Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1464183
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 APRIL 2022 OPINION THIS week I found myself in complete agreement with Alfred Sant when he said he was ap- palled by the decision to cancel a play following an outcry about its depiction of a character in- spired by Daphne Caruana Gal- izia. "It's appalling. It seems like we're back in the 1960s," Sant, wrote in a letter to MaltaToday In Sant's words: "The argu- ment has been made that if there is a public subsidy underwrit- ing Azzopardi's venture, then it should apparently satisfy some preordained criteria regarding what is acceptable or not. Yet it's the same people who supposedly are gangleading among us 'Euro- pean' values of free speech who are advancing such an approach. "Azzopardi has my full solidar- ity. What has been done with his play and production is shame- ful," Sant went on. On the social media, I did openly disagree with what Ma- noel Theatre had done. There were those who concluded that in this case I am all for freedom of expression because I 'detest' the late Mrs Caruana Galizia. My character is not one that im- pells me to detest people, dead or alive. I do not detest anyone – not even those from whom I only saw harm or with whom I completely disagree... but I am not surprised that there are peo- ple who think that detesting oth- ers is just a normal human trait. I know exactly what Alfred Sant meant when he referred to the censorship situation in the 60s. As a young student back then – that is, incidentally, about the time Daphne Caruana Gali- zia was born - I was involved in a group who were clamouring for a reform in the censorship sys- tem in Malta. I am sure that had Daphne Caruana Galizia been older, she would have protested no end against the censorship prevalent in Malta at the time. Eventual- ly when I became minister re- sponsible for the Post Office, I started to relax that censorship, by amending the law regulating posted written material. I write this because after I ex- pressed my support to Mario Azzopardi's right to stage a play – whatever it contains – there were people who concluded that I was some anti-Daphne crusad- er and attacked me with irrele- vant arguments citing things I did and did not do. So much for their respect for freedom of ex- pression! My credentials in favour of freedom of expression cannot be attacked in any way: throughout my life I believed in the princi- ple and I even won a case in the Strasbourg European Court of Human Rights when I felt my right for freedom of expression was not respected by the Mal- tese Courts. I did not read the script of Azz- opardi's 'Ix-Xiħa' simply because it is irrelevant to my stance. The play can be a classic bit of satire or a lot of rubbish. Azzopardi's right to stage the play is para- mount, irrespective of its artistic merits. As for satire, I am sure that many of the people who sancti- moniously objected to it – with- out attempting to understand it – at some time in their life enjoyed seeing Monty Python's 'Life of Brian', that is a satire on the life and passion of Jesus Christ. Satirising Jesus Christ is ok, but... I can fill more than the space al- lotted to me writing about satire through the ages. Satire is a pow- erful tool and the late Daphne Caruana Galizia was no stranger to it. Yes satire – especially po- litical – can be uncomfortable for some, but in a democracy, no one has the right to stop anyone from using it. This is just what fascists in power do. Respecting the right for free- dom of expression is not easy. One has to respect the right for others to say what makes one's blood boil. But the alternative is worse. And this is why one cannot make sundry exceptions to the principle that freedom of ex- pression is absolute. The only acceptable exception is personal libel, of the sort I have been sub- jected to this week. But I digress. I cannot but complain about the way the management of the Manoel Theatre acted in this case. No theatre can accept and agree to stage a play and then withdraw its support capricious- ly because there are a few pro- tests and some alleged threats. Initially, the Manoel Theatre had every right not to accept the staging of Azzopardi's play, but once it had accepted it and went ahead with the complete process – including bookings and adver- tisements – it should have stuck to its decision. Second thoughts and bowing to threats are never acceptable in such circumstanc- es. Those who clamour for the rule of law have now claimed they made a victory by frustrat- ing the rule of law. For me, the right for freedom of expression is paramount. No excuse justifies stifling this right. Because, once a country starts dabbling with this right, democ- racy is imperiled. Pseudo-Christian country The number of racist com- ments in the social media post- ed by people who rejected the Pope's appeal for Christian char- ity with migrants is incredible. Some uncharitably told the Pope to take the migrants with him to the Vatican. The Archbishop, Mgr. Charles Scicluna, was reported to have likened the rejection of the Pope's message on migrants with the rejection of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. I am not surprised with this 'popular' reaction that stinks of racism. The Maltese are not valid Christians who believe and ad- here to the teachings of Jesus Christ. All through the years, the local Church – not led by the current incumbent –accepted Christianity á la carte, so long as the flock meekly accepted what- ever the shepherd commanded. The shepherd has now lost his hold on his flock and we are finding that this hold had led to Maltese Christianity being vaguely based on imposed rules rather than on valid tenets. Archbishop Scicluna's remit includes the quasi-impossible task of persuading this pseu- do-Christian country to become authentically Christian. The Pope's visit was a triumph for him and the Catholic Church. The reaction to the Pope's pleas in favour of migrants led to the sad revelation that no amount of Papal flags and speeches can cover up how much the Maltese people lack the down to earth decent morals of Christianity. Freedom of expression is paramount Michael Falzon micfal45@gmail.com The reaction to the Pope's pleas in favour of migrants led to the sad revelation that no amount of Papal flags and speeches can cover up how much the Maltese people lack the down to earth decent morals of Christianity