I ask, therefore I am

‘If YOUR baby was going into hospital for an operation, would you want a nurse to tell someone if they thought the surgeon was incompetent and dangerous?

If YOU were that nurse, should you tell your managers that you thought this surgeon was not up to the job and might be harming patients?

If you were the manager at this hospital, would you want someone to tell you about this surgeon before more patients were harmed and the hospital’s reputation was damaged?’

This is the description provided by the Ministry of Justice website to emphasise that a whistleblower is not a disloyal person.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said in Qormi in 2012, “Who is ready to unveil political corruption under a new government will be treated like they would be in other countries, they will be protected and the wrongdoers will have to pay for their deeds,” Muscat said.

An important element of the Labour roadmap that was promised back then in relation to fighting corruption and protecting whistleblowers. This was promised together with more transparency in the wake of corruption scandals under previous PN administrations.

However, the roadmap seems to have encountered some navigation issues. Not only did we go off track, but the government is abusing of its powers and doing its best to silence the witnesses.

It is worrying that whistleblowers – Maria Efimova, Jonathan Ferris, Valery Atanasov -, are facing a witch hunt instead of being protected.

Labour sympathisers dismiss people who are raising questions as traitors and haters. All I demand is for the government to keep its word. It was Muscat who promised to fight corruption and to protect whistleblowers. The Justice Ministry’s website still maintains the illusion.

Instead of protecting witnesses, the government’s propaganda machine is doing its best to discredit them. Those who tries to speak out are being shamed by Napoleon’s dobermans.

Three of the whistleblowers claim to have information on the same investigations and none of them have been given the necessary protection. Why?

We cannot continue to accept the lesser of two evils. We have the right, as citizens, to be led by politicians who hold themselves accountable. This is what we have been promised for ages and it’s about time this is done.