Seven Environmental NGOs, Ramblers Association of Malta, Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Din L-Art Helwa, Malta Organic and Agriculture Movement, Nature Trust Malta, Friends of the Earth Malta and Birdlife Malta have issued a joint statement regarding the application to MEPA for an electricity substation to be built at Armier.

The statement said, “this Friday, the 6th of January, MEPA is to decide on an application by Enemalta (PA /06521/07) to construct an electricity substation, financed with tax payers’ money, to strengthen the power supply to the squatters’ village in Armier. Common sense instinctively guided the Case Officer to recommend an outright refusal of this application. Apparently the Case Officer has a lot more sense than Enemalta, which should never have submitted this application in the first place.”

The NGOs statement continued, “As is very well known, squatters are illegally occupying approximately 67,000 sq mt of prime seafront ODZ real estate at Armier bay. Enemalta, in their wisdom, have already supplied these 800 beach rooms with electricity, presumably without asking for a compliance certificate from MEPA, as they normally do for ordinary members of the public. Now Enemalta wants to strengthen the electricity supply, so that these squatters will be better served.”

“For a member of the European Union that prides itself on its principles of democracy and justice to allow prime land to be illegally seized, and subsequently have this occupation supported by a government entity, is an insult to every tax-paying citizen of these over-exploited islands.”

The Seven environmental NGOs, namely Ramblers Association of Malta, Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Din L-Art Helwa, Malta Organic and Agriculture Movement, Nature Trust Malta, Friends of the Earth Malta and Birdlife Malta said that they “encourage MEPA to do what is reasonable, right and morally just, and throw out this application.”

“Approving such an application would simply endorse the squatters’ stand, indicating an intention to eventually succumb to the squatters’ demands. MEPA has recently been acting a little more responsibly in withholding permits to applicants who are clearly and blatantly abusing the system. An approval of this application would send out a totally different signal – that of rewarding illegality, and would go down in history as one of the most irresponsible, illegal and unjust precedents that MEPA has ever set,” the statement concluded.

Permalink: MEPA to decide on Armier substation application on Friday