GUEST POST, PART TWO: LABOUR PREACHES FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. THAT’S RICH.
This is a guest post, which means that Daphne Caruana Galizia did NOT write it. It was written by someone who is a bit of an expert in the field.
If you thought that what I wrote in my last post really did justice to the injuries that freedom of expression in Malta suffered when the electorate or gerrymandering put Labour in power, you’re wrong. I barely scratched the surface of that extensive abuse.
Take any public display of dissent, for instance. All demonstrations against the government or its policies were met with attack by government-sponsored thugs, while the police did nothing or instead helped the thugs. That was considered normal.
A silent march organised by students was set upon violently by the combined forces of Labour thugs and the Labour police forces (distinguishing between them was quite difficult then – both were so committed to promoting freedom of expression). The students were beaten. The police made some arrests – of the victims, not the thugs.
This went hand in hand with Labour police imposing a blanket ban on demonstrations by university students, and it took the Court 11 long years and a change of government to find anything wrong with that.
Belonging to any union that was not the GWU brought about its just rewards. Charles Spiteri, a Gozitan trade unionist and public sector employee, was denied the concessions granted to all other public sector employees in Gozo. But he asked for it. How inconsiderate of him to join a free trade union and not the GWU, which was then still the lawful spouse of the Labour Party.
Of course, the dedication to democracy of those freedom-of-expression stalwarts came to the fore with the banning of the Nationalist mass meeting at Zejtun. We have heard a lot about that, but some of it bears repeating.
The Labour thugs of Zejtun, aided by the police and with the support of Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici’s Labour government, blockaded that that town and did not allow the anti-government demonstrators in. Instead, they attacked them with real and home-made weapons, so that many were badly injured.
The Constitutional Court, facing strident opposition from the government, had ordered the police not to obstruct the demonstrators or halt the meeting, but they took no notice. After all, the prime minister had already gone on record to a London broadsheet, in an interview, saying that the Law Courts meant little and that Malta should have ‘people’s courts’.
Monsignor Philip Calleja, who is known for his work with Dar L-Emigrant, took part in a peaceful rally of those who disagreed with a new law. He held a placard, expressing his disagreement. The Labour police rushed him and ordered him to put the placard down. He refused.
The police – paladins of freedom of expression like their political mentors – tore it from his hands, and later claimed, when the monsignor began proceedings against them, that it was their right and duty to do so.
The opposition Nationalist party wanted to organise ‘mobile exhibitions’ that toured towns and villages. It had few others ways of getting its message across in those days. Instantly, the Labour regime countered with a ban on all open-air exhibitions in general. Clever move, eh? “If we ban everything, they won’t think we are discriminating against the Opposition.”
The Constitutional Court did not think so, and overturned the ban.
Charles Demicoli was the editor of a satirical newspaper which criticised the Labour Party and government (the two were the same). That newspaper cracked a mild joke about Labour minister Joe Debono Grech – you’ll know who I mean, because he’s still very much around. The honourable member of parliament did not sue Mr Demicoli for libel, but instead had him dragged by the police to face Parliament for breach of privilege – this was permitted then – in proceedings in which Mr Debono Grech would be prosecutor, witness, judge and jury, and where he Debono Grech could send Mr Demicoli down for two months.
All government MPs – surprise – found Mr Demicoli guilty, and the more romantic amongst them immediately wrote a haiku in praise of freedom of expression. Mr Demicoli took his case to the European Court of Human Rights, and won.
Then there was Toni Pellegrini – I believe he has a nephew called Ronnie, who is a close friend of soon-to-be cabinet minister Jason Micallef. Pellegrini was chief of state broadcasting. He banned all mention of the Opposition leader on state radio and state television, and given that there was no other radio or television station, that was quite a big thing.
For a whole year, the Leader of the Opposition ceased to exist, by government diktat. That was another insignificant Labour contribution to freedom of expression, and it’s unfair of us to forget it. Labour wouldn’t want that, would it.
When his decision was criticised, Mr Pellegrini’s response was that only the government is news. The Opposition is not.
The Christian Democratic Students wanted to hold a meeting for other students near the New Lyceum. The Commissioner of Labour Police looked at them in total disbelief: you must be joking. Don’t waste my time. That sort of thing is just not allowed. Why even bother to ask for permission?
