Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/631983
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 27 JANuArY 2016 News No university yet, as Sadeen clinches licence for 'American Institute of Malta' The National Commission for Further and higher education (NCFhe) has issued a licence to the Sadeen education Investment Ltd, a company owned by Jorda- nian construction firm Sadeen, to start operating as a higher educa- tion institution and not as a uni- versity. The licence means the contro- versial 'American University of Malta', for which Sadeen is being granted a land concession at Zon- qor Point of 19,000 square metres and Bormla's Dock No. 1 for its campus, will now be known as the American Institute of Malta. The AUM was instantly promot- ed as a university by the Labour government in a press conference that boasted of its curriculum be- ing designed by Chicago's DePaul University. But when it was announced the institution had not even submit- ted an application to the NCFhe for accreditation. The Times reported that the NCFhe was informed that Sadeen intended to pursue a fully- fledged university licence but that the higher education Institution licence was a necessary first step towards establishing a university. The higher education Institu- tion licence issued is a tempo- rary licence of one year which the American Institute of Malta can use to start its operations from premises which are fit for educational purposes. As a higher education institution, the NCF- he said AIM will provide three courses. education Minister evarist Bar- tolo had already stated in Parlia- ment at the time the land transfer was approved in the house, that the university would first be li- censed as a higher education in- stitution. Gay rights movement sues pro-lifers Gift Of Life for abortion libel MAtthew VellA The Malta Gay Rights Move- ments has filed a libel lawsuit against the pro-life organisation Gift Of Life for repeatedly alleging in various social media posts that the gay rights group was being funded by women's health group Planned Parenthood. The American organisation is the largest single provider of re- productive health services, includ- ing abortion, in the United States. In its lawsuit, MGRM – through lawyer Cedric Mifsud – told the court that in various posts on Fa- cebook, Gift Of Life had alleged that the gay rights organisation was being funded by Planned Par- enthood to support embryo freez- ing legislation in Malta. The Labour government is plan- ning to reintroduce embryo freez- ing after the practice was banned by the Nationalist administration in 2012 when it introduced assist- ed reproduction on the national health register using only egg freezing technology. The legislative proposals, yet to be published, will not introduce abortion, which remains a crimi- nal act in Malta. MGRM has denied having any ties to Planned Parenthood, and instead it declared that in 2010 it had acquired funds from Interna- tional Planned Parenthood Feder- ation (IPPF) – which is a separate organisation to Planned Parent- hood – to submit proposals to the government on the introduction of the Gender Identity Act. In various Facebook posts how- ever, Gift Of Life made various claims such as: • "BREAKING NEWS! ARE THE MALTA GAY RIGhTS MOVe- MeNT BeING SUPPORTeD BY INTeRNATIONAL ABORTION PROMOTeRS – PLANNeD PAR- eNThOOD? The drive to legalize abortion by stealth, under the dis- guise of embryo freezing is now clearer for you to understand." (30 September) • "It is now clear that Planned Parenthood are using the MGRM, as well as this new pro-abortion group, in a two-pronged attack on human life in Malta. If you stay silent, you are failing those who cannot defend themselves." (1 Oc- tober) and • "There is no other reason why IPPF are financially supporting the MGRM in Malta other than to then push to open their abortion franchises (clinics) here as well. It is huge money, a colossal business and too tempting to resist for the world's most aggressive extremist pro-abortion organisation to re- sist." (2 October). IPPF is a pro-choice organisation that advocates for women's health rights as well as access to contra- ception and safe abortion services, and is funded by the european Commission and the United Na- tions Population Fund, among other national organisations. The MGRM said Gift Of Life's declarations were false and that it never promoted the introduction of abortion to Malta. "MGRM has no position on abortion, and this issue does not even fall within its aims. These comments are libel- lous in its regard because they contain false and defamatory alle- gations in a bid to put the organi- sation in disrepute."