd like to start of by saying I feel very sorry for Harry Vassallo. However as a person I feel the need to make the following argument. Many are blaming PN for this blow under the belt. However what escapes my understanding is this: If PN came up with this tactic on the last day of the electoral campaign they could not have be more idiotic! A hate feeling against the party currently in government is an obvious reaction therefore making more people vote for AD and Mr Vassallo next saturday! Talking about reverse psychology!
I am by no means saying that AD are to blame as I feel sure they are not, but the comments seem a little out of sync. Why would a desperate Gonzi PN party be willing to dig their hole even further?

Andrew Sciberras

Mar 6th 2008, 08:58

To: Edward Gatt –this was not intended to give any party an advantage. This is the ploy of a party machine that knew all along that defeat awaited the PN at the polls. Actually they have known about this defeat since the advent of GonziPN on the scene. I think Gonzi is about to make world history – to my knowledge there has never ever been a Prime Minister who lost 6 consecutive elections in the space of four and half years. So what does a party machine do to explain away their incompetence to their supporters? Simple really – create a smokescreen or two. Does a Prime Minister in his right mind send one of his own candidates to personally face the Leader of the Opposition in a scenario based on an illegality? I think not.

John Dalli must be delighted by all this!

Marie Craus

Mar 6th 2008, 08:55

So now Dr Pullicino Orlando can finally stop crying as now we have Dr Vassallo in the pot, plus some great minds are even involving Dr Sant and the Labour Party in all this. Media link got ten points for doing their homework right, but if this story was brought up by a One News Journalist that would have been another story. Hurry up all journalists you have up to 15 hrs to come up with something more colourful!

Cxhris Zammit

Mar 6th 2008, 08:34

on account of the medial link journalist it's narmal that they have soerces of information . On both sides they have "sources2 like mlp had of the document of JPO from sources so what's so OOHHHH about a journalist doing her work and uncover scandals and having information.

Joe Borg

Mar 6th 2008, 08:33

I sincerely hope that all those not voting or voting AD this time around, will the first ones to carry the burdens of Alfred Sant's bad decisions, cause the outcome of there actions will be a Sant government. Let them feel sorry for themselves afterwards, I won't!

Joe Galea

Mar 6th 2008, 08:32

This case clearly was an orchestrated sick trick by the GonziPN. Those blindfolded GonziPN full of nonsense that write here obviously wrote that MLP had to do with it and that it is a HV & AD spin.
1) I don't think that the Net journalist is a genius. He is a pawn in the GonziPN chess game. He did as he was instructed.
2) How come the warrant issue was dated Oct 2007? But was delivered 2 days before the elcetion.
3) Who orchestrated a whole campaign that a VOTE for AD is a VOTE for SANT? mmm wasn't it GonziPN?
4) Is this a dirty trick to remove the attention from the Huge SCANDAL of JPO and his raping of MISTRA?....backed by GonziPN...the paladins of nature.
A Vote for GonziPN means: pay for healthcare, arrogance, corruption, environment destruction, and much more of this bad stuff.

ray pace

Mar 6th 2008, 08:29

Great,so the PN is being blamed for this latest "issue" by the MLPAD. Last week AD jumped the MLP bandwagaon when the MLP opened its guns against Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando. Can't anyone see the writing on the wall? Other bonafide people paid their dues or filed their returns on time so why should one expect that a politician be treated differently? Everyone is free to vote whoever he wishes, but if someone is changing his mind due to this issue, then ......!!!

james debono

Mar 6th 2008, 08:27

The main point of interest here is that NET TV knew and were actually working on the story before the police popped in. This blurs the distinction between state and party. As regards the levels of hatred in some of the threads, am not amazed at all. With no high moral high ground and no national issue at stake, this election has become a naked struggle for power.

John Axiak

Mar 6th 2008, 08:20

The Person who should be investigated right now is the Police Commissioner, as the person in charge of the Police force.

Why did the police take 7 months to enforce a warrant of arrest?

The question of the inquiry should be: did the PN and the Police Force collude to execute this arrest warrant just two days before the election?

If the results of the police Investigation are positive we might well admit that the the law enforcement branch of the country has been hi-jacked by a political party ---- remdinds me of the 1980s :( :( Who should be crying now? Jeffry Pulicino Orlando or the Maltese society at large?

Edward Gatt

Mar 6th 2008, 08:20

Let us for a moment assume that Harry Vassallo’s arrest was politically motivated.

Ask yourself – Which parties will gain out of making Harry Vassallo seem like a martyr? PN, MLP or AD?

Voters should focus on which party should be rewarded for the results obtained in the last five years and which party offers the better prospects for the next five years.

It is in the MLP & AD’s interest to shift the focus on other matters during the last couple of days.

E Bajada

Mar 6th 2008, 08:07

Good Journalism Please dont make me laugh !!!!.I do not dispute the matter in hand .But the timing of the exposure .PN are trying to trash Mr Vassallo to maybe make up for there own JPO fiasco .Maybe you should have played the PN card and broke down & cried .

C Fenech

Mar 6th 2008, 08:01

A few golden questions spin in my mind...
Why did the Police wait till the eve of an election to issue the warrant?
Why not October, when the verdict was reached?
Is this how effective our Police Force is?
Is our Police Force run from id-Dar Centrali?

chris mizzi

Mar 6th 2008, 07:52

A change is needed that’s why I am going to vote for AD. This arrogance must be stopped

Joe Galea

Mar 6th 2008, 07:50

This is the rock bottom of the bottom created by the desperate GonziPN. How low they have stooped now. I won't be surprised at all that tonight in the confronation between GonziPN and Sant, Gonzi will come out with a blatant lie on Sant like EFA did before the last election. This act against Harry Vassallo is a sick strategy by a sick party managed by mentally and morally sick people including their sick-minded leader. How can people vote for corrupt, dictatorial, morally-ill, sick-minded GonziPN?
I sympathise with Dr. Harry Vassallo and his family. Keep your head high!!

Chris Zammit

Mar 6th 2008, 07:43

To all nationalists do you really think that gonzi will use something like this on the eve of the election? HV had to pay Lm6000 not Lm100 and you believe that he didn't find chance due to his work on the AD? The court found him guilty and hehad to pay that's it. The NET journalist knew before but that's what it is a good journalist. If you have faith in PN believe and don't let other trash confuse you.

E Bajada

Mar 6th 2008, 07:42

Two Days to go and a Net Journalist asks Mr Vassallo about his charge .DESPERATION setting in Dr Gonzi .A change is on the cards and any Maltese voter with one ounce of sense in there body can see this .

Mario Attard Trevisan

Mar 6th 2008, 07:38

Common sense..."Will the PN involve itself in such a case?"..I would say definately not....but on the other hand, is the public aware that the VAT Department might be still led by supporters of the opposition with a seventies mentality???

I am convinced the Commissioner of Police will investigate..and we will know the truth....I do, however feel sorry for him as he seems to carry the most burden of such a disappointing political campaign!

D Zammit

Mar 6th 2008, 05:44

Dr Vassallo should have cleaned his act before appearing as the guy purer than the pope. The fine was imposed in October 2007, he had enough time to pay it or at least appeal the sentence. As for Zeppi and Quieroz, as far as I know, they both served prison sentences.

R Caruana

Mar 6th 2008, 05:31

If JPO made a mistake. GUILTY. If Harry makes a mistake, PN is GUILTY. Dr Vassallo what makes you so great that you do not pay a fine imposed on you?

Luke Caruana

Mar 6th 2008, 03:25

If this had to do again with another drity plan from the big guns i am really disappointed, there are twon many coincidences shame on you PN!!! Vote AD togetehr more than ever

Raphael Vassallo

Mar 6th 2008, 03:21

Mark Abela: after seeing the filth to which this campaign has decsended, there is nothing that would really surprise me. Having said that, my comment was merely to point out that the general reaction so far provides a perfect illustration of the hatred running through this country's veins at the moment.
I would, however, like to know why an arrest warrant dated October 2007 was delivered on on march 5 2008, of all days; how a court decision to change a fine to a prison sentence was withheld from the defendant for five months; why the arrest attempt was carried out at all, considering vassallo had meanwhile appealed a presidential pardon rejection; how the Commissioner of Police was not informed that a party leader was about to be arrested three days before an election, while a Net TV journalist was told 24 hours in advance... I am sure there are perfectly valid answers to all these questions but I would like to hear them all the same.

Ruben Baldacchino

Mar 6th 2008, 03:02

Short Summary..

1. How did the PN journalist know about the situation, especially 4 hours before the Police went to Mr. H. Vassallo?

2. I cannot understand how people can say that MLP was involved in it, when it was a PN journalist that asked the question.

Recap of the last 2 wks..
1. First a permit for a supermarket in an ODZ with permission being granted with DCC board resigning as clearly it should never have been issued such permit.
2. JPO the Green Minister has a disco being built in another ODZ zone on his property and he says he does not know, yet there is his signature on a registered letter.
3. Now the Harry Vassallo case..and this is just in two weeks.

This country definitly needs a change.... be it MLP or third party I don't care...but definitly not PN!

Jennifer Cosaitis

Mar 6th 2008, 02:24

To all people blaming the Nationalist Party, since when have the police and the party become one entity?

A Zammit

Mar 6th 2008, 02:04

Just when you think you've seen it all.... !!!
would the PN be such blatant IMBECILES to set up such a strategy on the eve of this election fought from their part on fair play?!
There should be more than meekly meets the eyes...too bad (for the PN) that this volcano has erupted on the eve of reflection day.... (wow what a coincidence...)

Marie Gatt

Mar 6th 2008, 01:39

Shameful! Electorial campaign cannot go any lower. Not going into who actually instigated this (eveyone is able to draw up conclusions) but never heard of any case where a tv journalist, a political leader and his mass of followers became aware of the outcome before the actual defendent himself!
JPO gets to know a disco is being bulit on his "agricultural" land and Harry about serving time only after news being reported on national tv. Only in Malta!
To those thinking this is actually an AD scam: THINK TWICE!
the probability Harry ganged up with Police to sentence him up to 2 years, asked them to issue warrant on election's eve, issued a press conference, confabulated once again with a NET TV journalist and decided it was ok to serve time just to hit at PN, is a plain ZERO.

Joe Martinelli

Mar 6th 2008, 01:08

Doesn't the stated fact that Dr. Vassallo asked for a Presidential pardon indicate that he had very little intention of paying the fines, to begin with?

It would be nice if anyone being fined by the courts applies for a pardon and gets off the hook!

For his sake, I hope that there are enough generous pockets which will spring for the fines and avoid Harry from serving time.

And for those pointing fingers at the NP, would you and the MLP leader turn the blind eye, only because it happens to be Dr. Vassallo? What about your zero tolerance?

Joseph Curmi

Mar 6th 2008, 01:00

In their statement PN didn't explain how their journalist got to know before Dr Vassallo that he was going to be arrested.

