Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/540322
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 JULY 2015 News 13 is trying to achieve. "Many media outlets focused on the fact that the new pornography law would allow pornographic im- ages or items to be displayed in re- stricted places which are closed to minors," he told MaltaToday. "This immediately led to the misleading conclusion that this reform would be about allowing porn shops in Malta. While this is true, it totally misses the point that this reform was the product of a long fight against artistic censorship which started in late 2009 after the ban on Unifaun Theatre's play Stitch- ing and the prosecution of Mark Camilleri and Alex Vella Gera in the ir-Realta' case…" Bondin himself welcomes the proposals, which he admits ex- ceeded his expectations. "The provisions of the bill are a definite improvement over what we had before. The removal of the law protecting religion from vili- fication is a bold measure against outdated privilege and in favour of freedom of speech. One could say that it came as somewhat of a sur- prise, since it was widely regarded as politically impossible to achieve up to a few years ago." As for the revisions to allow por- nography, he argues that this was a step in the right direction. "For starters we now have a sensible definition of what pornographic material is. An item is now classi- fied as pornographic if 'its inten- tion is principally to cause sexual arousal'. Before this reform, some- thing would count as pornograph- ic even if it 'put undue emphasis on sex'. Moreover offences related to distribution of pornographic material, for instance, have been decriminalised. Alex Vella Gera and Mark Camilleri would never have been arraigned on the Li Tkisser Sewwi short story under these measures. These distinctions might seem marginal, but in real- ity they are sturdy guarantees for artistic freedom…" All this, he adds, seemed an al- most unattainable target just a few years ago. "Arriving at this point was not a foregone conclusion. Unifaun's Constitutional case claiming the ban had broken their freedom of speech was even rejected by the Constitutional court. No help could be expected from the custo- dians of civil rights in these issues. "Also, until the divorce refer- endum of 2011, which threw the conservative establishment in dis- array, the cases of censorship did not decrease, but actually intensi- fied. Even after the referendum, when suddenly everyone wanted to appear liberal, Mario de Marco could only proceed with a very timid reform of theatre censorship – implementing self-classification, which although important, left the overarching repressive apparatus almost unchanged. This is why this reform is so significant, and why it deserves to be acclaimed as a Copernican revolution in artistic freedom." Art can still be censored Doubts however linger as to whether this reform will achieve its ultimate goal – to safeguard freedom of expression. Like most of the people who cam- paigned against censorship in the Stitching case, Chris Gatt – former artistic director at the St James Centre for Creativity, welcomed the amendments as "the last nail in that coffin": referring in part to earlier campaigns against State censorship, particularly in theatri- cal performances. Asked whether the changes would be enough to safeguard freedom of expression, Gatt cautioned against taking anything for granted. "We should not assume that cen- sorship has been banned, or any- thing of the sort. There are always other more discreet forms of cen- sorship," he remarked. Sticking to the theatre as an ex- ample, Gatt observes how much of the local output remains depend- ent on public or private sponsor- ship, which often places restric- tions on what can or cannot be staged locally. "It is important to see whether government finances are a poison chalice in this sense. And ditto so- called private sponsorship, which often kills the very soul of creativ- ity with unreasonable demands for exposure, regardless of the aes- thetic experience." Another outstanding issue con- cerns venue ownership, which tends to make availability depend- ent on official 'approval' of the script… even in the absence of a classification board. Similar con- siderations apply also to art exhi- bitions and other areas of creative expression. "For example, in Malta theatre spaces are owned either by the gov- ernment or by the Church. Ideas can be muffled by not being given the oxygen of publicity. Events can be closed because of health and safety issues. Spontaneous street art can be stopped because it has no licence. I am not saying that we need to demand for more leg- islation, or that this is necessarily happening… although one should always keep an eye open as to where funds are going, and where they are not going. However, it is important to question the edito- rial policy of those that control the media and the spaces which were created for creative expression, and ask if there are any biases." 1559 Pope Paul IV issues index of 550 censored authors and other individual titles. Local inquisitors were so eager to implement the index that the burning of these books was held in the Grand Harbour, the only point of entry to the island. 1600s Inquisition Tribunal perceives writing and literacy as a potential promoter both of heretical behaviour and social protest among the Maltese. Vittorio Cassar is admitted to the Inquisition for owning several prohibited books which he claimed to have received from a friend. Vittorio got scared and confessed his 'sins' and although not absolved he handed the books to the Inquisition for burning. 1609 Inquisitor Evangelista Carbonese orders burning of 53 books in Vittoriosa square "in the presence of a multitude of people". 1839 Now under British rule, the Governor of Malta's ordinance number IV makes book and press censorship illegal unless there was good reason for it. 1933 Legislators introduce prison sentence for anyone found guilty of vilification of religion, religious objects, or religious sentiment. 1975 Obscenity laws make it illegal to possess pornography and also allows the director of Customs to ban entry to such material, whether printed or audiovisual. 1979 Mario Philip Azzopardi's plan 'Sulari fuq Strata Stretta' banned by theatre censors and refused performance as it is deemed too controversial. 1981 A ban on several British journalists from entering Malta is lifted but Times of London still not allowed in Malta following publication of news reports deemed hostile to the Maltese government. 1982 Journalists and political activists from overseas were subjected to the Foreign Interference Act. 1986 Telemalta Corporation chairman Maurice Mifsud Bonnici and Xandir Malta head Toni Pellegrini found guilty of discriminating against Opposition leader Eddie Fenech Adami by censoring his name on the national television station. 1989 Board of Film Censors bans Martin Scorsese's 'The Last Temptation of Christ' from local cinemas. Video version withdrawn. 1989 TV spot by health department promoting condoms in anti-AIDS campaign banned from airing on Xandir Malta, sparking protest by Zghazagh ta' Taht l-Art, who publish a satirical and critical manifesto against censorship 1992 Dr Alex Comfort's 'The New Joy of Sex' withheld by the Postmaster General and the Customs for being too "explicit" 1996 John Webster's 'The Duchess of Malfi' censored by arts ministry, which ordered the director to cut a scene where the Duchess kicks a small crucifix just as she was going to be unjustly executed. 1997 The Reduced Shakespeare Company banned by theatre censors from performing satirical masterpiece The Bible – The Complete Word of God on grounds that "the play would have offended religious sentiment at Lent. 2001 Playboy Magazine granted temporary entrance permit to Malta. 2009 Anthony Neilsen's 'Stitching' banned by the new Classification board of Stage and Film. Unifaun takes the board to courts but loses case at all stages of the court protest. Novelist Alex Vella Gera and Mark Camilleri, publisher of student pamphlet Ir-Realtà, are charged in court under obscenity laws for the short story Li Tkisser, Sewwi. 2010 Police stop a satirical play at the Nadur Carnival after deeming its lyrical content unacceptable. 2010 Mario Azzopardi's 'Vampir U Rakkonti Ohra' banned from public schoolsa. 2012 Camilleri and Vella Gera acquitted from all charges, with Magistrate Audrey Demicoli finding that the law provides no clear definition of what is obscene. A concise history of censorship A 1996 production of The Duchess of Malfi caused a stir as an actress kicked a crucifx Mark Camilleri Art can, however, still be censored by less obvious means: such as through the implications of State and private sponsorship, or the fact that most theatrical venues in Malta are either owned by the Church or the government