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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 DECEMBER 2019 5 THIS WEEK BOOKS comments on Nerik Mizzi's activities in December 1918. Equipped with all this new informa- tion, I could answer many new questions that had arisen over the past forty years, such as: What was the role of the wheat and flour merchants? What role did the dockyard workers and Dimechians and Mizzians play in the rising? What was the nature of the student protests? How many and who were the injured and those arrested? Why and how was com- pensation given to those whose property was damaged during rioting over June 7 to 9? How was the Maltese rising sup- pressed? Why can the Sette Giugno be regarded as a Maltese revolution that gave birth to the current democratic pro- cesses in Malta? Apart from providing answers to these questions through the addition of an an- alytical chapter of over a 100 pages, the new edition, thanks to a fruitful collabo- ration with the publisher, Joseph Mizzi, provides a new understanding of the Sette Giugno through another 100 pages of photos and illustrations. These show aspects of life and the protagonists of the time, particularly maps and views of Val- letta together with the locations where the main events took place, photos sup- plied by Giovanni Bonello of the student demonstrations of May 1919, the only two photos of the June 7 crowd that had survived government censorship, and photos of the funeral for three of the vic- tims held on June 9. Moreover, there are many reproduc- tions of archival documents such as the lists of the dead and wounded, the lists of those court martialled, tables show- ing the rise in prices and lower level of wages, a copy of the evidence given by the soldiers who fired on the crowd, a copy of the compensation sums claimed and received, and many reproductions of pages from the newspapers of the time. The appendix also includes a full copy of the 16-page Report of the Commis- sion of Inquiry, of letters sent by Manwel Dimech on July 30, 1919 from exile in Egypt, and a letter about the Sette Gi- ugno sent by Nerik Mizzi from exile in Uganda on June 7, 1944. I should add that Giovanni Bonello also wrote a forward to the new edition. His piece is not only enriched by his erudi- tion and expertise in the justice system, but also by the fact that his father was actively involved in the Sette Giugno events – he had saved a piece of the Un- ion Jack flag that had been pulled down from the Lyceum and "insulted" by the crowd, a photo of which is also included in the book. Apart from the centenary itself, Sette Giugno has also returned to the public conversation thanks to the production of 'Just Noise'; an upcoming high profile film production chronicling the events, and starring industry stalwarts like Harvey Keitel and Malcolm McDowell. As a historian of this particular episode, how does it feel for it to be getting the big screen treatment, and what are your hopes for this production? It is timely, given the increased amount of information available about the Sette Giugno, that it should be the subject of a film production. However, I am rather concerned that the title chosen was 'Just Noise' which seems to resonate with a particular, and in my opinion, partial point of view of the events as simply a sudden flare up of hungry people that led to nothing and had no impact on Mal- tese society, politics and government. I hope that the production will do justice to the event as one of, if not the most significant event in the Maltese develop- ment towards democratic government. I argue, with reference to the document- ed events as they ensued, that the Sette Giugno had a most important impact on the Colonial administration that led the Secretary of State for the Colonies to make the case for the first grant of responsible self-government to Malta because, "There is now undoubtedly an almost universal opinion that the present system cannot go on and that some far- reaching change must be adopted". Finally, what do you hope will be the next step in our historiographic approach to Sette Giugno? How do you hope that we process this event in a way that's most intellectually honest and nationally beneficial? By now, a substantial amount of the abundant archival material about the Sette Giugno that is held by the National Archives of Malta and in the UK have been made available to historians and to the public. Of course, there are still some lacunae in the detailed understanding of the widespread political agitation of the time. There may be more evidence still hidden in private collections that could further clarify the processes that were taking place. Though it is difficult to think that these can lead to any radi- cal change in our understanding of the events and their significance, such addi- tions are always welcome. I have put spe- cific references to all the evidence I used in the new chapter so that new research- ers can go deeper into the events by making use of all existing known sources about the Sette Giugno. On the other hand, there are and there will continue to be varied interpretations of the Sette Giugno. It was a complex coming together of the various elements of the population and, as has already happened over the years, different el- ements of the agitation may be high- lighted – the Dimechian call for a radi- cal change in society, the trade unions call for employment and better wages or of the hungry population for lower bread prices, or even the student pro- tests. I have also made the case that the landowning classes were actually very active for the removal of the succession duty that had been introduced in 1918. Indeed, in the first Labour publication on the Sette Giugno in 1927, Orlando argued that it was the 'privileged classes' that had called out the crowds to show the strength of a united populace which in turn led to responsible government, though Labour was still then not using its new found strength. However, I feel that the main signifi- cance of the Sette Giugno is the arousal of all sections of the Maltese population to a new sense of aspirations for a bet- ter way of life leading to a new national unity and strength that had not been pre- viously experienced. This was, further- more, coloured by the bloodshed at the hands of the British troops, and widely celebrated on the announcement of self- government. I think that, at this point in national Maltese development and with the wid- er understanding of the Sette Giugno events, all Maltese can share a feeling of national pride in the fact that, under severe conditions of life arising from the first world war, all sections of Mal- tese society raised their voice to assert their needs, rights and aspirations for a more democratic consideration of their claims. The politicians of the time – the eight elected members of the Council of Government – did not represent the different sections of the Maltese popu- lation. But the combined movements of the National Assembly and the crowds that gathered in its support in Valletta during its first two meetings in February and June brought about all sections of Maltese society together. The Assembly raised the strongest national call for self-government. The Assembly included representatives of all elected members of the Council of Government and political groups; all levels of Church organisations ranging from parish priests to diocesan chapters of Malta and Gozo; all the organs of the press, without any distinction of opinion or language; the nobility; all professional bodies – Advocates, Public Notaries, Ar- chitects, Legal Procurators, Pharmaceu- tical Chemists; all associations of busi- ness, historical, scientific, literary and politics; the trades and workers unions; the University students; all the clubs of all the band and dramatic societies of the two Islands. Of course, there were open divisions among these representatives, and such divisions also appeared in the streets of Valletta. But all the members of this As- sembly came to an agreement, through democratic discussion and voting, on the formulation of a new constitution for the Maltese to manage their own affairs. Their proposal was accepted in principle and the British announced the decision to grant self-government in November 1919, and formally proclaimed it in April 1921. This was the first time under British rule that the Maltese had a prospect for electing a Maltese government that could plan and implement policies for the internal affairs and development of Maltese society. Of course, the level of democratic participation was still lim- ited, but the process had been started in earnest. The Sette Giugno can, there- fore, in its multi-faceted dimensions, be celebrated by all sections of the Maltese population as a strong call for the de- velopment of democratic respect for all citizens. X'Kien Gara Sew Fis-Sette Giugno is published by Klabb Kotba Maltin "Maltese governments since 1921 had also tended to avoid celebrating the memory of Sette Giugno, fearing it will be used to encourage protests against their administration" Paul Bartolo