Friday, 4th July 2008
Talking Point
Dust under the carpet
The man did not put up a fight. He merely lay on the ground crying and screaming for them to stop, saying that he had done nothing wrong."
What a story to upset one's digestion on a Monday morning! The above was but one of the several eyewitness accounts of what appears to have been disproportionate manhandling by the police of coloured "miscreants" last weekend. We simply must tell Police Commissioner John Rizzo that enough is enough and that he had better do something to sort his force out before it gets totally out of hand.
Excessive force, as was claimed by Nicholas Azzopardi's family, still casts a sinister shadow over the police force, an entity that is paid with taxpayer's money and whose sacred duty it is to provide protection and maintain law and order.
Since the report that appeared on Monday morning and the growing chorus of disapproval along with a stream of right-wingers adding fuel to the fire, we have had the official press release from the Police Depot which sounds just like a whiney bully being drawn up in front of the headmaster claiming that he did not start the fight but that it was the victim who did. That is typical bullyboy tactics and fools nobody. Now tell me. The poor immigrant admitted in court that he assaulted three police officers and damaged the police van when he was handcuffed and beaten up by five of them. Was he by any chance The Incredible Hulk in disguise?
All eyewitnesses agree that excessive force was used that stank to high heaven of racism. Nobody but nobody deserves that sort of treatment by the strong arm of the law, which must perforce be a steel hand in a velvet glove. One may argue that policemen are ordinary human beings like us, however, their ongoing training should ensure that they can handle situations like this without causing a shocking and scandalous fracas.
There are in fact two lethal ingredients to the mix that the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition had better nip in the bud. Ignore them and hope they will go away and together they will become uncontrollable.
Frustration is a very dangerous situation to have in the armed forces and the police force both of which are sick to the teeth acting unwilling nursemaid to the detainees that were once irregular immigrants.
We have known this for years and, yet, when the same policeman and soldier are detailed to handle situations in Paceville of course cups will spill over and the pent up frustration will explode like Krakatoa. When the uniformed forces of a country are seething with discontent it takes nothing for a military coup to happen; something that would be applauded by the many racist right-wingers whose stomach-churning comments appeared on the blog under last Monday's news item.
These illegal immigrants, some declared so glibly, "deserved to be beaten to learn a lesson" and "need to be beaten to obey", statements uttered in a day and age when it would cost the job of any teacher in Malta and Gozo their livelihood should they lift a hand to discipline their pupils many of whom sometimes behave far worse than the immigrants!
This naked hatred for someone whose skin colour is different is just too horrible to contemplate and I strongly feel that neither the government nor the Church has done anything near to enough to educate the average Maltese about the reality of our situation at the crossroads of illegal human trafficking in the Mediterranean.
The onus on the government is great and the problem should be addressed speedily and pragmatically without fobbing us off with yet another judicial report and another magisterial investigation. There is far too much dust under the carpet as it is.
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Comments
You can now choose to "draw the line", but that's what is beautiful about the pen. What is written remains on record, and uncloaks us accordingly. You leave me with no doubt that you rushed all too quickly to your pen when you wrote, as you said yourself, your frugal article.
Thankyou for your reply and especially for getting my name right.
Let me spell it out.
The handling of the illegal immigration issue no matter how you look at it is anything but ideal and because of this the behaviour of the forces that uphold law and order who have direct contact with this 21st Century phenomenon is coloured by the strain they are under. This is something that was amly clear in my article if you read it carefully.
Read Dr Mifsud Bonnici's interview in today's Times.
Not all soldiers or policemen are racists but there mis too much fearmongering being fuelled by the Right Wing and too much fodder being provided by the government who has made a complete Horlicks of the issue!
You describe illegal immigration as being mercilessly inflicted! By whom may I ask? This a historical fact just like the World Wars and the present War of terror. We are suffering because of it however nothing on earth , or heaven for that matter, will ever justify beating another human being because of this skin colour.
There I draw the line.
What an eerily peoples we Maltese are? Do you/we expect Mr. President or Mr. Minster of any country to talk roses about any hot issues?
Do you expect Mr. Austin GATT to appear on television telling the public, we have to tighten the belt because we are getting poorer? He will never say that, but the fact we are!
