Comino Operators Were Handing Out Free Drinks To People To Sabotage Our Protest, Activists Say Sharing Fresh Info
Deckchair operators had organised resistance against a planned protest on Comino, even handing out free chilled drinks, Moviment Graffitti have said a day after their demonstration on the tiny island.
Not only that, but the people sent to disrupt the protest may be linked to mega-developer Joseph Portelli, according to activists.
“We’ve received information that at 7am Saturday morning, a dinghy belonging to Joseph Portelli carrying 30 men left quietly from Żewwieqa, Mġarr, Gozo,” MG said.
Sharing an image of a large black dustbin containing bottled drinks, MG said that they’ve been given new information to indicate that there was planned opposition to their protest, including inviting disruptive people to the island to throw a spanner in the works of the demonstration.
“The idea was that they would occupy deckchairs from early in the morning and not allow the protest to happen. Joseph Portelli is a business partner of Daniel Refalo, one of the two operators of deckchairs in Blue Lagoon,” activists continued.
Though police were called in , the people stayed on the island, playing loud music during activist speeches. One of them even physically threatened an activist, MG said, all while operators offered them food and drink throughout the day.
Hundreds of activists and citizens gathered to protest against the take-up of land at Comino’s Blue Lagoon Saturday morning.
They were protesting about private vendors continuous take-up of public land on the tiny, picturesque bay.
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As it stands, deckchair vendors are covering every inch of the shoreline with deckchairs and umbrellas from the crack of dawn, making it practically impossible to enjoy the site unless one is ready to pay €12.50 a head.
On other beaches around Malta, beach vendors typically lay out an umbrella and a sunbed when a customer asks for one.
Back in 2021, a parliamentary petition had been filed demanding the removal of sunbeds and umbrellas from Blue Lagoon in Comino. However, this appears to have fallen on deaf ears.
Shortly after the last action, Environment Minister Miriam Dalli said that there could soon be caps on the number of people who can visit Comino at any given moment, confirming that a process to establish a carrying capacity for the island is being finalised.
However, this idea has not yet been revisited again.
What do you make of this new information?
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