Anglu Farrugia and the perversion of the rule of law
Anglu Farrugia: he had a photograph of Mintoff on horseback on his office door
I’m showing here a copy of a formal letter (known as a ‘kwerela’) which the then rector of St Aloysius College, the Reverend Anton Azzopardi, sent to the deputy commissioner of police on 1 October 1984.
By means of this letter, he requests that action be taken against the ‘civilians’, one of them in a Public Works Land Rover, who threatened Italian journalists who were there to cover the story of the Labour government’s closure of church schools.
The text is beneath.
The police officers who were outside the school – not to guard the building or its resident Jesuits, I hasten to add – but to forcibly prevent children, parents and teachers from entering to subvert the orders of the government – did nothing to stop the thugs, take their details, or move them on. And the deputy commissioner of police did not act on this formal complaint.
Now compare this to the manner, a few months earlier, in which Anglu Farrugia hunted down the criminals who were guilty of attending a demonstration against the government and, in my case only, guilty of being physically assaulted by a police officer.
First, Anglu Farrugia hunted down Eddie Aquilina, who was recently found guilty by Consuelo Herrera of libelling her friend Jason Micallef and made to pay him several thousand euros (perhaps she asked him to donate them to one of her charity balls to pay for the portable lavatories).
Eddie had been seen taking photographs of the demonstration. He was a professional photographer.
At 5am, together with another three plain-clothes policemen, Anglu Farrugia knocked on Aquilina’s door in Sliema and told him “Ilbes u ejja maghna.” He and his wife had a new baby and it was the first time the child had slept through the night, but they still got a 5am alarm. This time it was Anglu.
Anglu wanted to search Eddie Aquilina’s office. He didn’t allow Eddie to drive himself there. He made him sit on the back-seat of his police car, like a common criminal, wedged between two plain-clothes men.
They drove to his office. Anglu Farrugia seized more than 200 black-and-white photographs of the demonstration. Then he drove Eddie Aquilina to the infamous ‘depot’ and locked him in a cell for 18 hours.
Anglu brought Eddie out for interrogation, accusing him of throwing placards at the police (I had that same accusation flung at me, too). He told him that he had photographs showing him ‘in the act’. Aquilina asked to see them, but of course, there weren’t any. The only photographs taken that day he had taken himself.
When Eddie turned round to leave the room and return to his cell, he was struck by the sight of two large photographs stuck to Anglu Farrugia’s office door: Dom Mintoff and Mifsud Tommasi, the deputy commissioner, both on horseback.
Anglu Farrugia knocked on doors with his enquiries and his photographs of the people at the front of the demonstration until he had identified as many as he could, particularly the 19-year-old girl shown being lunged at by a maddened policeman.
We were all rounded up within hours, picked up from our homes and our places of work and ‘disappeared’ in a police car to the Floriana depot.
I can’t speak for the others, as I don’t know them, but my three friends and I were all picked up by Anglu Farrugia. One of them, another 19-year-old girl, was given the whole ‘head duck into the car’ treatment and driven off with the siren wailing, because she lived in Dingli Street, Sliema, and Anglu Farrugia wanted to make as much of a show of her arrest as he possibly could.
I have already explained in great detail what happened next. But this description of how he hunted us down so assiduously (I couldn’t help remembering this when he went after that poor guy in the ‘bought votes’ debacle), compared to the total lack of action taken by the police against known criminals who threatened journalists and Jesuits, should help you understand just how Anglu Farrugia helped to pervert the rule of law and the course of justice in 1984.
And he’s not going to impress us with his talk of having led the investigations against his superior, Police Commissioner Lorry Pullicino, post 1987. He did that because he hoped to replace him, not because he was on any crusade for justice.
A crusade for justice, when he was one of them at the time?
When his desires were thrwarted, he left the force and became a Labour politician instead, because you know how it is with Labour – they hoover up all the detritus, ‘racanc’ and other people’s rejects. And precisely because Labour never had any quality control, it has wound up Not Fit For Purpose.
————-
1st October, 1984
Mr. A. Mifsud Tommasi, L.P.,
Deputy Commissioner of Police,
Police Headquarters,
Floriana.
Dear Sir,
You are no doubt aware of the incident that happened this morning at this college, involving a number of Italian journalists.
