The House of Representative is this evening debating a motion moved by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil contesting the ruling given by the Speaker a few days ago following the exchange between Labour MP Joe Debono Grech and Independent MP Marlene Farrugia.

(see pdf link below)

The Opposition is insisting that the ruling was unfair as it treated Mr Debono Grech and Dr Farrugia in the same manner, even though the latter was a victim of the former's threats.

Mr Debono had been heard telling Dr Farrugia Nigi hdejk u nifqfghek. He later said he was reacting after being insulted. 

In his ruling, the Speaker, Anglu Farrugia, had called on both MPs to withdraw their comments against each other.

The two MPs subsequently did so, and Mr Debono Grech today issued an unreserved apology. 

In its motion the Opposition called on the Speaker to suspend Mr Debono Grech.

When today's debate was about to start, the Speaker said the sitting would be presided by the Deputy Speaker because of conflict of interest.

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil asked him to reconsider, saying he was responsible for the ruling and should directly hear the criticism. There was no conflict of interest since he would not be taking decisions. 

Dr Farrugia stood by his decision, saying it was common practice when a ruling was being contested.

In his introductory result, Dr Busuttil said this motion was about justice, because the victim was given the same punishment as the perpetrator. One could not put Mr Debono Grech's remarks with those by Dr Farrugia. 

Mr Debono Grech had been threatening and aggressive. This was the sort of behaviour which was not tolerated anywhere, let alone in Parliament. Mr Debono Grech therefore no longer had the moral authority to call himself honourable.

Dr Busuttil said the Labour MP's threats were even more serious as they were addressed against a woman, and the President of the House had put her at the same level as the person making the threats. 

The Opposition leader criticized remarks made earlier today by Minister Helena Dalli, saying they were shameful, more so on this day.(See http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20151125/local/domestic-violence-minister-insists-on-equality-warns-women-not-to-play.593518 ) This made her a Minister of Uncivil Freedoms, he said. Had it been any other country, she would have had to resign. Women had been told not to play the victim. So much for protection to women. 

Concluding, Dr Busuttil said the government could not handle criticism. It was a shame, he said, that the prime minister had not found it in him to condemn Mr Debono Grech's behaviour. Indeed, under Dr Muscat, behaviour in the House had deteriorated.

What happened on Friday was a wake-up call for both sides to raise their game- Prime Minister

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said it was the Opposition which could not take criticism, as evidenced by its walkout on Monday.

He blamed Dr Busuttil for a deterioration of standards of behaviour in the House and said that cordiality between the two sides needed to be restored. 

Dr Muscat said he could not accept the sort of exchange which took place on Friday. What had happened was a wake-up call for both sides to up their game, he said. 

Dr Muscat moved an amendment to the Opposition's motion, deleting most of it and saying instead that all discussion should be constructive and with mutual respect, and no talk which advocated aggression or violence should be accepted. The amendment also noted and accepted the apology made by Mr Debono Grech and said the government should continue with its commitment to improve women's rights and welfare.

Parliamentary Secretary Justyne Caruana recalled that some years ago, she too suffered abuse in the House after a vote and been lied about, by a woman MP. That was a time when she was pregnant, but no one on the Opposition (then government) benches had condemned what had happened or expressed solidarity.

Some years previously she had also been the target of threatening and insulting messages by another woman who was now a Nationalist MP. She had confronted her at police headquarters but eventually forgave her for her criminal behaviour which could have ruined her professional life.

Would the leader of the Opposition condemn those incidents? 

Dr Caruana called for mutual respect if MPs expected respect from the public. 

Marlene Farrugia (Independent) said that what happened on Friday and the subsequent Speaker's ruling conveyed the message, particularly to victims of violence, that even in Parliament, when an MP was publicly insulted, she could not expect justice and protection.

The ruling treated me on the same terms as the aggressor- Marlene Farrugia

"The ruling treated me on the same terms as the aggressor," Dr Farrugia complained.

This was similar to what battered women went through when they finally built up enough courage to go to the police, only to be asked what she had done.   

And then the Civil Liberties Minister this morning said that when a woman was provocative, she could expect a reaction. That had at a stroke undone the good work which the minister had done in favour of women, and she should resign. 

Dr Farrugia said she did not want Mr Debono Grech suspended, she had forgiven him, but the ruling was unfair and the House should learn from it. The government MPs should show their commitment to abused men and women by dissociating themselves from that ruling. 

Deborah Schembri criticised what took place on Friday by both MPs and said she agreed with the ruling. She argued that any action, if required, had to be taken at the time by the person presiding the House at the time. 

Minister Helena Dalli invited the Leader of the Opposition to hear exactly what she had said in the morning.

She said her track record on gender equality stood her in good steed, as well as her contributions to Times of Malta over the years and she never said that women could invite physical violence. She always said that physical violence was unacceptable under any circumstances.

She had also being the one who in 1998 issued a White Paper on tackling violence against women. The subsequent PN government took three years to enact a law.

Dr Dalli said she never said that physical violence should be seen in context. She always said that physical violence could never be justified. It was verbal violence which had to be seen in context and when one spoke in a certain manner, one could expect a like reaction.

No violence, especially physical violence, could be tolerated.

Winding up, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil criticised Mr Debono Grech for not staying in the house and answering for his action. 

The Prime minister said Mr Debono Grech was int he precincts of the House but had chosen not to participate in the debate or the vote.

At this stage Mr Debono Grech entered the House and left again, amid some applause form the Labour benches. 

Dr Busuttil said the Labour MPs had been unable to individually criticise Mr Debono Grech - this when Labour had promised change.

Replying to Dr Caruana, he said that what was wrong should be condemned as being wrong. On Dr Schembri, he asked where her credibility had gone after having in the past been the face of civil liberties.  

Dr Busuttil said the way the Opposition had understood minister Helena Dalli's comments in the morning was the way everyone else had understood her, including the media, and no retraction or clarification had been made. 

"When you are in a hole, stop digging," Dr Busuttil told the minister.

On the prime minister's appeal for both sides to up their game, Dr Busuttil said he was prepared to agree with him. He said he wished to see an end to aggressive reactions to criticism, which was the government's problem. The prime minister should lead by example.

On the government amendment, he proposed that rather than substituting the opposition text, he felt it should be added to it, but the aggressor and the victim should never be put on the same footing.  

ATTEMPT AT COMPROMISE TEXT FAILS

Reacting,  Muscat said that the apology by Mr Debono Grech hadmade showed how he was admitting a responsibility that was higher than Dr Farrugia's. Even if the ruling put them on equal footing, the letter of apology shifted the weight of responsibility onto Mr Debono Grech.

The government felt the apology should be accepted and Mr Debono Grech should not be suspended.

Dr Farrugia said she agreed with linking both texts while removing the call for Mr Debono Grech's suspension.

Dr Busuttil said that in view of the prime minister's comments and Mr Debono Grech's apology, the opposition was prepared to compromise by  withdrawing its call for his suspension.

Dr Muscat said the opposition text was still unacceptable since the government disagreed with some comments by the opposition on the ruling.

In a statement before the vote, Labour MP Godfrey Farrugia said he disagreed with the Speaker’s ruling but he agreed with the text of the government’s amendment especially in the context of Mr Debono Grech’s apology. He disagreed that Mr Debono Grech should be suspended from the House.

The government’s amendment was then approved, with independent MPs Marlene Farrugia and Giovanna Debono voting ‘no’ with the Opposition.
The opposition motion was defeated.

Mr Debono Grech did not vote. The result of the votes were 35-28.