Here we should understand that politicians are honest for being dishonest. To understand things correctly we have to use our brains and read beyond declared statements.
SAME GOES FOR THE IRREGUALR IMMIGRANTS ISSUES.
I know about Mr. Sarkozy stance (Since he was interior affairs minister). But can Mr Sarkozy tell us how many Immigrants are needed in France within twenty years? He may never answer such a question, would rather talk about illegal immigrant trafficking!
Also, the birth rate in Italy is low. And by 2030 Italy (alone) is in need for 12 Millions of peoples. Do you expect any politician in Italy to ask for immigrants to come to Italy?
What I said about Mr. Obama is not related to the above article. This is true. But is it off the core issue?
Regarding your enquiry about 'average Maltese' yes, all one has to do is listen to a conversation in the street pertaining to the immigration issue to realise how our Christianity is merely skin deep while our Catholicsism may be fervent especially where issues like the festa are concerned.
Also Mr Sammut WE ARE at the crossroads of illegal immigrant trafficking and it could also be that as in the case of drug trafficking there are a number of people making a mint out of this human tragedy. I need not add anything else about this as the rest is logical.....
Lastly, per carita', I am TabonA not TabonE. Thankyou
Whether Mr Obama becomes the next USA president is entirely up to the American people. The thing is that Mr Obama's bid for the presidency has absolutely nothing to do with what Mr Zammit Tabone appears to be arguing here. More relevant is Mr Sarkozy's stance on migration into Europe:
"France wants EU leaders to agree to a European Pact On Immigration And Asylum and its stance on migration is two pronged. It is in favour of letting legal migrants into Europe, in an orderly and managed system, and, at the same time, will combat illegal immigration insisting that illegal entrants to the bloc's territory should be removed." (Times, 2/7/2008)
In my view, Mr Zammit Tabone is not being clear as to whether he is directing his argument towards the Police Force or towards Malta's handling of illegal immigration. There is a clear ambivalence in the train of his thoughts. The bottom line is that cases involving the police have to be treated on their own merit. At the same time, we should support Mr Sarkozy, and insist on a big yes to legal immigration and to a big no to illegal immigration.
M. Mercieca
The sterling message of Mr. Kenneth Zammit Tabona’s message is clear and highly appreciated. An educational action is needed for every body. Yes for every body, in police-Church -teachers-parents-green grocers, bus or taxi drivers...etc
If we just take off our ‘obsessions’ lenses, and understand GLOBAL FACTS (INCLUDIND EUROPE ‘S NEED FOR PEOPLES) we will understand things correctly.
Whatever they are called, boat peoples, Irregular, illegal, undocumented immigrant is increasing phenomena. The phenomena will stay with us. Here I would like to remind every one that, just because some persons do not have documents, it does not mean they do not have rights.
Soon, we will get used to surcharges; same must go for many other things, such as: seeing peoples of different colors, orientations, race, creeds among us.
Irregular immigrants are putting all European Union values at sever test. And I am sure; European Values will successfully pass the test.
By the way- soon we may see Sent. Obama in the white house. I think, this will be for the first time, the dignity of the black man has been recognized. And the era of racism will disappear.
The police officers concerned need to be disciplined, and more importantly re-trained. Perhaps the Police Academy needs to start a whole series of the appropriate refresher courses. We do not need retired foreign police officers and servicemen to train our police. If necessary, local police trainers may participate in international courses and workshops led by qualified and distinguished police educators.
The majority of the officers of the police force are doing their duties the best way they can, and they need our support and not sweeping statements and destructive criticism. As public officers they are not free to engage in public discussions. Perhaps some of the officers concerned ought to be temporarily relieved of their street duties until they are retrained.
And I repeat what I had written then, now:
1. Prospective police officers must be given a good package of incentives, crowned by a good salary in order to attract better-qualified people;
2. Qualifications for entry into the Force should be transparent, ambitious and strictly-maintained for one and all;
3. Stiff, harsh and professional resident training should be given to cadets;
4. There should be on-going training and academic courses going on, again, with incentives, so that the police officers will be among the best.
Unless these four points are strictly adhered to, we will never have a good Police Force.