I wish to draw your attention to the fact that to our severe irritation a considerable number (approx. 15) of “civilians” suddenly appeared on the scene and approached in a threatening manner. These were obviously persons who had nothing to do with the college or with the police authorities. However, we noticed that your police officers on duty here, for reasons which I cannot explain, did not take down any of their names nor their car numbers.
We are putting on record for necessary action on the part of the police the following data:-
(a) one of the persons in the said group was Mr (name here deleted but given to the police)
(b) one of the vehicles in use by the said group was a Land Rover of the Public Works Dept., No. H-0791;
(c) other vehicles used were D-7624 and N-7223;
(d) we have other car numbers which you may wish to check, if you so wish.
All the above can be testified to by a number of Jesuits. I would appreciate being informed of the results of your investigations regarding the unlawful presence of a number of persons in number exceeding that allowed as lawful assembly in a public place.
Yours faithfully,
Reverend Anton Azzopardi
Rector
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I was 11 when Labour tried to deny me an education – still remember it very clearly!
I am sure that Toni Abela will soon phone you for a copy of this “kwerela”. He will display it prominently at PL headquarters when he sets up his exhibition of History Revisted.
Well done for exposing this letter, Daphne. Fr Azzopardi is a true gentleman, as can be seen from his politeness to the deputy commissioner even in such dire circumstances.
What a despotic regime was ruling over Malta.
9 May 1987 should be Malta’s national day. At least until the next Labour government.
It will be “fun” after 2013.
I’m sure Mifsud Tommasi and Farrugia promptly replied to the rector’s letter. My wife, too, was picked up at night by the police for the crime of collecting money from neighbours for the private school cause.
We had little children, one of them 4 years old, who after seeing her mother being taken away by the police started wetting her bed again.
Well what did the Nationalist government or rather the then Minister of the Interior do to these officers? Were they brought to justice as should have been done?
Of course not, they are still around promoting themselves as champions of democracy. This does not apply to ex members of the police force only, but also those ministers and politicians who were the hidden hand behind all the atrocities that happened at the time.
When proceedings were about to be taken against Lorry Sant the charges were dropped on the pretext that he was a dying man and was pardoned.
He also had the nerve to come out boasting that he had not asked for any pardon. Am I hurt? Of course I am the more so seeing that justice has not been done and these people got away with murder as the saying goes.
This is the reason why PN activists are now forced to bring back all of the bad news. If the PN had acted hounourable after gaining power – all this would have been dealt with justly. Justice delayed is justice denied. Irrspective of any statute of limitations – if the PN had any balls left they should commence legal proceedings – because the PL certainly will not.
Two young parents have one big ambition for their son, that of passing the church school exams at the end of primary school and making it to St Aloysius College. Those parents wanted to give their son the best future possible given the bleak situation of the 1980s.
The believed that St Aloysius College would offer the best option for their son, who would have to make it in life through academic achievement alone since they owned no business but were just two teachers on a miserly wage.
After studying hard their son managed to pass with flying colours to secure the much coveted place within St Aloysius College, which was undoubtedly the best boys’ college at the time. That young boy was so excited to finally move to secondary school.
That boy still remembers the summer of ’84, when he together with his parents went to try to buy books for the first year at college and instead of the Jesuits waiting at the door to greet him, he found two policemen who rudely sent them away because the school was closed.
That boy remembers clearly how police blocked the college gates and how the first classes in the new school were instead held in secret in a house in Naxxar Road, how afraid everyone was to hold lessons in their house, yet school lessons went on around kitchen tables. It sounds like a scene from World War II but that boy knows it was only 26 years ago, because this was his first year at college
That small boy remembers the peaceful demonstrations held in Mdina protesting against the closure of church schools, the graffiti on the walls “Jew b’xejn jew xejn”, how children coming from Labourite families in the same class were transferred to government schools by their parents and how the others struggled to attended the clandestine classes.
That small boy remembers clearly how his parents were locked out of their jobs, without income. How family members showed solidarity with his family. How black paint was thrown on their house facade because his parents were participating in the teachers’ strike.
That 10-year-old boy remembers how many times he woke up in the middle of the night fearing that their front door would be put on fire. He remembers how his parents moved his bedroom towards the back of the house just in case someone put a bomb at their front door.
That young boy remembers how worried his father was without any income for the family and without an indication of how long the lockout would last. He can still see his father moving from one room to another trying to find a good reception for Radio Master from Sicily.