How did he/she know?

Why did the Police go four hours after the journalist?

Answers are needed. Hold strong, Dr Vassallo.

On Saturday this nightmare will be over!

Joe Farrugia

Mar 6th 2008, 00:56

In my opinion Harry Vassallo is just playing martyr to favour MLP. Think about it. Because of the separation of powers, the government cannot influence the decisions of the courts. Only the courts can issue a verdict. Unfortunately Vassallo is a man who uses his political advantages only when it suits, whereas other times he thinks himself as a common man. The thing is, he is blaming the government for his own mistakes. It wasn't the government who failed to set things right with the VAT dept. Vassallo has made a political career out of criticising similar failings in other politicians, of telling us that he and his people are the only ones who are squeaky clean, of insisting that AD in a coalition government will police the politicians. The question is: who will police AD?

So again I ask? What has PN got to gain from this? And the answer is nothing, because this is only going in favour of MLP, and this twist will be one that will help them gain votes. We already saw the headlines on MLP media, where they are already saying that PN has thrown Vassallo in jail. Again MLP twisting facts as has become customary of them.

Alfred Farrugia

Mar 6th 2008, 00:54

Does Harry know that when he points a finger at the PN he has at least three other fingers pointing at himself?!

D. Frendo

Mar 6th 2008, 00:53

This is the best PN political spin I ever heard of, well timed, perfectly calculated. Yes it was perfectly calculated that there is a risk that the MLP will get some political mileage out of all this, to the expence of AD. You might ask... is the PN gone nuts ? Why ?

Not all all. The PN don't care about MLP at this point; they are seriously worried about AD... the only political party that can make the PN lose votes. Gonzi is worried about AD. Another plus out of this spin is that it deviates from the hot topic of the week. THE MISTRA SCANDAL.

Where is the proof of all this ?

1) Gonzi gave a hint in his TVM Press Conference yesterday that there are political leaders who have VAT dues to settle.

2) A Net TV journalist informed Harry Vassallo about the case 4 hours before Harry was given an arrest warrant from the police.

10 points go the Joe Saliba! Very dirty politics indeed.

Joe Martinelli

Mar 6th 2008, 00:53

The MLP upped the ante with their 'zero tolerance' for alleged corruption. Could Harry be one of their victims?

So, now we have Harry Vassallo who was fined, given time to pay the fines, asked for Presidential pardon which was not granted, was informed last September that the unpaid fines were converted to jail time, Harry carries on like he was above the law and now blames the NP for raising the issue. Even if the NP was involved, which is highly unlikely, it would not absolve Harry Vassallo in the least.

Another lesson learned - no one should try to circumvent the legal system and Dr.Vassallo should know better.

I would not be the least surprised if upon investigation the Commissioner will exonerate the NP because as Joe Saliba stated, "who would be dumb enough to get involved in a case like this?". There may have been great disagreements between AD and the NP over the years but I still believe that in the NP there is still a level of decency which would preclude its involvement in a case such as this.

Investigative journalism exists and many world class reporters die to get a scoop such as this and it is an accepted practice that they would go public with something like this.

If it was medialink who discovered this and possibly made an inquiry at the Sliema Police Station, it would explain why the Sergeant in question was left with little else to do other than 'appear to carry out his duty', even if it came at a very inopportune time!

Kurt Farrugia

Mar 6th 2008, 00:49

What happened to Harry Vassallo is incredibly sad. It is stupid to say the least... and it was done under the present PN administratio, Gonzi as caretaker prime minister.

What is all the more shameful is how it was a PN journalist who informed Vassallo that he was to be arrested.

Where is the difference between government and the party?

Arrogance is the name of the game. Power has surpassed any limit to decency.

Apart from the political aspect, think of all the businessmen who go through such awkward situation after being tangled in some bureaucratic mishap.

We need a sensible administration, new people, who can think through the system and improve. Status quo, as in keeping the same party, will not suffice.

If it is coalition, or Labour or AD, change is about time... part of a democratic evolution of the country.

Dr Clive Aquilina Spagnol

Mar 6th 2008, 00:29

"PN denies accusations of involvement" but hey is the significance of the event being underestimated or what?....the State is the regulator of 'societal life', and hence the responsibility for such a ludicrous act on a leader of a political party on the eve of an election, falls squarely on the government and the President...the latter, an ex-PN leader, refused to award the presidential pardon....i'm already smelling rotten eggs!

Paul zammit

Mar 6th 2008, 00:12

Of course its a conspiracy by PN (said in a sarcastic tone)... the PN doing everything to shoot itself in the foot... come on! PN are not so stupid do do this a few days prior to t election.... i more suspect two parties (mlp + AD) acting together to conspire on a strategy to win votes... as can be explained by t one tv report done by labour of playing t sympathy card

Michael Tabone

Mar 6th 2008, 00:08

Ok, I have to be honest and say that I am shocked at this news. Ever since Rosigno resigned from AD I have disliked AD and Harry Vassallo. They seem to mud sling as much as MLP when it suits them. But I will be honest, I feel bad for Harry Vassallo because I don't feel he deserves to be imprisoned since he isn't the typical criminal you expect, just an unfortunate and careless person. Anyway, I strongly doubt PN would be behind this at all. I mean this is going to hit PN badly now and it certainly wouldn't have been benefitial to them since it stinks like corruption and what party always is called the corrupt party... This is a dirty game played by others, cause no way would PN be this stupid. They have the capability to run a country and get its economy up and running again and then they would be stupid enough to pull something like this....I highly doubt that.

Matthew Borg

Mar 6th 2008, 00:02

Here's a lecture for you all: The Separation of Powers.

There are three powers on which a democracy is based on, all independent of each other:

- Executive
- Legislative
- Judiciary

This saga concerns the latter, the judiciary, i.e. those who are in the courts. These people have no affiliation with any political parties, be it PN, MLP, AD or AN. They can issue warrants when they please and how they want, but they will not be pressed by Government to do so. It is up to them.

So while I am clearly affiliated to one party, my logic here says that it is clearly ridiculous for one to blame either the MLP or the PN for Harry's arrest warrant. Neither of the political parties are to blame; it is very easy to point the finger at both of them.

Therefore, it is useless for anyone to say that it is shameful on behalf of the PN, or the MLP for that matter, that this happened. Before one comments, they should get their facts right, and not just state things for the fun of doing it.

Christina Borg

Mar 5th 2008, 23:56

Something else crossed my mind: What if Dr. Vassallo is not saying the whole story about what happened today? After all, he has every reason to spin a story to what he perceives to be to his political advantage. And MLP seem to have already joined the coalition.

Cedric Valletta

Mar 5th 2008, 23:55

Well. What a showdown to this small country election campaign. Harry I fully understand the problems you are facing but leaders should lead by example. Fact 1. As a lawyer you should know more than anybody else that the Vat regulations are quite harsh with those failing to comply. The Vat dept sends quarterly statements to the company involved with the balance due. So if HV was a compay director for 3 years, he did receive 12 statements, reminding him to comply with the rules and regulations. Harry did you receive these??.......If yes I am sorry you should have at least tried to find a solution and not placing the problems under the carpet waiting for a presidential pardon. The timing baffles me quite a lot......and now some readers cry foul because this happened and blame also the PN....DID gonzi leave the Vat returns on Harry's desk??....Is it gonzi's blame that Harry went to court to contest the Vat decision and lost the case??.....Come on people grow up. If we ordinary citizens commit an offence toward society we pay our dues??..........so why should Mr Harry Vassallo be treated differently.

Mary Fisher

Mar 5th 2008, 23:53

Is this the election storm in a teacup? Why did Dr. Harry Vassallo. himself a lawyer not sort out everything before the election to make sure that he is unreproachable. We cannot blame it on the Police or the PN or the MLP. Harry should have known better. He must be after the sympathy vote. He eill not get it from me.

G. Grima

Mar 5th 2008, 23:48

Fact 1. Timing really helps AD. Fact 2. MLP 'shocked'by treatment meeted out to Harry Vassallo. Fact 3. Ordinary citizens pay up and shut up Fact 4. The effect this has is to galvanize AD-MLP vote to detriment of PN Fact 5. What a great spin. Harry accused of an indescretion, and PN is the culprit! Fact 6. What would MLP do/say if it was a PN minister accused of such an act!? Fact 7. This shows that everyone has the same DNA. Fact 8. This ensures my PN vote. I do not want an MLP-AD coalition, or an MLP govt by devious plots. Fact 9. Terrinu is alive and kicking, and unleashed by someone, definitely not PN Fact 10. This really shows that we have to think clearly and use our grey matter before we vote. Vote for substance not for a mud machine. Vote PN.

James Micallef

Mar 5th 2008, 23:47

By the way its incredible how PN apologists are already blatantly distorting the facts on this one. 10 years ago it would have been the company's responsibility to change the person nominated to submit VAT returns, not Dr. Vassallo. Once the wheels of 'justice' were set in motion, there was no form that could be filled retrospectively and no way out of the case. Dr Vassallo applied for a pardon for the fine, not for the prison sentence which he knew nothing about.

Ian Grech

Mar 5th 2008, 23:42

May I add that on a similar note, 6 months after the previous election, I was served with a fine from the VAT department, running into 100's of liri for a VAT payment which I had affected 1 year before, but which the VAT department did not process... Obviously they charged me the interest on the that whole year...

This is the justice we have.

James De Giorgio

Mar 5th 2008, 23:36

"Dr Vassallo’s allegations were “totally different” to what was being reported by the sergeant, the Commissioner said. Therefore an immediate investigation had been launched to establish the truth in this case. " That is a quote from the above article. WE WANT THE TRUTH AND FAST!!! And if Harry has not said the truth in his allegation, it still won't save the PN from the damage it has sustained in this.

Andrew Camilleri

Mar 5th 2008, 23:35

I think everyone agrees in this forum that it was not the PN which condemned Harry to prison but our courts. However the important question which needs to be answered is one.....why was it delivered 2 days before the election??? this sounds exactly like PN's allegations on Freddie Portelli in 1998!!!!

