Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/740013
8 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 19 OCTOBER 2016 News IN ALL LEADING BOOK SHOPS HISTORY OF ORNITHOLOGY IN MALTA Dalli praises public reaction to online attack on transgender activist PAUL COCKS THE public's reaction to the recent online attack by Ghaqda Patrijotti Maltin exponent and university lecturer Stephen Florian on transgender activist Alex Caruana was to be lauded, according to Helena Dalli, min- ister for social dialogue and civil liberties. Dalli, who was speaking in parliament in the second read- ing on the affirmation of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression bill, said that she and many other MPs had immediately condemned Flori- an's attack, but insisted she had been pleased that the public's reaction was equally critical. The bill establishes that gender identity issues and sexual orien- tation were not induced by any sort of mental illness and makes conversion therapy illegal. The law seeks to affirm that all persons have a sexual orien- tation, a gender identity and a gender expression, and that no particular combination of these characteristics constitutes a disorder, disease, illness, defi- ciency, disability and, or short- coming. Dalli said that the govern- ment's work and commitment to eliminate bias and discrimi- nation based on sexual orien- tation and gender identity was leaving a very positive impact in the daily lives of many families and their families. She said it was parliament's duty to discuss such bills and to do all it could to eliminate prejudice. "No one has control over how they are born, and it is not right that some people suffer dis- crimination, bullying and other forms of intimidation because of how they were born," she said. Dalli said that the discrimina- tion and harassment sometimes led to suicide. "It is noteworthy that the sui- cide rate in the LGBTIQ com- munity is about eight times higher than in the rest of the community, and that is indica- tive of what these people have to go through," she said. Health minister Chris Fearne praised the bill for putting Mal- ta ahead of many other coun- tries in illegalising conversion therapy but suggested that the recognised age of 'vulnerable individuals' as referred to in the bill, be reduced to 16 from 18. Government whip Godfrey Farrugia noted that the bill criminalised all therapies in the field and suggested that a closer look at the wording might be called for as some beneficial medical therapies should not be confused with conversion, or re- pair therapy. Opposition spokesman Clyde Puli and MP Karl Gouder said that the bill would officially confirm that being homosex- ual, or of other sexual orienta- tion, was not something to be ashamed of or punished for. They confirmed that the oppo- sition was all in favour of mak- ing a clear statement to this ef- fect and that it would be voting in favour of the bill. Europe braced for return of jihadists if Iraq retakes Mosul EUROPE faces a new inf lux of Is- lamic State (IS) jihadists if Iraqi forces retake the group's strong- hold Mosul, officials warned yes- terday. Thousands of Europeans have left for Iraq and Syria over the last two years to wage jihad, but after IS suffered a string of ter- ritorial defeats this year in both countries, some of its fighters have begun returning to the con- tinent. As Iraqi forces press their of- fensive in Mosul, the "caliphate" declared two years ago by the IS, experts urged Europe to prepare itself for more battle-hardened jihadists ready to launch attacks back home. "The retaking of the IS' north- ern Iraq stronghold, Mosul, may lead to the return to Europe of violent IS fighters," the EU's commissioner for security Julian King told German daily Die Welt. King thought it was unlikely that there would be a mass exo- dus of IS fighters from Mosul to Europe but he stressed that even a handful of jihadists returning would pose a "serious threat that we must prepare ourselves for". Around 2,500 European fight- ers are still in the conf lict zones, said King. Moreover, the head of Europol has said that up to 5,000 jihadists are feared to be in Europe after returning from terrorist training camps. Rob Wainwright, director of the EU-wide law enforcement agency, predicted further attacks by Isis following the massacres in Paris that killed 130 people in November. "Europe is currently facing its biggest terror threat in more than a decade," he told Germa- ny's Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung newspaper. Taking back Mosul could take months The battle to recapture Mosul from IS could take two months, a Peshmerga military command- er said on the second day of the long-awaited offensive to liberate Iraq's second city. Up to 5,000 IS fighters are in Mosul, according to an estimate from a US military official, but the terror group's supporters put the number at 7,000. "My expectation is two months for the fight inside Mosul, but weather is one of the factors that can delay the process," Sirwan Barzani, a Peshmerga brigadier general, said yesterday. He said it would likely take two weeks for the advancing forces to enter the city. But he added that Iraq's leaders have said that only Iraqi government troops and na- tional police officers will be al- lowed to do so, amid fears of sec- tarian retribution. A diverse 94,000-member coa- lition comprised of Iraqi security forces, Kurdish Peshmerga allies and thousands of irregulars from various minorities are involved in the operation to free Mosul from more than two years of IS rule. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take positions on the outskirts of Mosul Helena Dalli