GozoNews.Com

In a joint statement, 5 environmental NGO’s have together condemned MEPA’s attempt to impose a boycott on the organisation Flimkien ghall-Ambjent Ahjar (FAA). The NGO’s Din l-Art Helwa, Gaia Foundation, Nature Trust, Ramblers Association and Birdlife Malta stated that this unacceptable measure must be lifted immediately.

The MEPA chairman called for the boycott during a press conference, in response to FAA’s claim that the approval of the Ulysses Lodge application at Ramla Bay had followed a flawed procedure and that the MEPA Board should resign over the issue.

While FAA has every right to express its opinion on MEPA’s procedures, MEPA has no right to exclude its critics from access to any information at MEPA, including informative meetings with MEPA officials, said the NGO’s. This attempt to censor criticism is completely reprehensible in a democratic society that respects freedom of speech.

The NGO’s also deplored MEPA’s criticism of the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, whose attempts to alert the MEPA board to the value of the archaeological heritage of this sensitive area were ignored. Instead, the MEPA Board members chose to base their evaluation on a preliminary study not carried out with the intention of assessing the impact of the project. The unsuitability of this study for impact assessment purposes has since been confirmed by the archaeologists themselves.