Dion Borg

Mar 5th 2008, 23:34

Now hold yr horses…. 1) it is simply humiliating for the VAT Registry, to fail to notice that changes have occurred in the directorship/ownership of a company – the information is available through the Data Warehouse. 2) it is shameful that the Courts uphold such senseless fines, which arise simply due to inefficient systems. 3) it is peculiar to say the least, that the president does not make a clean sweep of such cases – especially when one is compelled to ‘ask pardon’ for inefficiencies of others. To refuse, is baffling, especially considering past ‘deeds’. 4) Harry did well not to raise this publicly when he was waiting for the president to rectify matters – I’m sure he would have been accused or exerting political pressure, if he had. 5) it is natural that AD’s first reaction would be that the PN machine has been up to something – especially when a NET journalist came up with it. And with the experience AD has with PN backstabbing (2003), and the current perverted campaign against AD, I’m sure AD is not surprised with anything. 6) I believe that although PN strategists are short-sighted, and party’s interest supercedes anything, they are not so naïve or desperate to plot this one out. 7) However the PN party machine might wish to teach their journalists to read between the lines when someone gifts them a story. 8) An MLP ploy…well I believe Mr. Noble is not around…’fine’ Machiavellian move it would be – but very much doubt Labour are so sophisticated. 9) One must admit that the PN’s tenure has been a bonanza for some stalwarts – Dr. Gonzi cannot realistically control everyone – and a fat cat must have got so hot under the collar lately with all the AD doom doing rounds at Pieta – leading to such a quasi single-handed stupid move. 10) No party leader or group is behind it…..but they should rectify this injustice with Harry as with all other persons in his situation (including issuing refunds to those who paid). 11) All those who are accusing Harry, ought to better read and understand properly how the case arose, and then evaluate whether they would have accepted to pay 1c in such circumstances! Harry you have our solidarity….and could those who could have easily brought this to an end rectify matters (for all) without any further delay pls!

John Axiak

Mar 5th 2008, 23:33

This is not the only tactic used by PN against AD. Let's not forget the gerrymandering tactic on electoral district 10 used by PN and MLP to divide AD's strong-hold so they will definitely not get a seat in parliament

Keith Galea

Mar 5th 2008, 23:33

I do not know why the Police Commissioner has not yet employed all the Sherlock Holmes posting on this article. It is unbelievable how some have concluded that the MLP has to do with this atrocity. I can't believe how one can think of something of the sort!

Ian grech

Mar 5th 2008, 23:31

A country where innocent hard working people manage to get convicted and criminals stay running around or given trivial punishments.

We definitively need a change!

Sandy Micallef

Mar 5th 2008, 23:30

Mario Desira - Thanks for your comment. I feel comforted knowing that there are people who have also been ignored by Gonzi. Indeed I have made a personal plea to him on breach of fundamental rights and injustice ..... and was ignored.

Matthew Aquilina

Mar 5th 2008, 23:28

I can't believe I read some comments and blaming this on MLP. Incredible! Stop being so brainwashed! How can the MLP being involved? They don't control the police force whilst in the opposition!

Sandy Micallef

Mar 5th 2008, 23:27

Clifton, if Harry was careless, then he would not have filed for a presidential pardon after having exhausted all possible legal channels..the latter might not always represent a true picture of justice being served...take a look at the criminals who literally get by with murder...but then we jail young teenagers!?
The most worrying issue in all this HV story is:
1) why did it take so many months for the warrant to be served?
2) why just 1 day prior to the day of reflection?
3) why did Gonzi hint at it during the political broadcast?
4) why was it a PN media person who disclosed the matter?
5) why was the PN leader and his media informed about this before Harry himself?
6) why dig this out on Harry who happens to be contesting one of the most challenging districts for the PN?
7) why was Harry's house attacked after a PN mass meeting?

agghhh you great intelligent PN people, believe it or not even we pea-brained commoners can come up with some answers for the above.
Pity that JPO was discredited about not knowing who he had rented his land to when A.Sant presented a document which showed otherwise....So now PN supporters, can you please provide similar proof that AD or worse still MLP did some undercover work in order to gain votes through this belated arrest warrant????
If so then I'll rest my case.

Joseph Ellis

Mar 5th 2008, 23:27

Of course, no one ought to be above the law but one finds it hard to stomach that the sergeant who served the arrest warrant on Harry Vassallo on the eve of an election did so in the faithful exercise of his duty. All criminal cases have been cancelled for the time being as the police are heavily involved in the electoral process and so it is rather odd that the police should be serving right now six month old conversion into jail arrest warrants. One's suspicion is increased when one realizes that a journalist from Net knew about the warrant before it was actually served and that apparently Gonzi hinted at the case on TV yesterday (I did not hear the conference). Harry Vassallo showed error of judgment in letting this case of negligence which happens to all busy people to escalate so far. But one has to remember that this incident, if it shown to have had political motivation (and on the face of it, this not such a remote possibility) puts the democratic credentials of this country at risk.

Rupert Cefai

Mar 5th 2008, 23:25

Could Dr. Gonzi explain if his comments yesterday on PBS re politicians owing VAT arrears have had any bearing on today's events? Was it just a coincidence that the PM's comments while answering to an AN's journalist questions came less than 24 hrs before these events?

One would asume that all was just a coincidence since as we have been told, with Gonzipn everything is possible!

Joseph Bonnici

Mar 5th 2008, 23:25

Hmm...........I think I can discuss this issue personally. I am going through such an experience with the Vat Dep. But since I am not a Harry Vassallo no one is sympathising with myself. Its a mistake for not conforming with Vat regulations coming especially from a professional person and it must be admitted. Sorry Harry, you did a mistake and you should pay like us all. Charles mangion did a msitake and he resigned during AS tenure. John Dalli also was accused and he resigned until proven innocent as he was. Harry you should admit that by not returning a VAT return you did a mistake. and like us all you should have paid the fine. Sorry no political milage from this. If you did not want this to go this far you should have paid. As a lawyer you knew that the fine was going to be converted to a prison term but you kept dragging your feet on this. The issue arising our now or 6 months ago is not a case. The point is that you did a mistake and since you are a public figure you must face the music. Sorry mate but that is what politics is all about.

Franko Rizzo

Mar 5th 2008, 23:22

Clifton...MLPAD...a trip down memory lane, about 5 maybe 6 years ago...it was going to be PNAD, and yet again on the eve of the election EFA discouraged PN voters to give a share to AD...and even years before...presidential pardon goes to Zeppi l-Hafi...

Paola Demicoli

Mar 5th 2008, 23:21

Let's put a scenario where PN already knows through "polls projection" that they ae going to lose badly, and that MLP will win and that part of the damage is caused by AD. ask yourself this question:- Will they do everything they can to avoid a humiliating defeat?!! they have nothing to loose if they already know that they are heading towards a big defeat... I think they will.... maybe after Saturday it will be much clearer why they would have acted like this.... bookmakers are giving MLP 20,000 votes over PN...

John Scicluna

Mar 5th 2008, 23:18

I can't believe this! So it was the MLP that orchestrated this? The
fact that Gonzi hinted at party leaders defaulting on VAT payments AND that this scoop was highlighted by a NET reporter hours before the
official papers were handed to HV mean nothing!? Get a grip on reality and admit that the thirst for power is too great and that GonziPN know that their hours are trickling away. This isn't a question of the PN being too
smart to do this sort of thing, it's just sheer desperation. Just
force yourselves and hop over to maltastar.com and read/listen to a breaking story about ODZ being re-defined IF the PN are re-elected?

James De Giorgio

Mar 5th 2008, 23:18

Reading about this situation, one very interesting and very Maltese word comes to mind: Kawlata!!

Andrew Sciberras

Mar 5th 2008, 23:17

You know, I have been thinking. No, The PN are not so stupid as to do a thing like this on the eve of an election. Actually I am convinced that they are extremely clever – or at least Joe Saliba and Co are. I’m starting to think this is another excuse intended to explain the sound trashing they are about to get at the polls on Saturday. Chapter one was the JPO farce. This is chapter two.

Albert Gauci Cunningham

Mar 5th 2008, 23:16

A few days ago I wrote that those who want to see the PN's downfall are many and most of them pushed by a sense of vendetta................never thought it would be applied to AD........ Anyway if anyone really believes that the PN wants to arrest Harry Vasallo then you really don't know the Nationalists........nationalists supporters (in their total majority) would never do such a thing and would never condone such behaviour......so had this been done by the PN it would be considered nothing less than political suicide.........what is even more "comical" is that the PN sent its own journalists to blow their own cover......it's like the PN said " hey, Harry, we're going to arrest you and we're telling the whole world about it........and we're giving you the chance to come here with your kids and make a martyr of yourself......." I mean if you really believe this kind of trash than you probably believe anything which discredits Dr.Gonzi...........go ahead....take your time .....throw mud at gonzi.....if the MLP is elected it is at your door we come knocking dear Harry!!!!

james debono

Mar 5th 2008, 23:13

Whenever a political party uses the police to attack a political adversary on the eve of an election democracy must be in a very deep crisis. Irrespective of the details of Harry Vassallo's case, this episode shakes the country's democratic edifice as it blurs the distinction between state and party. What was positive in the whole episode is the wave of moral outrage which I felt when talking to friends and family members. which shows that democracy is alive in kicking at least in decent people's hearts.

Keith Chircop

Mar 5th 2008, 23:13

Regardless of whether he's guilty or not, waiting for the eve of the election to deliver documents dated October 2007 is a disgusting move by PN.

muscat Charlie

Mar 5th 2008, 23:13

Let's reason things out and write down some facts:-

1. MLP from the opporistion couldn't have done this or couldn't have co-ordinated this.

2. Yes , it may be true that Harry must have done better with the VAT authorities etc. but what is suspicious is to deliver the warant on the eve of the election.

I mean was this possibly a coincidence? and how come Net journalists knew before Harry that the warrant was going to be delviered?!!!

Again another case which stincks.

The issue which we have now, is that there are so many cases which stinck, that we are loosign count.

WE DESERVE A CHANGE!

James De Giorgio

Mar 5th 2008, 23:10

Very unfair of Harry Vassallo to blame the PN like that. He's become as efficient a mudslinger as Sant. Harry is the guilty one in this case, but he's made the PN look likewise.

UNFAIR!!!

Adrian Tabone

Mar 5th 2008, 23:07

For those people that are saying that PN was not behind this , why does the article say
"but he only learnt about them today from a Net TV journalist hours before he was informed by the police"

?

Michael Busuttil

Mar 5th 2008, 23:07

To Miriam Galea who asked "How could we not vote AD after this scum?" Easy! by voting for one of the two big parties who at least depict themselves as political parties, and not as a religious order. Viva PN and Viva MLP, who with all their shortcomings balance each other out. Choose between the two of them on the basis of what they have to offer do not let yourself be fooled by a holier than thou approach. AD are outright hypocrites, First they criticise what they dubbed MLPN, then they go to PN for a coalition, then they go for sympathy on Super 1. If MLPN means stability, I'm all for it every day, and no amount of whining or underdog marketing will change my mind. I have switched my vote between MLP and PN in the past and will do so again as I see fit. AD and AN are too fundamentalist for my liking.

Abby Attard

Mar 5th 2008, 23:04

I have just switched to Super 1 and have seen Charlon Gouder and his guests shedding crocodile tears for Harry Vassallo.
It is clear that the MLP are in bed with Alternattiva. This is another ploy concotated in the dark so that the people jithassru lill Harry Vassallo. It is now more clear that a vote for Alternattiva is a vote for Alfred Sant. Labour knows quite well that they will win power only if Nationalists vote for Alternattiva.

