Bonġu has been reporting from Mosta Square throughout the day and continues publishing statements recorded during the demonstration
BREAKING | Mosta trees to stay, mayor announces
21:51 | BirdLife asks government to provide ‘trees in pots’
The government should bring large trees in pots to Mosta Square for birds to roost there, BirdLife Malta CEO Mark Sultana said. Watch his full statement here.
19:46 | ‘Road works going on for years’ – resident
The current situation was about trees, but people were also angry about road works that had been going on for years, Mosta resident Sam Fenech said.
17:49 | ‘Only votes count’ – Cassola
“This is proving how much civil society and the voice of public opinion is heard”, independent politician Arnold Cassola told Bonġu, “and it is only the votes that count”.
17:08 | ‘Time to wipe out Mosta council’ – Gauci
ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci has strong words for Mosta’s local council and its initial decision to transplant the trees.
“It is time that we wipe out this local council. Because both sides, PN and PL, agreed on having these trees uprooted”, Gauci said.
16:44 | ‘They call us tree-huggers’
Independent politician Arnold Cassola has joined the activists on Wednesday afternoon and posed for photos with the ficus trees.
“This is why they call us tree-huggers”, Cassola said.
15:25 | ‘Mayor gave in’ – PN Councillor
The Nationalist Party has issued an eyebrow-raising statement by its Mosta councillor and council minority leader Keith Cassar.
Cassar said Mosta Mayor Chris Grech had given in to the pressure “exerted by the Nationalist Party”, residents and other associations.
The statement fell short of mentioning that the PN councillors all voted in favour of the now abandoned plans to transplant the 12 mature ficus trees.
14:05 | BirdLife: Reversing decision ‘not enough’
BirdLife Malta has issued an official reaction, saying that a decision to keep the trees where they are was not enough.
Both Mosta Local Council and ERA should make amends for the environmental damage caused, the NGO said.
12:52 | Calls for resignations continue
Mosta mayor Chris Grech and Labour and Nationalist councillors continue to face calls for their resignation in social media.
People are arguing that, besides its u-turn, the local council’s decision has already caused huge damage to the ficus trees.
12:21 | “We made it” – BirdLife
“We made it! The trees in Mosta will stay!”, BirdLife Malta said in social media, announcing an “official reaction” to be issued soon.
11:58 | Protest will go ahead anyway
A protest scheduled for 18:30 will turn into a celebration of a “great victory for the community”, Moviment Graffitti said.
However, the NGO insists that the mayor and the council take responsibility for the obscene decision they had taken.
It also called for reform of environmental authorities, particularly the ERA, “which are clearly not fulfilling their role of protecting the environment”.
11:46 | BREAKING: Trees to stay – Mayor
Mayor Chris Grech has announced on Facebook that the trees set for transplantation will remain at Mosta Square.
Grech said he and his fellow Labour councillors had taken note of the people’s wish, and that he has no problem with reconsidering the uprooting.
11:28 | Emergency meeting not yet called
Councillors have not yet received a reply from Mayor Grech about their request for an urgent meeting, a PN spokesperson said.
The local council office confirmed that no such meeting has been scheduled, as the mayor “might not have seen” the PN councillors’ request yet.
11:10 | Mayor, councillors silent
Attempts by the media to obtain comments from Mayor Christopher Grech and 10 Mosta councillors have so far proven unsuccessful.
On Tuesday evening, both Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said the council should reconsider its decision.
11:00 | Welcome
Good Morning and Welcome to Bonġu’s Live Blog about what we call the ‘Mosta Tree Massacre’.
