Activists Camp Outside Parliament To Protest Planning Reforms

Environmental activists have set up a campsite outside Malta’s Parliament in Valletta to urge the government to permanently withdraw two planning reform bills and a related legal notice.

The activists, who arrived unannounced on Sunday morning, erected around two dozen tents within minutes and chained them together. They said they plan to remain there for several days.

The action comes ahead of Monday’s budget speech, one of Parliament’s busiest sessions of the year. The protest forms part of the wider campaign Ġustizzja għal Artna (Justice for Our Land), which has been opposing Bills 143 and 144 since July.

Activists say the reforms would reduce environmental safeguards and increase the powers of developers, while the government argues they are intended to make planning processes more efficient and improve enforcement.

The campsite is intended as a visible form of pressure before a larger demonstration planned for Monday evening.

That march, organised by Moviment Graffitti and other environmental and heritage NGOs, will begin at the Law Courts and move towards Parliament.

Groups including BirdLife Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa and Friends of the Earth Malta have previously opposed the proposed laws, saying they would weaken public rights and environmental protection across the country.

#MaltaDaily