Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1507380
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 3 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 SEPTEMBER 2023 Mikiel Galea Letters & Clarifications Kitsch, vulgar and carnivalesque… but necessary I may not like the extravagance and car- nivalesque Pride parades but God do we need such events to promote the visibility of queer people. I came to realise this last year when I was invited to a friend's wedding. I was shocked to learn that my friend's parents did not turn up for the wedding ceremony because they disap- proved of their daughter's marriage to her female partner. It was heart-breaking to see my friend being walked up the aisle by her brother. It only made me realise that despite the legal changes that ushered in substantial civil rights, a lot more work still has to be done. So, even if I cringe at the kitsch and sometimes vulgar dis- plays during Pride parades, I believe that this exposure is necessary to shatter the silence that more often than not hounds individuals as they go about their daily lives. Philip Agius St Julian's Neutral and vulnerable MALTA'S constitutional neutrality was born in controversy as part of a trade-off agreed to by the Nationalist Party in 1987 when the laws regulat- ing elections were changed to ensure the party that obtains a majority of votes is awarded a majority of parlia- mentary seats. The global scenario has changed radically since then and Malta also joined the European Un- ion in 2004. Within this context, I believe Malta's neutrality no longer makes sense. As part of the EU, Malta must fully embrace the EU attempts at drafting a common foreign and defence policy. We are too small and practically defenceless in the face of adversity – and this can also come in the form of cyber-attacks. Malta should be a fully-participating mem- ber of PESCO, the EU's effort to coor- dinate military and defence research and development. It makes no sense to be left out of these developments. After all, any decision taken by the EU – the imposition of sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine is a classic example – will automatically impinge on Malta. In this sense, others have decided for us and irrespective of our neutrality we have become a 'target' in the eyes of the enemy. Yet we have opted out of the EU's defence mechanisms as if our neutrality is some form of guarantee against aggression. I believe Malta should ditch neutrality and its armed forces should be full participants in EU missions and mechanisms. Neu- trality may have served its purpose so far but Russia's invasion of Ukraine has also exposed our vulnerability when a country decides to ignore the international rules-based system. J. Caruana Mosta A missed opportunity THE other day I was listening to Josie Muscat's interview with Jon Mallia and the doctor was asked about the changes to Malta's abortion law. Jo- sie Muscat argued against abortion, which he described as the wilful termination of a pregnancy but wel- comed the recent legal changes, which he said put into law what had long been medical practice to save a wom- an's life if the pregnancy is endan- gering her. However, he made a valid point when pointing out that the legal changes could have gone one step further to allow abortion if the foetus is severely deformed to the point that at birth the baby will die immediately. He argued that in such a limited case – which he said was more common than a woman risking her life – the termination of the pregnancy was not an abortion but medical treatment. Josie Muscat said it made no sense to allow the mother pass through a whole pregnancy in full knowledge that the foetus she is carrying will never survive. I agree with Josie Mus- cat's conclusion on this and legisla- tors should consider making further amendments. T. Bonello Żabbar