Watch: Eve Borg Bonello Calls For Removal Of Parliament Barricades: ‘MPs Shouldn’t Be Afraid Of People’
New PN MP Eve Borg Bonello has urged Parliament to remove the barricades that have been erected outside the building for the past few years.
“Parliament is meant to belong to the people and I feel [the barricades] are a horrible symbol of what our democracy could come to when we let people do certain things,” Borg Bonello said during an interview with Lovin Malta this week.
“Even the architecture of our Parliament shows it belongs to the people and I feel those barricades are a reminder of a really dark past. We shouldn’t forget our past and we should still fight for justice, but we must understand that this should be a stepping stone forward.”
“MPs shouldn’t be afraid of people, we’re there to represent them.”
@lovinmaltaofficial What do you make of @eveborgbonello’s statement? 👀 #lovinmalta #fypmalta #maltatiktok #malta #viraltiktokvideo #lovinmaltavideo #viraltiktokvideo #fypmalta🇲🇹 #eveborgbonello #maltapolitics #fyp #fypmalta #viral ♬ original sound – Lovin Malta
The barricades were originally erected as a reaction to protests that erupted during the 2019 political crisis triggered by the emergence of links between government officials and the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Protestors regularly pelted government MPs with eggs and tomatoes and gathered outside Parliament to express their anger, with one protest effectively sieging the House from all exists and forcing politicians to escape through an underground tunnel.
Although protests calmed down significantly following Joseph Muscat’s pledge to resign as Prime Minister on 1st December 2019, the barricades have remained outside Parliament ever since.
Last year, Speaker Anġlu Farrugia confirmed there are no plans to remove them but that he will consider replacing them with “another form of entry that protects the building’s pillars and infrastructure”.
In December 2021, he told Lovin Malta that his stance on the barricades remains unchanged and that his Office is still considering what alternatives exist “which while providing protection to the building’s infrastructure, do not adversely affect the aesthetics of the building.”
In a Facebook poll by Lovin Malta last year, in which over 1,000 people participated, the vast majority of respondents said the barricades should be removed.
You can watch Lovin Malta’s full interview with Eve Borg Bonello below:
Should the barricades in front of Parliament be removed?
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