That young boy remembers the day his parents came back from a Nationalist Party meeting covered in sewage fired from a water-cannon by the police, their only crime being participating in a peaceful demonstration.
That little boy remembers the Festa Familja in Rabat, where he was with his family and just a few moments later in the same place where he and his siblings had been playing, a man was shot in the head by riot police trained by North Koreans.
That 10-year-old boy remembers his parents coming back from the meeting held in Zejtun with blood-shot eyes after inhaling teargas fired at them by the police and by the MLP thugs who joined them.
He remembers his mother having lost a shoe jumping off a rubble wall into a scrapyard while trying to take cover from the live bullets being fired on them by the police.
That young boy remembers vividly running out to buy the special edition of In-Nazzjon published in the afternoon following the murder of Raymond Caruana.
This is a taste of that 10-year-old’s childhood under a Labour government in 1984. A childhood lived in a continuous environment of political strife, tension and constant worry for his parents.
That boy, his siblings and many children his age will never forget those troubled days of their childhood, no matter how many emblems change, how many slogans and logos are invented, how many attempts at changing the image, how many court cases are opened, that boy will never forget.
That little boy’s childhood experience changed him forever. He thanks his parents for encouraging him so much to attend St Aloysius College, because the values and formation he got from that college are the values that his parents had wished him to have, knowing that they would help him strengthen his love for a democratic and free Malta.
That little boy was me.
Joseph Muscat would remember those days and the ones that came after that.
That little boy should learn to write a proper sentence in English.
Blame it on Labour for stripping ‘that little boy’ of his right to attend school peacefully.
I Vella –
Grave reminiscences like those and all you can see is the grammar.
You have reproduced the memories of my childhood perfectly. This is what Labour means to me.
And me, and I didn’t even go to a church school!
Your comment was very moving and rang so true.
There was one other “boy” around your age who must have been at school with you, though he must have a very different vision of the 1980s. His name is Joseph Muscat.
Now that you mention it, if Joseph Muscat is 36-ish then he must have been at St Aloysius’ around 1984, right?
That’s right. His dad offered his fireworks warehouse as a location for private lessons.
Yes. He was at St Aloysius College.
Indeed the days I spent at that college I will treasure for a long time.
The sad thing about your contribution is that you’re pretty much preaching to the converted: all those who would vote PL (= vote for Gadget) deny these events with a fervour seen only in Holocaust deniers. Of course, there is no comparison between the two events, but that is completely besides the point.
I remember all the things that you have mentioned, as I was a ‘little girl’ at the time, enduring school lessons at our P.E. teacher’s home. It was devastating for my sister and myself, especially since we lived in Floriana and used to fear coming out of our home when the ‘marmalja’ passed through St Anne Street on their way to destroy anything against their values.
When Gadget arrested Lorry Pullicino he did indeed do all this to impress No 2 and the rest of the newly appointed Nationalist ministers.
But it backfired because No1 would not have this as he wanted the late Alfred Calleja for the job.
That’s why at first we had a brigadier in charge of the police force, since No 2 didn’t want Mr. Calleja. But No1 got his way and Calleja was made Commissioner of Police on the condition (to please No 2) that he would make sure that Gadget gets the best treatment possible.
He was sent to university to study law and eventually become a “lawyer” and later promoted to Superintendant. Then the famous Gadget, realising that there was no way he would become commissioner, opted to leave the force (in breach of contract) by claiming that he had an attack of anxiety.
From there he headed straight to the Labour camp to try his luck there as leader, but again a boy from Maltastar came and stole the show.
Gadget had an attack of anxiety and left the police force to join the Labour Party? Now I understand why I get an attack of anxiety when I see him in action with Labour.
Unbelievable..the deeper you delve, the more shit you dig up! What’s he waiting to sue you again? how could he have possibly got away with all this?
[Daphne – I haven’t dug anything up. These are things I have known for years, but which others have conveniently forgotten because memories are short.]
Charles Darwin, you should have seen the effort the police put into searching for cordless phones. Yes, that’s right, cordless phones were illegal under the ‘progressive’ Labour Party.
So was a multiband radio! It makes you wonder who really lived in fear.
so was Donkey Kong.
Il-mexxejja tal-haddiema kollha jhobbu jirkbu. Wiehed ken jirkeb iz-ziemel. Anglu jirkeb iljunfant. Toni Zarb qatt ma rajtu jirkeb xi haga.