This case on the eve of the elections is an eye opener to all Nationalists that a vote for Harry is a vote for labour. Do not fall in ths trap as it would be too late to be sorry afterwards.

One last thing. Is Harry Vassallo above the law and since he is in politics he does not pay his fines?

Randolph Bugeja

Mar 5th 2008, 23:04

Am I missing something here?

Harry Vassallo is ordered to pay a fine by the courts - a fine which he refuses to pay. He claims that this fine is unfair, but he does not explain whether he had informed the VAT department 10 years ago that he no longer represented the company.

What is clear though is that he is refusing to abide by a court judgment. Can somebody please explain how this has become PN's fault?

Only the naive, or the blinkered would truly think that the PN would be stupid enough to organise his arrest on the eve of the election.

Just ask yourselves the following question: Who gains from this situation?

M Debono

Mar 5th 2008, 23:04

Angele, yes I believe that PN were stupid in how they tackled this...they should have waited for the police to contact Vassallo ----and not having the NET journalist informing him that he is to be jailed!

I think this was a horrendous PR Error for the PN. They thought they will kill AD but it backfired!

Andrew Grech

Mar 5th 2008, 23:02

A very simple question to all electorate; If all this was orchestarted by PN, can someone tell me what did PN gain from all this ? It's only common sense !! AD's hunger for PN's votes !!

A. Bugeja

Mar 5th 2008, 23:02

Joseph E. Briffa. I don’t blame that you are perplexed! It’s pretty easy why the case was raised now! We are 3 days from voting day – everything happens for a reason. The PN has been trying to put AD in a bad light for the whole campaign, and this is the pinnacle to what they were up to!

By no means I’m defending his wrong doing (if any). He’s innocent until proven guilty. Regarding taking the case to Brussels! It’s not an easy task going to the ECJ! So to me it’s out of question. There are very strict criteria to refer a case to the ECJ (imagine what a backlog would have if every person unhappy with the court’s outcome go to Brussels with his case)

P. Farrugia

Mar 5th 2008, 23:00

It seems that several bloggers have bought into the story, i.e. that GonziPN have orchestrated all this tragicomedy.

I suggest they look up the word "gullible" on the OED (Oxford English Dictionary).

Clifton Agius

Mar 5th 2008, 22:59

Hey Sandy, he WAS careless! If he should have informed the authorities of his end of the involvement with the company and did not, then he was careless. He seems to have found the time since then to file for presidential pardons! His mistake, so please don t try to get political mileage for MLPAD out of it.

muscat Charlie

Mar 5th 2008, 22:57

Let's reason things out and write down some facts:-

1. MLP from the opporistion couldn't have done this or couldn't have co-ordinated this.

2. Yes , it may be true that Harry must have done better with the VAT authorities etc. but what is suspicious is to deliver the warant on the eve of the election.

I mean was this possibly a coincidence? and how come Net journalists knew before Harry that the warrant was going to be delviered?!!!

Again another case which stincks.

The issue which we have now, is that there are so many cases which stinck, that we are loosign count.

WE DESERVE A CHANGE!

Andrew Sciberras

Mar 5th 2008, 22:57

I shall not be at all surprised if in the coming hours we hear of some obscure Police inspector having freshly made a sworn affidavit attesting to the fact that he deliberately kept the jail order in his drawer with the full intention of executing it two days before the election. Rather stupid of said Police inspector to inform Net News of his intention though don’t you think?

Kevin Bonello

Mar 5th 2008, 22:56

While following this year's campaign I thought that it couldn't get lower than it already was. Indeed I was mistaken.

M Cachia

Mar 5th 2008, 22:55

Of course you heard Harry on One Tv. Net Tv don't ever mention AD or would never even ask them for a comment in case they get some extra exposure. It is a shame that TVM did not even report this incident as a headline story. The biggest shame though is the story itself. In this last week before election day the NP managed to illegitimally disrupt a press confererence on National TV by sending disgraced JPO to try and stir up a fight. Today they tried to discredit the leader of AD. I am not so naive to believe these are all coincidences. Josie, watch out you're next !! One word to harry and his team mates. Kuragg!!!

Joe Borg

Mar 5th 2008, 22:55

Why would the PN do this? It does not gain anything. Something tells me that this is the infamous terinu which labour party had warned us about... probably sent by the labour party itself.

Reuben Sant

Mar 5th 2008, 22:54

The knee jerk reaction is to blame the nasty Nats for this …. If you think a little about it you will realize that the beneficiaries of this incident are the MLP and AD. Reach your own conclusions with your head not your heart!

Frank Mifsud

Mar 5th 2008, 22:54

Unbelievable. On Super One, Charlon Gouder and his guests express shock at Harry Vassallo's plight.

No one would have imagined that Lejber can reach such heights of empathy.

Andre Xuereb

Mar 5th 2008, 22:54

JPO is informed about something by One journalists: JPO guilty.

Dr Harry Vassallo is informed about something by Net journalists: PN guilty.

Hmmm. Interesting logic.

Christina Borg

Mar 5th 2008, 22:53

It would be interesting to know the political affiliation and motivation of the police officer who took this initiative. It seems to me that the person or persons who instigated and implemented this plan wanted to hurt the PN, especially at its most vulnerable part of the electorate, that is those that would consider voting AD.

Michael Falzon

Mar 5th 2008, 22:53

Have we ever thought of putting to good use all this mud being brought up from our sewers?

We have really reached new depths. No ethical principles anymore. Out with tolerance. Gone is the common good of the nation. Political capital reigns supreme.

We have now truly forgotten what this electoral campaign is all about! And more fool me who thought it was about the future of Malta.

What a shame!

May God help us ordinary citizens!

Anthony Buttigieg

Mar 5th 2008, 22:51

I am a doctor of medicine, not of law, without going into the
merits of the case, the timing does seem awfully fishy. Having worked as an emergency doctor I have seen hardened criminals literally get away with blue bloody murder. Just in case somebody out here thought otherwise believe me ,this will not affect the decision I made a few weeks ago, for the first time in my life I am not voting PN. Its AD No1 and nothing after that. As a foot note regarding whether PN is dumb enought to have timed this so badly, look how they have handled the Pullucino Orlando case this week...........

Bernard Camilleri

Mar 5th 2008, 22:50

Quite a PR coup Harry, well done. Your timing was wrong however. You should have left it till tomorrow, then you would have had the last word and not give time for the truth of the matter to come out, thebtruth being all the answers to the questions posed by Joseph E Briffa below.

Mario Desira

Mar 5th 2008, 22:49

Up till today I was including PN in my voting preference but this is really disgusting!
It is pure coincidence this came up in the last week prior election - and pigs fly!
On a personal basis a letter I handed to Dr Gonzi in February 2007 about a breach of fundamental human rights was totally IGNORED.
B'Gonzi mohhok mistrieh indeed!

angele galea

Mar 5th 2008, 22:48

I also believe that thePN is not stupid to make such a mistake at the last min. Well done to whoever concocted all of this!!!!!!!!

Sandy Micallef

Mar 5th 2008, 22:47

For people such as Clifton who seem to be reading something different than what I have on my screen, I have pasted part of the report here:
"Dr Vassallo said that ever since he became AD leader he had had no time to practice his profession, let alone be involved in business activities, and his income was Lm400 as a party employee. He could not, therefore, pay the fine"
I think Harry did not say that he had no time to pay for the fine or there is no indication that he was careless... he was only trying to state that since he became AD leader he no longer worked as a lawyer and was no longer involved in the company....specifcally because he dedicated all his time to his political career. Punto e Basta

Miriam Galea

Mar 5th 2008, 22:46

How could we not vote AD after this scum?

Anthony Busuttil

Mar 5th 2008, 22:46

To language expert Joseph Micallef, thanks for correcting my spelling. Now please check your spelling of 'conteseted' and 'cae'.
You seem to remember the 'terinata' quite well, do you? So that gives PN an even longer track record than I even expected in these antics.
The bottom line of all this is: Would you believe that the Comm of Police or the sergeant had the guts to choose the timing of all this?

Franko Rizzo

Mar 5th 2008, 22:46

Mark Abela...JPO is a public figure too...I can't believe that gonziPN has to target even the credibility of a person like Harry Vassallo, who clearly stated that he didn't know anything about this warrant...secondly, what makes the PN say they weren't involved when it was a Net journalist who told him about this? Who should shout "shame on you" ? and mentioning JPO...he said Sant was not letting him (JPO) express his right of freedom of speech...how come it was an outgoing-government candidate that disrupted the news conference? Because in that case the opposition was denied its right of freedom of speech...it was the BA chairman himself who stated that a candidate is not to be present during these activities...I wonder how the BA CEO could have possibly given a go-ahead...as it was shown on NET news...

Paul Vella

Mar 5th 2008, 22:43

Nobody will believe the statement that there was no collusion between the Police and the Nationalist Party. First it was Gonzi who yesterday gave a hint in his TVM Press Conference that there are political leaders who have VAT dues to settle. Then the Net News journalists who asked the question just hours before Harry Vassallo was handed with the arrest warrents. How low can the PN stoop? And then PN apologists are trying to blame Labour!!! For what? GonziPN is in a one big mess and they know it! Things are getting out of control. And what about the Mepa Auditor's Report on the Mistra Scandal? Will we know its conclusions before going to vote on Saturday?

Stephen Micallef

Mar 5th 2008, 22:42

First they damaged a glass pane on the facade of building where you live, now they send the police to your office in the middle of the ...afternoon! I think that you deserve the Nobel peace prize Harry, for your determined resistance to this evil regime! Your heroic actions dwarf the achievements of Martin Luther King and Ghandi together, or at least that is what you would have us believe! Come on Harry, act your (im)age and admit your mistake, just pay the fine or do the time and then shut up.

martin frendo

Mar 5th 2008, 22:42

hmm!! makes me wonder indeed..citizens this is not as simple as it shows..my full support goes to Harry Vassallo.. Shame on Malta and its perfect webbing..I have a dream. waking up to find malta managed by real statemen and not otherwise. No more comments..shame shame shame.

John Sammut

Mar 5th 2008, 22:42

Harry refused to pay the fine after exhausting all his legal remedies and yet he feels he should not pay. Why exactly does he feel that he is above the law?

Also how has this become PN's fault?? As the campaign reaches the end AD are just confirming what we have suspected of them all along. Their campaign will just help MLP get elected.

Daniel Frendo

Mar 5th 2008, 22:41

Harry ypu didn't tell us about this!!!..... Now you telling us that this was done from PN. I don't think PN will do this!! Harry you are now scared that the general public now knows about AND YOU DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING!!!

Vanessa Montebello

Mar 5th 2008, 22:40

I used to be quite close to AD but this latest incident shows it as nothing different from the other parties. Does Harry Vassallo really expect us to admire him for not paying his fines and expecting a Presidential pardon to boot?

