Public enemy No. 1 – the free media

Labour’s proposed legislation to force the registration of independent websites is similar to the repressive laws of Russia, China and Bangladesh, according to experts.

Dr Gorg Mallia, cartoonist and Head of Communication Studies at the University of Malta called this piece of legislation ‘tyrannical’. Similarly, Malta’s IT Law Association dubbed government’s attempt to restrict internet freedom ‘a perverse affront’ to citizens’ freedoms and rights. Freedom of expression and the free media are under attack by none other than Malta’s pseudo liberal government.

Ah, the wisdom of hindsight. When the Nationalist Party was voted out of office four years ago it could look back on a quarter-of-a-century of setting up safeguards intended to prevent a repeat of the excesses of the Labour governments of the 1970s and 1980s. From the word go, with the incorporation into Maltese Law of the European Convention in 1987, the PN took the country through the creation of the office of the Ombudsman and local government, equal rights for men and women and membership of the EU – to mention but a few of the measures introduced. More important was the belief that these legal and institutional changes had also irrevocably changed our political culture – including the Labour Party – for the better.

New Labour, old habits

Looking back, it all sounds a bit naive now. With Labour winning the 2013 election it became clear that if there were any lessons it had learnt it was that its old methods of repression had to become more sophisticated and its PR slicker. Fundamentally, the party was unchanged. It was not any more tolerant of disagreement, it was no stronger a believer in freedom, it was not readier to exercise restraint. Civil rights – yes, but not as a matter of principle, just if it could cash in electorally.

This week s debate about the controversial bank guarantee to Electrogas saw the principles of transparency and the right of the public to know thrown to the dogs with chunks of text being blacked out for the published contract to remain secretive in essence.

The public broadcaster and the Department of Information have long become an integral part of this government’s propaganda strategy and only this week it was once again revealed that the PBS newsroom is being directly influenced by the guys at Castille.

Journalists, for whom information is their bread and butter, have had to live with the government’s reticence. When members of the press are not being stonewalled, the Prime Minister is doing a Houdini, escaping through back doors to avoid awkward questions.

Fake news and fake liberals

The case of the first garnishee order ever against a journalist is the latest instance of the government chipping away at the rights of the free press and the same goes for its proposal to double libel fines. For sure, no one would contest the use of libel laws against unsubstantiated claims, but freezing a journalist’s assets and criminal libel cases are more intimidation tactics than a defence of the truth.

Labour’s One News’s fabrication about Beppe Fenech Adami was as made-up and fake as fake news can get – a desperate attempt by Labour to knock Panamagate off the front pages, complete with drones’ fly-overs. It was tempting to think it wouldn’t have been out of place for a story containing so many porky-pies to have resulted in the freezing of the bank accounts of Labour’s TV station, whose editor did not even show up in court. But such action was simply unthinkable to Fenech Adami, even though he is definitely no stranger to having the sanctity of his home violated. The Courts of Justice have now ruled in favour of Beppe Fenech Adami and against One News’s fake news, and the Nationalist Party has moved to protect the freedom of all journalists, including the editor of One News.

Liberty versus tyranny

Together with Jason Azzopardi and David Agius, I have this week presented a motion for an amendment to our laws which would put an immediate end to this authoritarian tactic of issuing garnishee orders against journalists. This follows our policy declaration over a year ago to repeal criminal libel. We do, however, take credit for getting things moving. The Justice Minister quickly called a press conference and presented in Parliament a bill for a new media law. Coincidence? Certainly not. Nevertheless, the government’s response is no liberal piece of legislation that will extend the freedoms of the media. On the contrary, it now requires news and current affairs websites, including those run by individual citizens, to register with ‘Big Brother’.

It is to protest against this tyranny that, together with Simon Busuttil, we march today.