Lil Zarb jien rajtu jirkeb l-ajruplan. Kif qal xi hadd, ituh is-seat ta’ wara bhala ballast. Id-DC 10 tal-Alitalia kien jigi imniehru il-fuq, ghax dak ghandu l-makni wara.
Illum kollha rikbu l-gravy train.
Kont taf li anke Mifsud Tommasi kien dahal ghal kors tal-ligi fl-1993, minghalih biex jimpressjona lill-istudenti zaghzagh?
Prosit Daphne. Ahna li ghadejna minn l-atrocitajiet koroh u vulgari ta’ zmien il-Labour kollox nafu u nibqghu niftakru.
Imma nerga nghidlek prosit u tajjeb hafna li s-semmi dawn l-istejjer, ghax in-nies kollha ghandhom bzonn ikunu jafu min hu Anglu Farrugia, inkluzi il-Laburisti genwini u ta’ qalbhom tajba.
Dan bniedem dejjem deffes denbu f-affarijiet fejn jistghu ilahquh x-imkien. Intoghgob ma’ DeMarco biex forsi jilhaq Kummissarju, mar fejn l-istamperija tan- Nazzjonalisti meta rebhu fin-1987 u beda jistaqsi ghal DeMarco. Baqa wara DeMarco biex waqt li kien ghadu fil-korp jiehu paga ta’ spettur ikun jista’ jmur jistudja l-universita biex jihaq avukat, u lahaq.
Meta’ lahaq ried jara kif se jitlaq mill-korp u jiehu wkoll il-pensjoni, u xi hadd ghamillu certifikat li kien ibaghti b’ anxiety’ u ha anke l-pensjoni.
Issa dahal fil-partit tal-Labour (ghax Laburista ma’ nafx xi tfisser) u prova jilhaq kap ukoll imma ma’ riduhx. Baqa baqa sakemm ideffes wara Dr. Joseph Muscat u rnexielu.
Issa qed jiprova jaghmilla tal-bully billi jieqaf lil-Daphne. Imma zgur li Daphne ghandha ragun u min kien responsabbli mill-ahhar decizjoni tal-Qorti kontra Daphne beza ghall-gildu ghax Daphne kull ma’ hi biss gurnalista u ma’ hemmx cans li xi darba tkun Ministru tal-Qorti jew tal-Pulizija.
Anglu Farrigia, int kont parti minn dawk il-pulizija tar- regim u tajt x’tajt l-istorja hekk hi u mhu se jbidillha hadd.
Jien naghmillek mistoqsija. Kont informajtu lill-DeMarco minn kien dak l-ispettur li beda jinbotta u jinsista ma’ dak l-ispettur l-iehor li kien qed jaqra l-akkuzi kontra Pietru Pawl Busuttil sabiex l-akkuzi li gew iffabrikata gewwa id-Depot minn Pulizija kriminali jinqraw sewwa u bla zbalji?
Int kont wiehed minn dawn in-nies li kien hemm id-Depot dak iz-zmien u Daphne ghandha ragun biex tbiegh.
U grazzi lil tal-Labour li accetawk fil-partit u tawk kariga importanti. Ghax b’hekk il-poplu li jixtieq is-sewwa heles minnhek.
No wonder he never mentions his glory days as a policeman when posting his CV online.
I was one of those on whom the CID called to check whether classes were being held in my house.
Joseph Muscat graduated from St Aloysius.
Does anyone remember where he was schooled in 1984?
Would you like to see a photo of a very grumpy-looking kid in his 1984 St Aloysius’ College uniform?
Tajba din. So he went to St Aloysius while his Nanna Muscat screeched ‘Jew b’xejn jew xejn’ at KMB’s mass meetings.
No wonder the twerp can’t tell whether he’s coming or going.
Look at Smash TV: Toni Zarb u KMB kontra l-Ewropa.
The saddest thing about all this is that, after thirty odd years, we have no peace of mind that none of it can ever happen again.
Just managed to get through Bondi+. Did anyone understand how Joseph intends implementing the “novel” living wage concept?
Yes. I did. He will increase the weekly minimum wage by Euro 50 per week, costing the public sector alone an incremental Euro 2 million per week taking Bondi’s figure of public sector employment of 40,000 as approximately correct.