Again, it was the Constitutional Court that had to disabuse the Commissioner of Police of his cherished views on freedom of expression.
Then the Labour government came up with a brilliant piece of legislation to aid in freedom of expression: banning lawyer MPs from defending any human rights case, including freedom of expression cases.
But that was not enough. Labour wanted to ensure that it could not be accused of discriminating against the disabled when making sure that we all had free expression. One Tonio Vella, who was quite badly disabled, was savagely tortured by the police. He was a well-known Nationalist Party supporter, and that could not go unpunished.
Freedom of expression, for Labour, was the freedom to agree with Labour.
Joseph Vassallo Gatt was one, out of many hundreds, who were dismissed from their public sector job when they obeyed a legitimate union directive to go on strike for ONE day.
Out of the many hundreds who were similarly dismissed, he was the only one who had the temerity, a suicidal one, to challenge that dismissal. All the others thought, quite rightly too, that challenging anything only meant attracting further brutality against them and their families.
That’s Labour and freedom of expression.
One Frank Mifsud, who had some problems with expressing his delight in living under Dom Mintoff, and who had further worsened his position by being a close relative of a prominent Nationalist Party politician, ended up detained in a filthy police cell for an illegal period of time, abused, humiliated and hurt. He was never accused of anything. It was just a bit of fun, to encourage freedom of expression.
After the Labour Party held a political exhibition in the Republic Street premises of the Museum, Dr Tonio Borg requested permission to hold a similar one on behalf of the Nationalist Youth Movement.
The Labour police clumsily forged their records to make it appear that the Museum had already been booked by others, and they were ever so sad for being unable to foster Dr Borg’s freedom of expression. In court it became clear that the so-called ‘previous booking’ was only a criminal fabrication by the Labour police.
I’ll close with another anecdote about forgery. After the government had declared in Parliament that all the tourist guides who had sat for their licence examination had passed, a strike was called of public sector employees.
Minister of Tourism Joe Grima (you’ll be aware of who this one is, because he stars now on Super One) had then sent for the results of the exam and they were doctored, one by one.
All the examination candidates who had taken part in the strike – about 200 of them – were shown as ‘failed’, and all those who had not taken part were shown as ‘passed’. One of the ‘failed’ candidates, Anna Camilleri, took the matter to court and won a Constitutional case.
There is much more of this sort of thing, of Labour’s commitment to free expression. But it will have to be in one instalment at a time. There is far too much to digest at a single sitting.
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I had almost forgotten about these things. Thank you and I look forward to further posts on this subject. It is important that people are reminded about the ‘golden days’.
I had not forgotten, but there were so many of these incidents that I couldn’t possibly list a fraction of them so factually.
What surprises me most is how people who lived through it all and who were even on the receiving end of these horrendous acts are now willing to sit back and let the perpetrators regain power.
I wouldn’t trust Labour to take care of a public convenience. They’d probably leave only one cubicle open, turn the water supply off for days on end, and won’t give you toilet paper unless you can prove you voted Labour.
While reading this guest post I recalled how Dr Alfred Sant suppressed the press by asking for a press card when unwanted journalists wanted to grill the New Labour leader.
Then we had Dr Alfred Sant’s personal assistant, Michelle Tanti now Muscat, telling journalists that no questions would be taken after the press conference by the great leader.
Labour Party are like the Three Hills Tomato Paste, they never change.
A must read for Alex Sceberras Trigona.
I am thinking out loud now. But this was ages ago. Surely there can be no repeat. Of course there can be a repeat!
Labour attracts certain people, and these certain people vote for certain politicians and these politicians will be the same as their predecessors. Could be a bit more subtle now but I cannot imagine Labour to be different.
And Leo Brincat, Joe Debono Grech, Karmenu Vella, George Vella, Anglu Farrugia, Alfred Sant (yes, he’s a Labour MP, even though Joseph Muscat tries to hide the fact), Marie Louise Coleiro, Evarist Bartolo, and Alex Sceberras “we have lost democracy” Trigona were all there in the glorious MLP. Why, some of them were even in government.
