Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar held a press conference outside the office of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH) today to highlight the fact that the SCH is abdicating its duty to protect Maltese heritage, accusing it of being “complicit in the destruction of heritage.”
Speaking at the press conference, Xaghra resident Carmen Bayada related how works taking place within the Ta’ Verna Temple scheduled site had uncovered burial pits and remains, however the SCH had denied this until FAA reported it publicly, at which point, the SCH monitor reported these finds which included skulls laid out in a ritual burial.
She highlighted that “still, excavations using heavy construction machinery continued, and material that had a high probability of containing archaeological remains was dumped.”
Prior to the meeting this morning, FAA Committee members had accompanied Carmen Bajada to present a report on lack of action on the part of the Superintendence to safeguard the Sta Verna Temple heritage site in Xaghra Gozo.
It was noted that two applications on this archaeological zone that dates back 1,000 years before Ggantija are to be approved at Planning Authority tomorrow, based on the Superintendent’s endorsement.
FAA stressed that no information has been provided about the remains on this site which pre-dates Ggantija by 1,000 years, and the SCH has “approved development which will destroy these burial sites, while tomorrow Tuesday, the Planning Authority is to process permits to develop these sites.”
Daniel Cilia of Din l-Art Helwa Ghawdex discussed the application for a large development at tal-Qacca site within the Ggantija buffer zone.
He said that the NGO had asked for a heritage assessment to be undertaken before the application is assessed, “however the agreements between the Maltese Government and UNESCO re the protection of World Heritage Sites is being completely ignored.”
Billy McBee Founder President of Residenti Beltin, exposed the Superintendence’s “total indifference” to the situation in Valletta, where UNESCO’s World Heritage Site designation is “being used as a marketing tool rather than as a means of protection for Valletta.”
McBee added that “due to the authorities ‘business first’ mindset, Valletta is losing its authenticity and is betraying UNESCO’s guidelines for Valletta’s Outstanding Universal Value, which stipulate that Valletta needs to remain a living, working city, that upholds the interests of its residents.”
Continuing on Valletta, Astrid Vella, Coordinator of FAA, stated that UNESCO has been demanding an official Buffer Zone from the Maltese Government since 2009, however Government’s proposals show the buffer zone running along the waterline so that the promenade can be built up.
FAA contested this proposal and UNESCO’S refusal to Government echoed FAA’s report to UNESCO. Astrid Vella condemned the fact that “every damaging application along the coast facing Valletta – the Capitanerie, MIDI’s application to convert the Lazzaretto to a casino and, worse still, its demolition of the historic cattle quarantine building at Manoel Island, were all approved by the SCH.”
She argued that the Gzira and Fortina lidos, both of which block the protected vista of Valletta’s World Heritage fortifications, were also approved by the SCH.
Perit Patrick Calleja, President of Din l-Art Helwa, revealed new information in Gozo’s Fort Chambray case, stating that in Planning Authority Minute 133 of September 2012, the Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee disagreed with the proposal to dismantle the Barracks, saying explicitly that it “went against the development brief.”. He pointed out that this was not made public before the PA recommended approval.
Astrid Vella referred to the application to destroy an over 130-year old Rabat/Buskett farmhouse and garden full of protected trees, to build 83 basement garages and 50 housing units. The site is just metres from an archaeological necropolis in front of the farmhouse where 48 tombs were discovered in 1968.
She said that photographic evidence shows that some 3 more tombs have been found in recent works to clear the site and destroy all the trees even before any permits are issued. “FAA and residents are extremely concerned by the use of heavy construction machinery with toothed excavator buckets and the lack of publication of a method statement regulating these works.”
Astrid Vella concluded by saying that this “total lack of transparency or adherence to accepted norms point to the SCH’s abdication of its responsibility to protect Malta’s precious heritage.” She highlighted that “Malta’s colonisers had done more to protect Malta’s heritage than the SCH, Planning Authority and ERA, whose collusion amounts to a Taliban-like wrecking of our heritage, in order to allow developers to destroy our towns and our Maltese identity.”
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