Assuming the private sector engages 50,000 employess, Joseph Muscat will also subsidise that sector by a further Euro 2.5 million per week.
So Joseph will have to tax us a further Euro 4.5 million per week, or else run one of the highest ever deficits, like Gordon Brown did under New Labour in the UK, ruining the economy.
I noticed his habit of interfering with Bondi’s questions. He is no more than a Super One journalist deep down.
Ah, but there’s more to it. Say you are a foreman, earning maybe 50 euros a week more than your underlings, who are on the minimum wage. Suddenly THEIR wage goes up by 50 euros a week, but yours doesn’t. Where does that leave you?
He is so shallow. It was embarassing watching Bondi repeatedly having to let him off the hook every time he started talking inconsequential rubbish.
It appears little boy ‘Dr.’ Labour leader better watch his back.
I will not comment on this except to say that it was probably the only period in our dear nation’s history that the human dignity of Maltese citizens was violated by fellow Maltese.
Those of you born after 1980 please take note. This is the unassailable truth. No one can deny it. It is history.
The surviving perpetrators are still around in sheep’s clothing.
Lest it ever happens again.
There was one other “boy” around your age who must have been at school with you, though he must have a very different vision of the 1980s. His name is Joseph Muscat.
…li kellu nanna Mintuffjana mil-horox u li minn ckunitu kienet tiehdu l-meetings ta’ Mintoff – u araw daqsxejn issa x’kien ir-rizultat.
Let’s state the obvious, because many will obviously miss it:
this man is set to become Malta’s Minister of the Interior. If Jose’ Herrera cops out of the race, Farrugia could be Minister of Justice.
“From there he [Gadget] headed straight to the Labour camp”
In Gadget’s case, ‘labour camp’ would have been the more appropriate destination.
Toni Zarb qatt ma rajtu jirkeb xi haga.
Lill-haddiema?
Did anyone understand how Muscat intends implementing the “novel” living wage concept?
No, and neither does Joseph Muscat, as was very evident on Bondi+ tonight.
Anthony, it was not just a case of human dignity being violated. The attempt by Labour government to take over all church and private schools literally brought the nation to the brink of civil strife.
At least ‘broomhead’ KMB did eventually step aside, but the violent cadre remains in the wings waiting to get back to centre stage.
Jien qatt ma rajt bnieden bhal Dr. Joseph Muscat. Wiccu jibjad quddiem il-mistoqsijiet u jibqa jidhaq fl-istess hin. KMB dejjem wiccu abjad kien u qatt ma’ jidhaq.
Alfred Sant dejjem wiccu qisu ghandu xi problemi kbar. Illum fhimt sew li l-pajjiz ghandu l-problemi finanzjarji u Dr. Muscat qal li jekk jitla’ fil-gvern izid lill-tal ‘minimum wage’ b’50 Euro fil gimgha? Jew qed nisma hazin?
You heard right: fifty euros a week, bil-flus ta’ haddiehor.
Your expose’s, D, are frightening. Even more daunting is the prospect of seeing the elephant man poncing around Valletta along with his thugs, enjoying full immunity doing what he does best, bullying people, especially young girls.
20 years on, Court finds that Lorry Sant violated human rights
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20101012/local/20-years-on-court-finds-that-lorry-sant-violated-human-rights
maybe in 20 years time after Dr. Gadget dies justice will rule the same
All in all — all these writings, will they lead anywhere? Do the people that count, that is the voters, read these important facts? I think not.
@red nose
These are not propaganda posts! These are what our generation has experienced what no marketing guru can obliterate, what we all need to remember about what our country has gone through. These posts are not meant to change people’s votes; they are meant to reinforce my conviction that I will NEVER trust Labour, especially when the same old thugs of the ’80s are still there at the very helm of the same party.
Let’s state the obvious, because many will obviously miss it:
Anglu Farrugia is set to become Malta’s Minister of the Interior. If Jose’ Herrera cops out of the race, Farrugia could be Minister of Justice.
He’s not just the past. He’s the future.
well @xejnsew – I think you miss the point – surely you should be distributing this factual history far and wide – and attempt to identify the swinging voters in Malta would not be that difficult.
If you thought about the consequences were they to be elected with thugs at the helm – that’s enough reason to ensure the story is told and told and told again and again and again. But stick to the facts and only the facts – do not give them any opportunity to undermine the message though one silly exicitable mistake – that’s the only risk.