Joseph E Briffa

Mar 5th 2008, 22:37

This is indeed quite a puzzle unless I am missing a number of things. Apart from the timing of this revelation which, to say the least, is quite sensational, do I understand that Harry Vassallo failed to inform the VAT for a whole decade that he didn't have anything to do with this company? Is it possible that the VAT department never informed Harry Vassallo that 'his' company was not submitting their returns? I believe that before legal proceedings are taken against someone, one has to give notice, if not several notices, that unless one regularises one's position legal action will be taken. Is it possible that when Harry Vassallo received these notices - which I am assuming to have been the case - he failed to clarify his position in the sense that he was no longer responsible for the submission of such returns? If he did, is it possible that the VAT department ignored Harry Vassallo and proceeded with legal action? And again, when he was taken to court, did not HV produce the necessary documents to prove to the court's satisfaction that he had taken necessary action to regularise his position? And if he did, how come the court found him guilty and ordered him to pay a fine? And subsequent to that, did not HV appeal from the sentence? And if he did, did he lose the case a second time? And if he did, could not he have taken his case to Brussels? And is it possible that the Maltese courts found Harry Vassallo guilty unless the VAT dept could prove that Harry Vassallo failed to inform the dept of his change of position in the company, and that all the department's notices were ignored? The Courts do not just find someone guilty unless the other party can prove to courts' full satisfaction that the person concerned failed to abide by the law. The fact that HV was taken to court a second time and fined again suggests that not only HV did not settle the fine but failed once more to inform VAT in writing - or by filling in the required form - that he doesn't have anything to do with the company. Company directors or CEOs do not have to stay on for life. There must be tools one can use to inform the authorities concerned about such changes. Is it possible that HV - a lawyer himself - did not realise the importance of communicating with the authorities concerned and failed to inform them about his change of position? There are several questions unanswered here. This apart, I fail to understand what are HV's allegations that the police are investigating. I am also completely at a loss why the whole affair saw the light of day on the eve of the elections, when HV is reported to have said that the courts issued warrants for his arrest five months ago. And how come the arrest warrants were served five months later? The whole thing baffles me to say the least.

J.Grima

Mar 5th 2008, 22:37

Reading certain comments in here like G. Spiteri's "Shame on you dr. vassallo! you always wanted to take PN's votes, and now you've succeeded! well done!!" I confirm, with dismay, Gonzipn apologists lament for having the absolute divine right to rule. As far as I know it is part and parcel of the duties of a political adversary to convince others to change their vote. To imply that this arrest was self-martyrdom by Dr. Vassollo is the lowest and foulest point of this electoral.campaign. Do not try to fool me by stooping so low. I give my greatest support to Dr.Harry Vassallo and to his family.

D Farrugia

Mar 5th 2008, 22:34

Of for ****'s sake .... do you guys really believe that PN is dumb enough to issue an arrest warrant on the eve of the election? Don't let the orchestrators of this ploy succeed in shifting your sympathy towards AD for the benefit for MLP!

Kevin Agius

Mar 5th 2008, 22:34

Everyone must be equal before the law. One wonders whether the police investigation into Orland's case will be as speedy as Harry's....!?!?!?

Stephen Grech

Mar 5th 2008, 22:33

I agree with Mr. Christopher Agius 100% as I passed through a similar experience.

Frank Mifsud

Mar 5th 2008, 22:32

So here we go. On Super One, Charlon Gouder and his eminent guests express their sympathy to Harry Vassallo . . . Wow - the coalition is in the making.

Mark Busuttil

Mar 5th 2008, 22:32

If dear old Harry had judicial and legal representation, then such action is justified. Coming from a lawyer, he should have ensured to submit all the necessary documentation to resign from such posts. Pay up!

May Sammut

Mar 5th 2008, 22:30

I've just listened to Harry Vassallo on Super One and it's obvious he's being used by Labour.

Clifton Agius

Mar 5th 2008, 22:30

one simple question - why didn t you get the company you represented pay the fine and avoid all this trouble. Easy, you forgot, or in Maltese, TRASKURAJT! Justification = you were too busy with AD matters?! and then you expect me to gtrust you with power. What if you're busy with something else when important issues crop up, and you have no time for them and forget? Who'll pay the fine then?

T. Micallef

Mar 5th 2008, 22:30

I love it. All labour have done this electoral campaign is mud sling without any proof. Now a story breaks on AD and everyone is scandalised. Whoever's to blame, what is everyone so surprised about?? Labour have been desperately accusing everyone of everything for months, this is just another one.

Mario Mercieca

Mar 5th 2008, 22:29

Cheap political milage from AD who are so desperate trying to clutch to straws. Lets hope this issue does not effect the result of the election. Dr.Vassallo as a lawyer can you help me avoid paying fines, by asking for a presidential pardon?

Sandy Micallef

Mar 5th 2008, 22:29

Amelia Borg: I can only sympathise with Harry because I have tasted the bitter pill of this Adiministration (which by the way I have voted into power!!!) I have fallen victim to serious shortcomings by this PN govt. and whenver i brought this to the fore...what did the PN politicians do??? surprise suprise.... defend the doers of injustice and worse still glorify them by offering them even more prestiguous jobs etc... Sorry mate...I am not that naive this time round! So I know how low the PN can go

carmel pace

Mar 5th 2008, 22:29

You see Mr.Andrew Sciberras, it was the Aliens aided by the MLP who came down and switched our President with one of them so as not to grant another pardon to the 49 granted by EFA.

Robert Grech

Mar 5th 2008, 22:27

Replying to Michael Ellul.. Pay his dues? My aunt was fined Lm2000 for not presenting a vat return when she was teaching private lessons(there is no vat on educational services) so she did not present the return at the time. She didnt ask the president for a pardon or ask you to pay her fine did she? She paid her fine.

Everyone is equal before the law. If my aunt paid, then so should Dr.Harry Vassallo. Saying you don't afford to pay the fine...i don't think that's an excuse.

Harry should have taken this case to the court of appeal, and if he was again found guilty then justice was served.

Asking for a presidential aprdon is no excuse. It still makes him guilty.

P. Farrugia

Mar 5th 2008, 22:27

I fail to see what a successful orchestrated campaign of hatred against AD is all about. Is it coming out with this total pigheaded decision to send Harry Vassallo an arrest warrant two days before a general election?

Come off it please. I hope we credit the PN with more intelligence.

J Borg

Mar 5th 2008, 22:26

When a PN politician does something wrong, he becomes a devil. When an AD politician does something wrong he becomes a martyr. This is really two weights and two measures!

Silvana Agius

Mar 5th 2008, 22:26

How very clever of MLP... first they warn the public to beware of 'terinu' ... and then surprise surprise, terinu does turn up.. but helps them instead!!

Adrian Urpani

Mar 5th 2008, 22:25

You wonder about the timing of Pullicino Orlando's case by the Labour Party and the PN' s mud slinging policy against AD on the eve of an election. We need a third party to try to clean politics in Malta.

Christopher Agius

Mar 5th 2008, 22:25

All this hoo-haa about a simple administrative law measure! Same thing happened to me about the non submission of a nil return over my vat number which had been dormant for a few years since I had taken up employment. I was fined almost a LM100, over a part time activity that netted me less than that! Had no choice but to pay it, but then I'm not in politics. As leader of a political party, Harry is already expecting a different yardstick for him as opposed to me. Wonder what he would do with the power he d get as a controlling interest in the coalition he wants!

Noel Sant

Mar 5th 2008, 22:24

Since when do we have the option of not paying fines when we don't agree with them?

Saviour Sammut

Mar 5th 2008, 22:24

Who issued the warrant NOW on the eve of the election? Who informed Harry that the fine had been turned into a two year jail sentence? Are we living in Zimbabwe? Politics have never stooped so low? Who still believes in the slogan flimkien kollox possibli?? The campaign has been turned into a vicious sinister activity. Thanks, PN, thanks MLP. I shall not be forgetting all this come Saturday 8th March.

caroline ellul

Mar 5th 2008, 22:21

Harry is trying to make us forget the main issue in this story.. he was fined by Court and did not pay the fines.. and now it has been converted to imprisonment. He was hoping to bury it under the carpet but it backfired.

Kevin Agius

Mar 5th 2008, 22:20

Confidence will be hard to restore!!! This is nothing less than a coup d'etat against the general freedom of speech. This episode convinced me to collect my vote!!!!!!!

Andrew Sciberras

Mar 5th 2008, 22:16

Just a couple of facts lest they are overlooked. Dr Vassallo asked for a Presidential party not once but twice in this case. It was twice refused. I will not go into the fact that Presidential pardons have been granted over the years to hardened criminals. I will only say that only in the last few months no less than 49 Presidential pardons were granted in cases identical to that of Dr Vassallo. I rest my case.

joseph micallef

Mar 5th 2008, 22:14

Anthony Busuttil first needs lessons in spelling and history since Nationalist is not spelt
"Natinalist" while the 'terinata' he mentioned, irrespective of the merits of the case, was nowhere near the sixties but at least half a century before. No wonder then that he also needs lessons in realising that such a story is a valid one for journalists to bring up in a campaign, and that nobody has conteseted the fact that Harry is guilty, not even Harry himself. The spin is all intended to make a transgressor, albeit by mistake, a hero and a victim. While the cae itself is nothing serious, and Harry has NOT been slapped into handcuffs mind you, his attempts to gain political mileage of this are symptomatic of yet another 'politikant'!

G. Spiteri

Mar 5th 2008, 22:13

Shame on you dr. vassallo! you always wanted to take PN's votes, and now you've succeeded! well done!!

Michael Ellul

Mar 5th 2008, 22:12

I Express my full solidarity to Mr. Vassallo. In the name of democracy can we maltese help out together tp pay the 6000 pounds due. He did much to continue democracy in Malta he deserves our help.

Perhaps a pardon grant to Mr vassallo would have been possible if his surname included queiros or Hafi.

Andrew Borg-Cardona

Mar 5th 2008, 22:10

Reading the comments, I was disappointed. So predictable! The MLP cry "mega foul", pretending to believe that the PN are so stupid as to make a gaffe like this at the last minute, while the Greens succumb to the temptation of seeing a conspiracy against them everywhere and all the time. I'd love to know who orchestrated all this. As they say, follow the money, the "money" in this case being the electoral advantage that can be gained - and to my mind, the MLP are the only ones who could think they would gain.

peter carbonaro

Mar 5th 2008, 22:10

finally! thanks PN.... i feel even more comfortable now to give my number one to Gonzi. Shame on you AD! Renee left you right in time!

Saviour Sammut

Mar 5th 2008, 22:09

Can anybody illuminate this simple mind of mine how come the NET TV journalist know before the police acted about this? Can anybody illuminate this simple mind of mine how come a journalist pass was issued by the Department of Information to Jeff Pullicino Orland in a matter of few hours. It shows that the PN are entrapped in a panic station grip.

