Watch: Fomm Ir-Riħ Landowner And Private Security Guard Clash With Activists For Stopping Along Country Path To Beach
A Fomm ir-Riħ landowner and a private security guard clashed with Moviment Graffitti activists, accusing them of sitting down too far away from the beach.
Graffitti said some of its activists visited the picturesque area by Malta’s west coast to investigate claims that private security guards were harassing members of the public.
In footage uploaded by Graffitti, the activists hear an airhorn before a security guard approaches them to inform them that they’re sitting down on private land and that they can only access the bay.
The guard says that signs had been erected to stop “arrogant people” from accessing the landowner’s house, and as the activists express surprise, the guard tells them that the land they’re sitting on is a pathway to the beach.
A second man, who the guard identifies as a landowner, eventually arrives on scene and tells the activists to keep on moving closer to the beach.
“If the security guard takes a video and we find rubbish, it’s you we’ll prosecute,” he warns.
“We’re not throwing rubbish, we’re just birdwatching,” an activist responds, to which the landowner tells them to go birdwatching by the beach.
He tells them that the law only allows the general public to access land 5m to the coast, even though the Public Domain Act stipulates the public can access the first 15m from the foreshore.
When the activists point this out, the owner tells them they’re only leaving the path open “out of their own goodwill”.
The guard then threatens to call the police and the landowner insists they move on immediately.
“Others will come here if they stay,” he warns. “Give them a finger and they’ll take the whole hand.”
“Ifhem… (‘Well…’,)” an activist responds.
The landowner then warns that the area is a Natura 2000 site and that “you cannot even move a stone out of place here”, to which the activists respond that that is irrelevant to access issues.
Warning that the public has been finding it increasingly difficult to peacefully enjoy the beauty of Fomm ir-Riħ, Graffitti called on the authorities to investigate activities carried out by landowners “which amount to harassment”.
Do you think the authorities should intervene to help the public enjoy the countryside?
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