Editorial

On the first day of the week leading to Christmas this country woke up to the news that a shooting in Mqabba the night before had left a sizeable number of people injured, including two seriously. Luckily, none of the injuries sustained was life-threatening.

Given the circumstances surrounding the incident, we should thank God that the prevailing political environment is nothing like it used to be between the late 1970s and a good part of the 1980s. Had that been the case, this would have been a bad Christmas indeed.

A man was arraigned yesterday and charged with the crime. Thus, it would be incorrect to go into the merits of the case. The rule of law must be respected and justice should be allowed to take its course, and that means that a person is deemed innocent until proven otherwise.

However, there are a number of considerations, observations and comments to be made judging by what appears prima facie to be fact.

It is a fact that the shooting involved a political party club, belonging to the Nationalist Party. Why it has happened, or what led to it, is up to the courts to establish. What is very significant, and a most welcome change from the bad old days not so long ago when political division and hatred knew no bounds, is the way the political parties have reacted. Immediately, the Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Muscat, contacted Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and even went on site to personally express solidarity with both the victims and the PN itself. The PN was quick to publicly acknowledge this gesture by Dr Muscat. If his predecessor, Alfred Sant, took it upon himself to clean his party of undesired elements, Dr Muscat wanted to prove by his presence in Mqabba on Saturday night that one does not discuss politics through the barrel of a gun.

This attitude indeed bodes well and should allay the fears of those who at times think the political violence of the 1980s may return. God forbid.

Just as positive is the way the police acted in this case, a far cry from what they used to do in the not-too-distant past.

The two police officers who showed up very shortly after the trouble started did a marvellous job. Indeed, it would not be amiss to say they acted heroically. They tackled the aggressor and it was thanks to their determination and their loyalty to duty that no more harm was done.

They should immediately be publicly commended for their bravery not only because credit should be given where due but, perhaps more importantly, to underscore the dangers and sacrifice that the guardians of law and order face and make on a daily basis.

Finally, a sore point to raise, sore in the sense that the matter has been staring us straight in the face for years now with the powers-that-be doing very little if anything about it. This is, of course, the use of firearms in crime. The Mqabba shooting was the third serious crime to occur since December 11 involving the use of firearms. The other two were murders: one in Xemxija and the other in Qormi.

The time has come to take a good look at the laws and see how they can be severely toughened to act as a real deterrent against the use of firearms.

The record of other countries should be an eye-opener. Unless the law intervenes, the firepower will continue to increase. That can only be disastrous.