J. Abela

Mar 5th 2008, 22:07

IT WAS DR GONZI WHO HINTED THE STORY! Prima facie it seems that it was a PN journalist who broke the story… Dr. Gonzi on national TV yesterday during an MBA press conference on TVM, hinted that some political leaders have VAT arrears to pay. He was answering the AN reporter. IT’S ON TAPE!

I’m so puzzled to hear that the PN has nothing to do with the issue in question when Gonzi yesterday hinted to what was going to happen today, and a PN journalist uncovered the story before the police reached Dr. Vassallo! Nothing happens by coincidence under Dr Gonzi!

Stop fooling around GonziPn!

carmel pace

Mar 5th 2008, 22:07

it wasn't the PN ....................then must be those darn Aliens again. Don't you just hate it when they come down from their mother ship and muddle in our politics.

M.Micallef

Mar 5th 2008, 22:07

To Mr.Keith Sammut,
did you realise that the M.L.P. and much more Mr.Jason Micallef,had nothing to do with this story??Or everything that happens has to be pinned with the Labour party?It's a shame from the nationalist side!!

mark abela

Mar 5th 2008, 22:06

Has anybody realised that PN immediately denied involvement? Obviously, they had nothing to gain from all of this, and call PN strategists anything, but they are definitely not stupid. The medialink exposure of Harry's secret is legitimate. He is a public figure and a lawyer and he should have known better than to let himself be caught out like this. What stinks is the "coincidental" (and immediately spun by MLPAD) involvement of a police man to bring out the image of a 'miskin' Think about it , and the very reactions on this comment show clearly that PN had nothing to gain by handing the role of martyrdom to Harry. I echo a previous comment - its a pity that most of us tend to get caught up in the emotion of such things and ignore the hard facts. And Raphael Vassallo, you re quite a clever person from your writing - do you honestly believe that the Nationalist Party sent police out to arrest Harry?? Don t answer me, but at least be honest with yourself. AD are another political party and are using the same sensationalist spin styles, admit it!

Sandy Micallef

Mar 5th 2008, 22:06

Frank Mifsud, how typical! All PN supporters try to give the impression that they are mightier than thou...with a higher IQ than anybody else on this planet. Yes, sure ...you might call others daft...but the real daft ones are those who are being stabbed 'neatly' in the back by this administration and still clap and wave their PN flags! As for the rest of the PN club...they now form part of the young nouveau riche...relatively young individuals that managed to turn into the rich within our society...how? Easy...PN contacts..check them out...though I disagree with MLP on several issues, there are 2 things which I am in agreement with: 1) Hbieb tal-Hbieb, and 2) Corruption. Check out who gets appointed to Boards in Govt. entities, MEPA etc....check their luxurous lifestyle.....they are lashing out at AD because they have too much to lose .... Power and money!

M Debono

Mar 5th 2008, 22:03

Thanks to this issue....i am now 100% certain who will get my number 1.....AD!

Jason Camilleri

Mar 5th 2008, 22:02

maybe we can convert harry's jail term into community service - he can help us find one decent electoral proposal from the mlp.

ALBERT FENECH

Mar 5th 2008, 22:02

Some of your bloggers are adopting the stance that this whole matter has been set-up by Dr. Harry Vassallo and AD. If I were to accept this line of thought, it would mean that Dr. Vassallo was in cahoots with a NET journalist, with the Police Commissioner etc. I think we are now even over-reaching the peripherals of science fiction.

Frank Mifsud

Mar 5th 2008, 22:00

AD's conspiracy theory is that this whole issue was orchestrated by the PN with the help of the Police.

Another conspiracy theory: the whole issue was orchestrated by AD with the help of a Labour Police insider.

David Farrugia

Mar 5th 2008, 21:58

So, a court orders a prison sentence in October 07. Today, 2 days before the election, a media.link journalist advises Harry about the court order. He receives the warrant in the afternoon. Know what?, I see a tangled web involving the PN, journalists and sadly the Police dept. Where is this country heading to?! People should grab the chance and vote for a much needed change next Saturday

Graham Crocker

Mar 5th 2008, 21:58

He broke the law, and if he was good at his job (lawyer), he would have realized that paperwork matters a lot in a court of law. Pn had nothing to do with it, Net Tv knowing before he did shows that NetTv did their research, but Harry was too busy running his party & campaign to bother. But damn, some of the Laborites here are just Maddening! I would never have believed anything of the sort would have happened under Dr Sant, its just maddening to even being to think that the head of government has total power over the court and their decisions. Their leniency to believe such nonsense, is amazing, especially without proof and almost indicative of what change Dr Sant has prepared you for. What Cheek, first he throws mud at the PN, then he asks for the former prime minster and leader of PN for a pardon.

Amelia Borg

Mar 5th 2008, 21:58

Sandy Micallef. The AD need your support in this hour to show solidarity for not having submitted returns! Oh joy! Facts • Harry Vassallo KNEW his fine had been converted to a jail term. • The Net journalist found out that Harry Vassallo had been ordered to be imprisoned and asked him about it. •It explodes onto the scene 3 days before the election and everyone hates the PN and loves AD…..and who once again rubs his hands in glee? Of course, it was the PN that blew this wide open - the party that stands to lose the most – come off it!

Frank Mifsud

Mar 5th 2008, 21:52

Hear hear - it seems that AD sympathisers are out for the jugular. It's unbelievable how anyone could believe that threatening to imprison a leader of a political party two days before a general election can lead to any political gain.

Jane Bonello

Mar 5th 2008, 21:52

J. Borg, its more likely to be the MLP that has orchestrated this.. a master move when you think about it.... and AD are doing them the favour of blaming the PN. Keep it up AD... your gift to this country on the 9 March will be Dr Alfred Sant as PM.

Andrew Ellul

Mar 5th 2008, 21:51

I just would like to correct a small point to Charles Borg. Political parties are exempt from paying VAT. The commercial companies which are an offshoot of political parties are liable to pay VAT.

ALBERT FENECH

Mar 5th 2008, 21:51

As a fellow Maltese citizen I would like to offer my most profound personal apology to Dr. Harry Vassallo for this cowardly, disgusting and spiteful act on the eve of the General Election. I do not know Dr. Vassallo personally but he has always struck me as a gentleman of integrity and high ethics. Dr. Vassallo, I will not be voting for your party, but I wish you and your party best wishes. Like the party I support, you are also driving for a new Malta, a new, clean image where once more, one can with pride say that one is Maltese.

H.Cini

Mar 5th 2008, 21:50

Today I am ashamed to call myself Maltese. I give my support to Mr.Vassallo and family.

J Zammit

Mar 5th 2008, 21:48

Did Harry Vassallo really not know that his Lm6,000 in fines had been commuted into a prison sentence? This was a decision taken in September, not yesterday! I'm quite favourable to AD but on this one Dr Vassallo seems to be trying to turn his mistakes into an advantage. If he had such fines and pardon requests, as a party leader and a lawyer he should have acted very differently and certainly more transparently.

Keith Sammut

Mar 5th 2008, 21:48

This is very very sad! I think this electoral campaign has killed completely our political parties. Does Mr. Saliba or Mr Micallef think that they are attracting the right people into politics by using these tactics? I think this is a rhetorical question that deserves deep reflection from the electorate. Politics has been labelled as a dirty business... something that people who are responsible would shy off. Who in his/her right state of mind would mingle with the idea of being manipulated and used as a puppet on a string ? Does the end justify the means?

Are we insane! do we really want to go this far?

George Zammit

Mar 5th 2008, 21:47

Keith Chircop, while you might find this difficult to accept, the PN does NOT interfere with the operations of the Police. That was the MLP in the 80s. The MLP of this century on the other hand thinks that the police is a smokescreen..

aidan mifsud

Mar 5th 2008, 21:46

I have one question that reading and re-reading this report does not answer. Is he going to jail or not? Two arrest warrants have been issued, police officers turned up at his office keeps failing to mention the important fact. Is he going to jail???

Frank Mifsud

Mar 5th 2008, 21:46

Who are we kidding? Although we might credit political parties with little grey matter, who could be so daft to conjure up such a mess? Dafter still is who believes that this has all been orchestrated by the PN.

Anthony Busuttil

Mar 5th 2008, 21:39

Typical Natinalist tactics on the eve of an election. They've come a long way since the sixties' 'terinata'.
I hope they will not now say Harry arranged the timing of the case with the Commissioner of Police so as to look like the victim.
I will not be surprised.

jane mifsud

Mar 5th 2008, 21:36

"he could promise to wage a campaign for law enforcement to be reasonable. People who failed to submit a piece of paper could not be treated like violent criminals."

Pardon me, Mr Vassallo?

While I sympathise with you and your family about such a delicate situation, turning this into a political spin is disgusting... Not long time ago, on Xarabank, during a programme about imprisonment, there was someone who spoke about this same experience... Not paying his dues, and ending up in prison...

If I'm not mistaken, we never heard your voice defending such people then... why do you promise to stage a war about such issue now?

jennifer agius

Mar 5th 2008, 21:36

I'm a working mother of two, and have always filed my returns on time. Why shouldn't everyone else, politicians included, especially the supposedly fresh ones? and who stands to gain from the timing and the martyr like presentation. Come on Harry, you just got a piece of paper the content of which you were well aware of! you're not exactly standing in front of a tank in Tienamen square, are you?

Randolph Bugeja

Mar 5th 2008, 21:35

Actually my first reaction was of anger towards the police or whoever orchestrated this. However after reading first Harry's comments and then AD's reaction I am totally disgusted at them.

AD have now completed their transformation from self-declared political virgins to a cheap stunt-seeking political party who will do anything to gain some political mileage.

Harry, who is an experienced political leader, and a lawyer by profession, knows that unpaid fines are converted into imprisonment. He also knows that the PN would be stupid to do anything of the sort because it would only gain him sympathy votes.

What has happened here is that Harry Vassallo is trying to capitalise on this situation to score points against the PN. And then he's surprised that the PN does not want to form a coalition with AD!

Sorry Harry, what you are doing is plain dirty.

Sandy Micallef

Mar 5th 2008, 21:34

oh by the way...until today's event happened I was determined to return my voting document to sender...well ....to Gonzi.
I have now changed my mind...AD need all the support possible in this terrible hour....we are living the 80's once again. Then the MLP were overt in their suppression, now the PN are doing the same but in a sly and 'elegant' manner. Histroy repeats itself, albeit in a thwarted manner.

Mario Fenech

Mar 5th 2008, 21:31

Harry does not submit a VAT return. Harry gets fined.. Harry does not pay, Harry has fine converted into prison sentence, Harry is found out and....... Harry becomes a victim?! a martyr!!!! Only in Malta!

