Updated - adds government reaction - The Opposition has requested the Ombudsman to investigate reports by the AFM complaints board including how every decision was taken where complaints were upheld.

The request was made by Opposition home affairs spokesman Jason Azzopardi in a letter to the Speaker of the House.

Dr Azzopardi said that in appointing the board, Home Minister Manuel Mallia undermined and sidelined the Parliamentary Ombudsman, even though the Ombudsman was appointed by Parliament. This had happened because the Ombudsman in the past few years reported positively about the army promotions process, saying it was fair and transparent. As a result, the number of complaints had fallen drastically.

Dr Azzopardi said he was asking the Ombudsman to investigate the methodology of the complaints board and the justification of the cases said to have been upheld.

GOVERNMENT REACTION

In a reaction, the Home Ministry said the board had investigated cases of alleged injustice which the Ombudsman had not investigated.

With regard to cases already investigated by the Ombudsman, the board's role was to ensure that where cases were upheld, a remedy was provided.The use of this mechanism and others to rectify injustice was lawful.The ministry said it was strange that the Nationalist opposition wanted to hear what the Ombudsman had to say, after the Nationalist government ignored this institution for many years.
The ministry invited the Opposition spokesman on home affairs to careful read the 2002 Ombudsman report where he spoke of unfair decisions against members of the AFM.