About as liberal and progressive as Turkey and Algeria
Great going: Joseph Muscat has just said that he agrees with his star candidate Manuel Mallia in his attempts at having Paul Borg Olivier imprisoned for ‘criminal libel’.
Aside from the fact that this comes from the man responsible for the evil Super One and Maltastar machine, he should know that a truly liberal and progressive party would be talking about repealing the criminal libel law or at least that bit of it that deals with imprisonment.
If Manuel Mallia and Joseph Muscat are happy to seek the imprisonment of the secretary-general of the Nationalist Party for an article about a Labour candidate, they will be delighted to do the same to a journalist.
In fact, the Labour Party tries it repeatedly.
So how fabulous is that? They boast about that defunct bugger Mintoff having decriminalised buggery in the early 1970s for reasons that have nothing to do with respect for civil liberties (if he had respect for civil liberties he would have changed the laws which kept married women as chattels and would not have brought about widespread oppression and the destruction of free speech) and in the same breath they clamour to have their political enemies imprisoned for saying mean things about them.
I don’t like these people at all. Their fundamental lack of understanding of what constitutes a properly liberal outlook makes me nervous at a deep level. When talking of civil liberties they are just going through the motions but their forma mentis is totalitarian and far right. It is in situations like these that you really get a sense of that.
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http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2010/04/malta-today-grinds-another-axe-this-time-its-tarcisio-mifsuds/
If I remember correctly, Michael Frendo was arrested – or at least severely harassed – by Labour back in the 80’s simply because he looked angrily at one of their then ministers on graduation day.
How’s that for being liberal and progressive.
Joe Calleja, former editor of In-Niggiza, was jailed under the Mintoffian regime for a report in that satirical newspaper. The socialists never change.
They’re not in power yet,but they’re already threatening all those who oppose them.
PN builds hospitals and schools.
MLP builds prisons.
Don’t you know? Freedom of speech only applies if you’re dissing the Catholic Church and faith
Not that I have any objection to people making fun of Catholicism and Catholics by the way but consistency is important.
Criminal libel has been abolished in the UK and France, as far as I know. I am also waiting (probably in vain) for Maltese journalists to pick up on this and enquire about the validity of such a law. A number of their colleagues around the globe have been jailed for supposedly breaking it.
you may read this for more details
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-02-24/news/232-journalists-in-prison-on-work-related-issues-only-1-in-eu-955809797/
Huh? From timesofmalta.com comments:
Joe Pace Asciak
Today, 14:07
Meta jitkellem il-Leader, hu politikament korrett li kulhadd jaghlaq halqu. Min jiftah halqu ghandu jigi kkunsidrat bhala ghadu tal-poplu, jitwarrab jew jintefa’ l-habs. U meta jghidilkom li xi kaz maghluq, ifisser li maghluq u li ma tistghux tkomplu titkellmu fuqu.
Mark Fenech
Today, 14:05
Jekk Manuel Mallia jidhirlu li ġie malafamat għandu kull dritt jipproċedi legalment u iva jekk hemm bżonn in-nies imorru l-ħabs imorru.
He is such a hypocrite and one that plays to his audience,
Just now during the Times’ Leaders’ Debate he said he agrees that defamation should no longer be a criminal offence.
How does he reconcile that statement with supporting Emmanuel Mallia’s position against Paul Borg Olivier?
As for Dr Mallia, if you can’t take the heat get out of the kitchen, pal, and go to the Triton fountain to cool off with water – it’s free there.