‘We don’t need any approval, Mintoff is ours’, says devotee of former prime minister
Man who capitalises on Dom Mintoff’s name has few friends inside Labour Party
21 August 2013, 12:00am
James J. Piscopo
James J. Piscopo
3 min read
Josef Grech (right) unveils a plaque on Dom Mintoff's home in Tarxien, together with daughter Yana Mintoff Bland.
One year after the demise of former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, members of an appreciation society devoted to Mintoff - 'Ghaqda Duminku Mintoff' - are still determined to honour the memory of their favourite politician, despite being neither recognised nor approved by the Labour Party.
"We don't need any approval. Mintoff worked tirelessly for the whole country, he belongs to all of us. His famous slogan of 'Malta first and foremost' confirms this," the chairman of the organisation Josef Grech said.
Despite the Labour Party's stance, Mintoff's family seem to endorse what the organisation is doing. "If this was not the case, family members would not be present at our activities, and they would not have let us put commemorative plaques on Mintoff's residences in Tarxien, Delimara and Bormla," Grech underlines.
During the past 12 months, this organisation self-published nine books related to Mintoff, including a 1,000-page biography.
Last week, Ghaqda Duminku Mintoff announced its plans to unveil three monuments, giving out a sketch of the largest of the three. The government and several artists quickly opposed their plans.
Infrastructure Minister Joe Mizzi told the organisers that the Labour Party already had plans for a monument in Bormla, and having two monuments at the same location was not logical.
"But we never said the monument was to be done in Bormla. It was the Bormla residents who said this had to be done at his hometown. On our part, we knew the Labour Party planned to have one of its own in that locality, so we did not want another clash."
The sketches were also refused by several artists, with some hinting they might organise a petition for the refusal of the original design. "They have every right to do that," was Grech's response.
Ghaqda Duminku Mintoff was founded minutes after Mintoff's death on 20 August 2012. A couple of days later, the Labour Party issued an official statement saying the organisation was not recognised by the party or Mintoff's relatives.
The relatives also filed a police report, but after some time the case was dropped. "In December, the relatives said they did not want to take the case further. I firmly believe they were forced to file the report by the Labour Party in the first place," Grech said.
Looking at these 12 months, Grech says they achieved a lot, but he refuses to answer whether the Labour Party did enough to commemorate Mintoff in the past year.
Josef Grech, who wrote one of the books behind bars, also refuted claims that the organisation was founded to financially exploit Mintoff's loyal supporters.
"We deny these claims. Those who know us well are aware of how we operate. We even distributed our books free of charge to families who could not afford them. Mintoff used to say that people are to be judged not on what they say, but on what they do!" he concludes.
Questions sent to the Labour Party about this organisation remained unanswered by the time of going to print.
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I wonder what happened to my comment? Too much truth maybe?
Luke Camilleri •
And with the way he is going on , he will have even less!
He is just capitalising on Mintoff's memory to get his book sold..... and his face in the papers!
He says it best when he says nothing at all!
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"Malta first and foremost","Malta Taghna Ikoll". Josef Grech those are political slogans and mean very little to citizens unbiased citizens. Mintoff was great for some and a curse to others. You might be too young to remember the early sixties but Dom Mintoff ruled with an iron fist and he had his henchman Lorry Sant do the dirty work. So please do not drag us into your biased thinking about Dom Mintoff. He requisitioned (confiscated) my father's property and as one of the inheritors of that same property I still cannot get that property back. So because you profited from Mintoff's generosity it does not all Maltese did. In honesty, I cuss Dom Mintoff with every breath I take and until my siblings and I get that property back free and clear there will be no Hail Marys said on his behalf. "L-ixkubetta fija il-grillu u kulhadd jghamel kif jghaqbillu." To each his own right sur Grech? You hold Dom Mintoff as your God, Me and a lot of others hail him as the devil. We are both entitled to our opinions.
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Tinsiex li qabel kien hawn Prim Ministru li kien jghid "Flimkien Kollox Possibli" u issa ghandna Gvern li jghid "Malta Taghna Ikoll". F'kelma wahda dawn it-tip ta niex jaghmlu il-pajjiz taghhom u jitmejlu minn haddiehor. Tant huwa hekk illi kullhadd hareg minn fejn kien u inghata xi haga anki dawk in-Nazzjonalisti li bequ lil Partit taghhom. U x'gara lil Laburisti Genwini li kienu is-suldati ta l-azzar, twarbu. Min ma iridx jemmen jista imur issaqsihom wiehed wiehed u wahda wahda. Iva Malta taghhom Ilkoll u iridu jaghmlu dak li iridu HUMA.
