Malta Clean Up Activist Not Raising The White Flag After Libel Threat: ‘I’m Up For It!’
Left: Malta Clean Up founder Camilla Appelgren; Right: WhiteFlag International founder Kristijan Curavić
Malta Clean Up founder Camilla Appelgren has teased the White Flag diving cleanup project after it confirmed plans to sue her for warning the project is a sham.
“Being sued might not be on my bucket list, but they say you should try everything once!” Appelgren said on her Facebook wall. “So… WhiteFlag planning to sue me for sharing Shift News articles and giving my view on them?”
“Or are they suing me for telling people that their white flag beaches aren’t plastic free? For showing people the reality? Or are they just upset that I am the one highlighting this and analyzing it with a constructive mind?”
“I think it is my right as a citizen to analyze news and have an opinion. Being an environmentalist having worked relentlessly for a decade within the area in Malta, I think people also expected me to have an opinion about this.”
“But yeah, if they wish to discuss this in court, I’m up for it ????. Or maybe we can meet on a cleanup…. ?”
The WhiteFlag International project kicked off in Malta in March this year, announcing Blue Grotto as the island’s first litter-free beach following a diving operation in which divers brought waste out of the sea with their own hands so as not to damage the marine flora.
Since then, six other beaches – Ġnejna Bay, Għajn Tuffieħa, Golden Bay, Marsalforn Bay, Mġarr Ix-Xini and Daħlet Qorrot – have been granted the White Flag.
However, its operation in Malta now risks being killed in its cradle after several iGaming companies pulled out as clean-up sponsors in the wake of reports that the project is nothing but a scam and that its founder Kristijan Curavić has been accused of fraud.
The Shift News cited companies as saying they paid up to €25,000 to sponsor a beach and claimed the initiative could even see taxpayers fork out millions for what is ultimately a relatively useless project. To back up their argument, they published photos of plastic bottles and waste that were littered and washed onto the beaches of Ġnejna Bay and Għajn Tuffieħa – both of which were granted the White Flag.
Health Minister Chris Fearne raises a white flag at Gnejna Bay
A spokesperson for WhiteFlag told Lovin Malta that they plan to sue Appelgren and The Shift, the latter of whom suggested the clean-up initiative stands to rake in millions in public funds.
“There was absolutely no bad intention on our part. We just wanted Malta to become the first country in the world with a seabed completely free of plastic and marine waste; our goal aimed towards protecting marine and aquatic life, but also developing a sustainable tourism so local people and tourists could enjoy clear healthy seas. We set ourselves a huge goal that had never been achieved in history and tried our best to engage the corporate sector to share responsibility for the public good. However, it appears as though some groups have different agendas.”
READ NEXT: White Flag Cleaners Deny Sham Claims: ‘We Just Wanted To Clean Malta’s Seabed’