What about the request by the Nationalist Party to erect its own radio transmitter/antenna?
No reply came back and application ignored as the Govt considered it all a bad joke on the part of the PN. Also what about that Maltese bank manager (RIP) transferred to Gozo and that Gozitan bank Manager transferred to Malta exactly after taking part in industrial action organised by …….. Of course not the GWU.
The GWU had been tamed to silence and became an accomplice of the crimes committed by the Mintoffian government.
These people shouldn’t even have the right to utter a word for or against freedom of speech, democracy, human rights before they first lick the dust and beg forgiveness from the Maltese population whom they betrayed so much and for so long. Joe Grima, AST, Debono Grech, Leo, il GUY il pampalun tat-turizmu Malti u bella compania.
The meeting in front of the New Lyceum was actually held. A few Labour thugs (ta’ Lorry Sant) arrived promptly on the scene wielding chains and assorted blunt weapons.
I know – I was there in the thick of it trying to defend myself while the police did nothing at the time.
A few victims were later named in parliament as Nationalist thugs – we were 16 years old.
A few months later a protest march was organised in Valletta. Apart from the vulgar verbal abuse, nothing much happened till the protesters split up to go back home. I, and a few friends got chased and beaten again on our way to the bus terminus. The police never even blinked.
After all that and much more, they have the gall to ask me to give Labour a chance.
To remind readers that all teachers were asked to declare in writing that they would not obey their union’s legitimate directives. Nearly 2000 teachers refused to sign that infamous declaration and so they were………locked out. And they were allowed to go back to their classrooms after they were all humiliated, assaulted and transferred en bloc.
Thank you for writing about this, as the younger generation find it so hard to believe what happened.
They take all that they have so much for granted. Many can’t even believe that the same people are about to rule them for a second time round, under New Labour.
I have not forgotten any of these incidents but I still remember that all was ‘pardoned’ for the sake of national reconciliation. What a bloody banana republic!
Why don’t you let bygones be bygones and let sleeping dogs alone.You instil hatred.Il-malti jghid tqanqax l-ilma qieghed ghax tqanqal l-intiena.After all it is very unchristian.
Toni Pellegrini – li jfakkarni f’Bongu Malta Socjalista – pufta ordnat tal-prima klassi.
Dak x’sar minnu?
I think ,for the good of our country,it is time to stop living in the past and start looking at the future.
After all as they say in Maltese kull minn jgholli idu ghandhu xhi xhomm. (with apologies to prof Friggieri).
[Daphne – I think that saying is vulgar, stupid and meaningless. Whenever people use it, I revise my opinion of them – downwards.]
Yes, as always I agree with you, but I’m afraid that most of the time truth hurts, that’s life.
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It’s no one’s fault if our language contains such vulgar, stupid and meaningless sayings.
As regards your revison of your opinion-downwards, in my case, I don’t think it is possible to go further down since I said that I will not be voting — If–. I think it is now rock bottom, and I have to learn to live with it.
New Labour: the same people spouting the same stale communist ideology, trying their best to stifle freedom of speech and rewrite history.
I wake up in the morning with the ever increasingly familiar feeling of dread.
How can I start looking to the future when it looks exactly like the Labour past?
And Anglu Farrugia, the future deputy Prime Minister, was a member of the police force at that time, and he was not a humble constable either.
Reading this, I felt chills down my spine… Frightening indeed. How can one half of the population venerate Labour?
Because they’re stupid, ignorant, uniformed, or all three.
Those who say they were Nationalist but now are thinking of voting for that lot, had better have a good read of the above and remember that those “hnizrijiet” were committed by people who are still hibernating in the RED glass house at Hamrun.
The most frightening aspect is that Joseph Muscat has never unequivocally and trenchantly dissosciated his LP from the criminal violence of the Mintoff-KMB era.
On the contrary he has reinstalled the perpetrators of that violent era into the top echelons of his “new” movement from which they had been side-lined by his predecessor.
The bad omens are there for any intelligent voters to see and to take into serious consideration when casting their vote at the next general election.
Well done again. Let’s have more of the golden memories of the Labour era.
Yes thank you. We need more testimonies to what was part of our past. Forget the past and you are doomed to repeat it.