J Zammit

Mar 5th 2008, 21:30

How convenient for a lawyer to leave a court order for a fine in the bottom drawer knowing full well that the fine would be converted into a jail term. When the fine was converted to a jail term he was informed – in fact he asked for a presidential pardon from the jail term. Now he comes across as the martyr playing the victim. No one seems to care that he broke the law and everyone is now sympathizing with him …. Who wins – who loses? Use your heads.

Joseph Abela

Mar 5th 2008, 21:27

Let's stick to the facts - Harry was not jailed today! he, a lawyer, is claiming he was not aware of a court judgement involving him personally of five months ago. Once the cat came out of the bag, out with the conspiracy theory. Only you are to blame Harry, it's a pity however that many might fall for this obvious gimmick, and totally ignore the fact that you defaulted repeatedly. Timing is coincidentally very unfortunate for the PN, and Super 1 were quick, too quick, to jump on the sympathy bandwagon. Aside from all the emotional outbursts and orchestrated opinions, it makes one think doesn't it?

J. Borg

Mar 5th 2008, 21:24

Why is this case being turned into a poltical issue? This certainly is not the style of the PN, and I would hope none of the other political parties would fall into this trap. I think this is all a big setup by AD to clinch a little bit of symapthy, perhaps?

Sandy Micallef

Mar 5th 2008, 21:23

To all those who are depicting the PN as being the poor martyrs in this case....just remember one crucial point in all this mess that let the cat out of the bag as to who masterminded this silencing of AD: IT WAS A PN MEDIA PERSON WHO FIRST BROUGHT IT UP....stupid idiot! S/he gave away the PN. And how well timed - just an hour prior to a public event that was due to take place by AD. Yes, I too have been inundated with emails etc warning me not to vote for AD.
And to all those who are too naive to think that (dirty) politics don't get involved with Justice and Police...they are very very wrong.

Joseph Aquilina

Mar 5th 2008, 21:23

Since AD and MLP realised you cannot win PN fairly they decided to try and win by throwing as much mud against PN as they can – seems AD has learnt quickly from their MLP masters! I just hope here in Malta you do not win an election by throwing mud!!

Raphael Vassallo

Mar 5th 2008, 21:19

Some of these comments show how very successful the orchestrated campaign of hatred against AD has proved to be. I hope the hatemongers are thrilled to bits. Clearly they can't get their thrills in any other way. I' d like to take this opportunity to personally thank them for reinstilling fear and hatred in what should have been a calm and tension-free election. You have taken us all the way back to 1986. Congratulations.

M. Ellis

Mar 5th 2008, 21:18

SO now according to Mr. Stephen Cachia, AD deputy chairman, are the police also corrupt? Why doesn't Harry Vassallo just admit that he was careless enough to leave this VAT issue pending for over 10 years. This is something which could have been sorted within minutes, but alas he left it pending! PN involved? I doubt it very much. They know very well that something like this could trigger sympathy votes for Harry. Labour? Maybe, but then its too sophisticated. I think its plain and simple a case of justice being done against someone who disregarded the law. No conspiracy or other.

matthew spiteri

Mar 5th 2008, 21:16

The idea that the PN is behind this move is ludicrous – even they are not that stupid! A dirty trick it certainly is and the perpetrators must be caught – quickly. Methinks all these smiles on the part of AD and MLP supporters might be short lived.

clive demicoli

Mar 5th 2008, 21:16

Claire - What is there to discredit? Dr Vassallo has made it clear that he refused to pay the fine. Does anyone think that the Nationalist Party has anything at all to gain from this?

J Aquilina

Mar 5th 2008, 21:16

Clever move blaming the PN ... but I doubt anyone would believe that PN are that stupid. Looks more like some bright spartk at the police or whoever is responsible for notifying Harry was trying to help AD or even MLP...

Glen Cassar

Mar 5th 2008, 21:14

gonziPn in an erratic dismay, they are troubled and pathetic by their moves, every step they are taking is hurting them more and more. How lower can you go when loss is being felt?

Dr Clive Aquilina Spagnol

Mar 5th 2008, 21:14

The current administration has now really lost its credibility, at least in the eyes of those who think with their own minds....of course the blue die hards - not necessarily Joe Public but even some who claim to be part of the 'intelligentia' of this alma mater - keep harping their justifications like a flock of blind sheep after their lost, panicked shepherd.

Andrew Sciberras

Mar 5th 2008, 21:14

I honestly can’t believe I’m living in Malta. The action against Harry Vassallo is bad enough, but the comments I am reading here leave me speechless! How could there be so much hate in this country? Unbelievable!! I’ve never been more scandalized in my life. Five more years under PN and this country would become a surrealist Orwellian nightmare.

Randolph Spiteri

Mar 5th 2008, 21:13

Harry's transgression is kept hidden from the public for all these months (transparency, my foot) then, once the proverbial s... hits the fan, Harry helped by Super 1 (why am I not surprised) spins it as a causa sacri for martyrdom. The facts are simple. harry did not observe the law. The timing of this whole affair stinks, as the only one to benefit from all this noise is only AD, and therefore MLP. Definitely an MLPAD spin, although the fact remains that harry broke the law. Now he's been caught out. It's ok to point fingers Harry, but not so nice to have them pointed at you, is it!

Charles Borg

Mar 5th 2008, 21:12

Putin tactics !!!! Does the PN owe the Vat dept ? Anyone know the amount?

Maria Dolores Fenech

Mar 5th 2008, 21:06

This is the same old PN using last minute tactics to damage the integrity of Dr Harry Vassallo. How come a Net journalist knew about all this before Dr Vassallo himself? Who knows what the PN has ready for tomorrow, this time against another leader Dr Alfred Sant. The PN never change. Is Dr Vassallo still considering a coalition after what has happened today?!

malcolm seychell

Mar 5th 2008, 21:04

Harry has to pay like any other citizen if he is guilty. Definately another sad day for democracy under the Gonzi PN administration.

Wally Vella-Zarb

Mar 5th 2008, 20:56

Here we go again! Just like I predicted some days ago, since the mud-slinging campaign against Dr Sant has backfired against GonziPN, turn your aim against Dr Vassallo!! Let all the Law students who are eager to pass continue writing their diatribes and posing as floaters. The REAL floaters have not been convinced by your antics and now it is too late. In 72 hours' time it will be all over and we can all go back to reality.

Charles Sacco

Mar 5th 2008, 20:52

George Mizzi has either got it wrong or he is out of his mind. How does the MLP feature in this? It was a Media Link reporter who raised the issue in the first place!!!

Dr Mark A. Sammut

Mar 5th 2008, 20:51

I do not think the PN has been ignoring AD during this campaign. The PN has been incessantly showing signs of being extremely worried by AD's inroads...

Keith Chircop

Mar 5th 2008, 20:51

PN had better give a good explanation as to why an order dated October 2007 was delivered on the eve of the elections.

Joanne Spiteri

Mar 5th 2008, 20:51

Harry Vassallo is a lawyer for goodness sake - didn't he know the consequences when the court reached its verdict?

Joseph Aquilina

Mar 5th 2008, 20:41

I do not want to point any fingers, but who can gain the most from such a news; PN or AD and MLP? For me the latter two have more chances to gain advantages out of this which makes the accusations that the PN somehow organised all this complete nonesense! Also it sounds very fishy that the Dr.Vassallo was served 2 days before the election!

Michael Attard

Mar 5th 2008, 20:41

PN are so scared of not attaining the majority of votes that they're doing anything they can to destroy AD. The timing is way too fishy. PN have been clever enough to keep it quiet until the eve of the election to once again destroy AD. This is simply sickening.

Victor Laiviera

Mar 5th 2008, 20:36

The PN seems determined to commit hara-kiri.

Truly it is said, "Those whom the gods want to destroy, they first make mad".

Joseph Abela

Mar 5th 2008, 20:35

The timing of today's events, which could not have been better for AD and hence MLP interests, however lessen nothing from the lame excuse of Harry having been too busy to comply. Since when has being leader of the greens put anybody above the law. Harry, you re a public figure and you're preaching a breath of fresh air...please! the least you could have done was admit to it honestly up front - we all have our digressions - and not use it to gain a sympathy vote!

M. Ellis

Mar 5th 2008, 20:30

Am I missing something here? Don't you just go to the VAT and de-register when you have nothing to do with a business any longer? Its like 5 minutes of one's time to do that! Harry, Harry naughty Harry. I thought you were a bit more clever than that, but if you cant solve your own VAT De-Registration out, how, can you sort the Maltese politics if in a coalition?

Claire Bonello

Mar 5th 2008, 20:27

Clive Demicoli - the PN have NOT ignored AD during this electoral campaign. In fact I would say they have attacked Ad as much if not more than MLP. There's even a spot which says that voting for AD means a vote for Sant. All the PN pundits wail on about how dangerous AD in Parliament would be, when in fact it would be the change this country needs. I keep on receiving chain emails telling me not to vote for AD, text messages too. Why this all out assault against AD if it was not a threat? This is the latest desperate move to discredit AD

Ryan Farrugia

Mar 5th 2008, 20:26

What is this? Is it this night of the long knives, where those who oppose or dissent get dumped into jail and have their reputations assassinated? Who is pulling the strings of the police? Is the very essence of our democracy under threat? Is this a taste of what we might be in for in the coming 5 years?

Kenneth Cassar

Mar 5th 2008, 20:22

Tough Harry. No Queiroz, no presidential pardon.

This is Democracy Malta style.

J Zammit

Mar 5th 2008, 20:19

Funny how Dr Vassallo didn't know how this case of fines of Lm6,000 was progressing! Isn't Dr Vassallo a lawyer and a party leader? He should have been transparent with the facts long ago. AD seems to have become just like the other parties.

Corinne Vella

Mar 5th 2008, 20:18

Clive Demicoli: To take that line of thinking is to step onto a slippery slope. The same sort of argument has been used to "explain" arson attacks and bomb threats. You're talking about a two-year prison term. That's a pretty serious thing. Whatever the facts of the case, there is no justification for mockery.

joe borg

Mar 5th 2008, 20:17

Hmmm....H.vassalo is not Zeppi l-Hafi!!!!!!!!!

Claude Sciberras

Mar 5th 2008, 20:17

This case sounds similar to many others I know about and which sometimes look and sound unfair. However if things are not done properly and you get fined you have to pay up. Everyone thinks they shouldn't be fined for some reason or other but we all end up paying in the end... Why should a politician get special treatment. I'm no lawyer but I think the right thing to do should have been to pay up and then sue the firm he worked for. All citizens, but especially politicians must obey the law. Politicians cannot afford to get involved in such thorny situations and I'm surprised they are not wise enough.

Herman Meilak

Mar 5th 2008, 20:17

So according to Charlie-MLP-supporter the PN has sent Harry Vassallo to prison.

According to Charlie the MLP will liberate Harry Vassallo in a few days' time. (Reminds me of Zorro!)

Come on Charlie we have the Law Courts that decide who goes where!!!

