Finger pointing over vandal acts

In his Talking Point (June 10) Tolga Temuge wrote about the Culture Of Terror, with special reference to our small island nation, and in particular about acts of vandalism directed at BirdLife Malta's members and their properties. It is incredible to see that whenever a Birdlife Malta member happens to be the "victim" of any "terrible" incident, you will find society in general immediately pointing fingers at hunters!

Why is it then, that despite having over 10,000 adult members, the Federation for Hunting and Conservation - Malta (FKNK) never accused BirdLife of having themselves been the offenders whenever some ugly incident befell one of its members. And rest assured that unfortunately several such incidents are reported every week. The FKNK did not even hint at BirdLife when its secretary's car was vandalised just last January.

The FKNK again did not point any fingers at BirdLife when just last month part of the Victoria Lines was sprayed with a foul written message about ridding the Maltese countryside of Maltese hunters, even if this message is in perfect harmony with BirdLife's latest campaign.

Mr Temuge, hailing from Turkey, mentions that it was "over the last two years" that attacks and threats have escalated. If Mr Temuge really believes this, perhaps he should ask himself why that is so. Does this two-year period coincide with his tenure of the executive directorship of BirdLife Malta? Could this be due in some measure to the tactics he has been adopting since the commencement of his employment?

If the executive director of BirdLife Malta is really worried about what he calls the "culture of terror", he and his organisation should refrain from launching such general and vague accusations that tend to do more harm than good. Otherwise, in line with the wise saying, BirdLife Malta and Mr Temuge are to expect the inevitable: "They who sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind".