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Sette Giugno Protest By Anonymous Activists Pokes Fun At ‘Governor’ Keith Schembri

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As Malta celebrates Sette Giugno, a group of anonymous activists converted the Independence Day monument in Floriana into a mock tribute to the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri. 

The activists, from the Reżistenza Malta protest group, hung an Azeri flag over the monument and pinned a mock plaque dedicating the statute to “the memory of the surrender of the islands of Malta to the Republic of Azerbaijan and the appointment of H.E. El Kasco as Governor of these Islands.”

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In a press statement, the activists said their protest targets the government’s 18-year energy deal with Electrogas – the consortium running the LNG power station in Delimara. Energy experts have questioned the logic behind the deal on the grounds that Malta is not purchasing LNG at source but through Azeri state-owned Socar, who in turn purchases it from energy giant Shell. The Guardian has estimated that Socar is paying Shell around $113 million a year for LNG and then selling it to Electrogas for $153 million – pocketing a tidy $40 million profit in the process.

The activists have also questioned why Electrogas had originally roped in Gasol – a British energy company which dropped out of the consortium in 2015 amid reports it was in serious financial trouble. 

“It was not in the public interest for Joseph Muscat, Keith “El Kasco” Schembri, Konrad Mizzi and Kurt Farrugia to secretly visit Azerbaijan in December 2014,” Reżistenza Malta said. “It was not in Malta’s interest for our government to enter into an 18-year obligation to purchase natural gas from an Azerbaijani state owned entity rather than buy at source. It is evident that the Maltese Government’s decisions are not being taken in the national interest. Indeed, one wonders who is really governing Malta?”

READ NEXT: Feeling So Mad You Just Can’t Take It Anymore? It’s Time To Organise A Protest Group

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Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

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