And the MLP have no power to liberate anyone especially from the opposition in a few days time....




Let's hope he'll be back with his family where he belongs!!!

Joe Mizzi

Mar 5th 2008, 20:17

Pathetic!

Stephen Cachia

Mar 5th 2008, 20:16

As usual the PN is hitting AD below the belt on the last day of the electoral campaign. Shame on them! Enough is enough. How long are we going to let these people get away with this arrogance. My appeal is to voters to say a strong no to this arrogance and vote for AD next Saturday.

Victor Fiorini

Mar 5th 2008, 20:15

It seems that the word 'shame' does not exist in GonziPN's vocabularly. My no 1 to Harry... my number 2 to one. If he does not get elected, I don't want to be an accomplice in the demise of our country

Kenneth Cassar

Mar 5th 2008, 20:13

Harry Vassallo is not a drug dealer named Queiros. He does not deserve a presidential pardon for a crime he did not commit.

Sandy Micallef

Mar 5th 2008, 20:07

Clive, it appears that you are not even attentive to your darling Gonzi. Have you forgotten his recent speech warning voters that a vote for AD is a vote for MLP? SO how can you say that the PN have ignored AD in this campaign. I beg to differ. It was a complete montage to scare the PN supporters who have strayed into not voting for AD. I personally witnessed/heard Gonzi 'scare' his audience by saying: a coalition will mean N.Lowell or H. Vassallo as Prime Minister....now I don't call that ignoring AD at all! So cleanse your brain Clive

M Cilia

Mar 5th 2008, 20:01

Wow.. shame on you PN... how low can you go?

Mary Galea

Mar 5th 2008, 20:01

PN can't go lower than this.. Gonzi and his team should be ashamed of themselves.

Stefan Buttigieg

Mar 5th 2008, 19:57

There is something which doesn't make sense here....I mean 10th October 2007. Then he knew about it all along and didn't do anything about, I mean he just need to fill in some forms! Although I see it unjust that he gets prison for not submitting the forms. A fine would be much more fitting to a dignified person such as Dr.Vassallo.

Edward Mifsud

Mar 5th 2008, 19:49

Mr George Mizzi what are you saying? It was NETTV who broke this case. Where is the MLP in all this? Come on this is a dirty trick by the PN that is in panic mode and it down on the floor and desperate. This is going to back fire in a huge way. Grave mistake by the PN.

S Vassallo

Mar 5th 2008, 19:43

You can already see the MLP spin on this one – that the nasty Nats have used their influence to silence the AD leader instead of asking the more obvious questions – why did Harry Vassallo, a lawyer of some repute and political leader, whose hallmark is integrity, allow the situation to reach this point? His timing is stupendous.

Andrew Borg-Cardona

Mar 5th 2008, 19:40

Whatever the merits or otherwise of the case, which shouldn't be discussed in a public forum, how come the Nationalists are being blamed for this? Does anyone think they're stupid enough to give Harry a stick with which to beat them? Admittedly, the timing stinks and the reason why this happened today of all days should be looked at, but blaming the PN is ridiculous.

ALBERT FENECH

Mar 5th 2008, 19:39

So, according to George Mizzi, the MLP is "behind" this move!!!!???? I know that the MLP will be in Government within a few days, but are they ALREADY running the Law Courts? This guy Mizzi is either joking, or living on another planet.

alessandra pace

Mar 5th 2008, 19:39

Mr. mizzi are you implying that the current president Dr. Edward fenech Adami is collaborating with the MLP on such a decision on the eve of an election by not issuing a presidential pardon?

J. Mifsud

Mar 5th 2008, 19:35

After reading about Dr Harry Vassallo I tend to perceive more about the credibility of Dr Alfred Sant. This was a false move.

Simon Cauchi

Mar 5th 2008, 19:31

Saint Harry imprisoned? Thank God we do not have capital punishment in Malta, since I am sure that Saint Harry would have become the Martyr of Martyrs. We might run out of candles.

On a serious note, why did AD become so shallow? It’s a pity! Why did they throw away all their credibility like this? Who is leading AD? Jo Said? Saint Harry? Carmel Caccopardo? What a mess!

Chris Mintoff

Mar 5th 2008, 19:29

@George Mizzi: The master of mud here is PN not MLP. Next we'll be hearing that Sant helped Harry get in trouble. @clive demicoli: AD were the biggest thorn in PN's backside. Their whole campaign circled around the whole "A vote for AD is a vote for Sant. Putting Harry is prison 3days before the election is too too low. Democracy IS being threatened.

James De Giorgio

Mar 5th 2008, 19:23

I am against Harry Vassallo's imprisonment. I am also against Charlie Muscat's comment alleging it's the PN who sent him to prison. His comment is arguably the most ridiculous I've read so far.

Ronald Gatt

Mar 5th 2008, 19:23

It's unbelievable that there are still blinkered persons like George Mizzi who even on this issue blame the MLP! The issue is between an oppressed person (Dr Harry Vassallo0 and the oppressor (PN caretaker Goverment). When it comes to filth and character assassination we all know who the experts are.

Edward Cassar

Mar 5th 2008, 19:23

If the PN think this will destroy AD's chances to take votes from their disgruntled fold they are bound to fail miserably. This is outrageous. A hideous criminal gets pardoned for around 30 CRIMINAL cases and continues to run free but Harry Vassallo is ordered to go to prison for not submitting pieces of paper. I cannot find the right words to denounce this barbarity. Flimkien kollox possibbli of course, especially in the last hours of the electoral campaign.

Philip camilleri

Mar 5th 2008, 19:22

What Clive Demicoli is saying makes sense. Why should PN give a platform to AD. What can it gain out of it?

Charlene Gauci

Mar 5th 2008, 19:22

If Dr Vassallo is imprisoned I don't think he would be able to contest the elections would he? Ponder about that, and about which district he's contesting in...

matthew sammut

Mar 5th 2008, 19:18

Oh wonderful! Who was the genius that timed this so impeccably to damage the PN? Come on – was it Harry himself? The MLP? It certainly does not benefit the PN!

Adrian Tabone

Mar 5th 2008, 19:18

Why get a pardon ? This was not druglord Francizco Queroz

T Agius

Mar 5th 2008, 19:17

Clive Aquilina Spagnol... are you a lawyer? Maybe you can shed some light on this. As far as I know fines which remained unpaid are always converted to imprisonment. Are you suggesting that Harry Vassallo should be treated differently?

Noel Abela

Mar 5th 2008, 19:14

How low can the PN go? It makes me sick. I assure the PN incl. the NET TV guy that this is going to backfire. I am voting AD and will not transfer my vote to the PN. This mud slinging exercise coupled with an email explaining why I should not vote AD is the last straw. If these are not attacks by the PN on AD I don't know what attacks are??

James De Giorgio

Mar 5th 2008, 19:13

Is this for real?
I'm really sorry to hear this, worst timing possible.
Obviously the PN is not involved with this, the PN do not give court orders, and neither does the MLP.
But this is sad. I never knew Harry Vassallo could end up in this.

Guzeppi Grech

Mar 5th 2008, 19:11

SHAME!!! This is disgusting...prison for not submitting return forms of someone else's company, 10 years previously and notified 5 months previously...disgusting..leaving it to the eve of the election. FRAME UP!! I would never have thought that I would have to stand up and be counted against this sort of thing...something that hasn't happened since 1987. But, I will...Harry I support you and AD 100% NOW!

R. Buttigieg

Mar 5th 2008, 19:06

This is nothing but a scandal. Several pardons have been granted in the past to criminals. Dr. Vassallo as stated below represented a company. In the Company's Acts, one will find stated that persons forming part of a company are not liable. Partnership agreement states otherwise. One will learn this in the O'Level syllabus for Accounting. Are we teaching something and acting otherwise in these islands?? Has this been imposed due to the fact that AD is opting for a coalition government and PN has refused so, thus reducing another factor for a proper democratic constitution?

Henry Agius

Mar 5th 2008, 19:05

Harry Vassallo is a lawyer of some standing. Surely he was aware that not paying a fine would eventually be converted into a jail term. Harry Vassallo, who mentions the words transparency, honesty, integrity every time he speaks publicly should know better. Another skeleton in the cupboard – why does it take an election to bring out the worst in us?

How sad that this election is not being fought on policies …… if it were it would be no contest!

Shaun Camilleri

Mar 5th 2008, 19:05

Another stick taken away from PN's Cartwheel!! How unbelievable! Just days before E Day and the first time in history when the AD had ever a chance of getting some power. So Many disgruntled nationalists, and they just keep nailing their nails in their own coffin! Hope they do get 5yrs in opposition. Maybe they start acting in a more ethical way!

Joseph Curmi

Mar 5th 2008, 19:05

Shocking... Absolutely Shocking.

I have a question to ask:

Is this a disgusting, corruptive regime?

Does Gonzi approve of this?

clive demicoli

Mar 5th 2008, 19:03

What are AD implying? That the Nationalists are so crazy as to give AD such a platform on the eve of an election? The PN have practically ignored AD throughout this campaign. Does anyone think that having Harry in prison, a martyr to the cause, helps anyone but Harry himself? And why did Harry hide this till now?

Andrew Camilleri

Mar 5th 2008, 19:03

Although I don't know the merits of the case the timing of the whole event is really really fishy.....If the court order was issued 5 months ago why was Dr. Vassallo only notified about it on the eve of the general election????

Robert Camilleri

Mar 5th 2008, 19:03

Harry Vassallo's explanation is not credible. All he had to do is to inform the VAT department that he no longer represented the company. There's a special form for that...

Dr Clive Aquilina Spagnol

Mar 5th 2008, 19:02

Democracy is being threatened once again...no further comments...

George Mizzi

Mar 5th 2008, 19:02

Yet another mud slinging exercise from the master of mud. The MLP have shown time and again that they have no scruples and they appear to be behind this gimmick to ruin the reputation of AD. The only party to benefit from such an action is the MLP and they have been clinical in their exercise of surprises. They are devoid of policy and have stooped as low as they could to further their objective!

K Mifsud

Mar 5th 2008, 19:01

Interesting way of spinning this Harry. You kept something potentially explosive quiet for such a long time.. and now that it has become public you try to blame the PN for this??? Another cheap pre-electoral trick from just another political party.

Lawrence Attard Bezzina

Mar 5th 2008, 18:59

Unbelievable, it's okay to pardon all sorts of people, but not Harry Vassallo, or 13-15year old kids for fighting in the streets.Is this the Malta we live in?

Muscat Charlie

Mar 5th 2008, 18:57

WOW!!! PN is quick to put in prison opposers but not corrupt persons lurking within its wings. I am an MLP supporter - but this is disgusting!!! I hope , once MLP is in power - that is within a few days - they will do everything within their power to "liberate" Dr Vassallo - who whilst I don't agree with him, he has always shown diligence in his procedings. Labour for a more just society!!!