Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/982634
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 16 MAY 2018 3 NEWS MATTHEW VELLA THE European Court of Human Rights has overturned the Mal- tese courts' decision to ban the play Stitching, nine years after the controversial judgment up- held a ban by the now-defunct censorship board. The controversial play, written by Scottish playwright Anthony Neilson, has been performed in several countries. But its 2009 ban in Malta prompted an up- roar over censorship, to the ex- tent that former Culture Minis- ter Mario de Marco moved a law for the self-regulation of theatre productions. In the first judgement, Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon had said the censorship board acted correctly that the values of a country could not be turned on their head simply in the name of freedom of expression. He said it was unacceptable in a "demo- cratic society founded on the rule of law" for any person, no matter what they did, to be allowed to swear in public – even in a thea- tre as part of a script. The two-actor play is about a couple struggling to deal with the loss of their child. The ECHR awarded €10,000 as legal costs as well as €10,000 in moral damages jointly to Uni- faun Theatre Productions Lim- ited, as well as to director Chris Gatt and actors Pia Zammit and Mike Basmadjian. The court's decision was unanimous, includ- ing Maltese judge Vincent de Gaetano. "Justice has prevailed," pro- ducer Adrian Buckle said, adding that the play will now be staged in Malta. Unifaun's production's ban was confirmed by the Constitutional Court of Appeal, after it was flagged by the now defunct Film and Stage Classification Board. It considered the board was cor- rect to conclude that the play in its entirety was offensive to Mal- tese society. "Even in a pluralistic and democratic society, such as the Maltese one, human dignity could not be trampled on, even if the aim was 'presumably' a genuine one. As problematic as the relationship of the couple might have been, one could not make extensive use of vulgar, ob- scene and blasphemous language to highlight perversions, vilify the right to life and the right to freedom from inhuman and de- grading treatment, and vilify the respect towards a woman's dig- nity." The Maltese court had ig- nored the producers' arguments that Anthony Neilson's play about a couple coming to terms with the loss of a child had been taken out of context and request- ed to perform it in court on the grounds that a script is a work of art that is only half-formed, and needs actors to give it meaning. But the European Court of Hu- man Rights in its decision said that the board's – and therefore the government's – interference was not lawful within the mean- ing of the Convention and that it was not necessary for the Court to determine whether it was nec- essary in a democratic society, finding a violation of Article 10 of the Convention. The Labour government sub- sequently changed the censor- ship laws, effectively stopping the possibility of theatrical pro- ductions being banned. The producers and cast ex- pressed their satisfaction at the judgement. "We always had faith in the quality of the play and al- ways believed that the ban was fundamentally wrong on a num- ber of counts and infringed their rights as artists to freely express themselves," Unifaun director Adrian Buckle said. Buckle said Unifaun will be fi- nally staging the play for the Mal- tese public. "We express their sincere gratitude to all those who stood with them throughout these nine long years, and those who stood by to be counted and who supported their efforts; but most of all to their loyal theatre audiences who have consistently supported their efforts." Lawyers Ian Refalo, Sarah Grech and Mi- chael Zammit Maempel repre- sented the producers. In a concurring opinion by Judge Egidijus Kuris of Lithu- ania, the judge criticised the Mal- tese law's power – since then re- moved – to grant the censorship board the power to rule on the "literary, artistic or educational merit" of productions, "if any", and to ban some of them as "not fit for exhibition". "This privilege, so indiscrimi- nately worded, smells of discre- tionary censorship, especially having regard to the Board's (whatever its members' profes- sional and moral merits) ap- pointment by the Parliamentary Secretary for Culture and Local Government, that is to say, by members of the Government." European Court overturns Malta court ban on Anthony Nielson play Stitching Finally to be staged, nine years after. Top right: playwright Anthony Neilson, and bottom, Unifaun director Adrian Buckle TIA RELJIC THE former Labour minister George Vella yesterday dubbed the continued occupation of Gaza and Palestinians by Israel as a case of "ethnic suppres- sion… if not ethnic cleansing." The former foreign minister spoke at the 70th anniversary commemoration of the Nakba, the "catastrophe" of 1948 when over 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes after the war of that same year between Arabs and Israelis. "The issue of Palestinian refu- gees was never an issue Israel wanted to solve, but one created as part of a calculated move to create an Israel free of Palestin- ians," Vella said yesterday. "It hurts to have to admit that the two-state solution is gradu- ally fading into oblivion," Vella said. "The past 70 years were an ongoing catastrophe – an on- going Nakba – as Israeli policy was one of 'might is right', made possible by the International community's inaction. It sad- dens me that I don't see Israel changing its position on this any time soon." Malta supports the two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestin- ian conflict. Yesterday foreign affairs minister Carmelo Abela expressed concern that the on- going unrest at the Gaza border would threaten the prospects of achieving this solution. In a statement Abela expressed regret at the escalation of vio- lence in Gaza after the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem, relocated from Tel Aviv. "Free- dom of expression and peaceful demonstration must always be respected, and we call on Israel to adopt a measured response to all protests and actions that can be perceived as a threat," Abela said. Fadi Hanania, first secretary to the Palestinian ambassador to Malta, said the relocation and official opening of the Jerusalem embassy on the commemora- tion of the Nakba was a tragedy. "The holy city should be ac- cessible to all to freely practise their religious beliefs. The con- flict is complex, and remains the world's most problematic issue," Hanania said, explain- ing that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the only one which has not been solved in the 20th century. Hanania said the right of re- turn for Palestinian refugees was non-negotiable, and that the international community should respect international laws and principles. The event yesterday was at- tended by government officials, members of the Opposition, and other public figures. The Nakba ("catastrophe") re- fers to the 1948 Palestinian exo- dus in which more than 700,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes during the Pales- tine war. Through violence, threats, and massacres, Pales- tinians were expelled from their communities and physically barred from returning. Israel continues to reject their right to return. Also addressing the event, La- bour MP Edward Zammit Lewis said Malta remains fully com- mitted to the two-state solution and that the issue was high on the agenda of the Committee of Foreign and European Affairs. "Accordingly, Malta agrees with statements made by the EU High Representative Frederica Mogherini, that this must be a mutually agreed by peace ne- gotiations between Israel and Palestine." Speaking on behalf of the Na- tionalist Party, PN MP Carm Mifsud Bonnici reiterated the sentiments expressed by Zam- mit Lewis, and said that Jerusa- lem must serve as the capital of Israel and of the future state of Palestine. The violence on the Gaza bor- der following the opening of the new embassy in Jerusalem on Monday was described as the deadliest day for Palestinians since 2014 as the death toll rose to 60 overnight. Over 2,200 oth- ers were injured, and more vio- lence is expected overnight. But the evening should not be taken as a standalone, as the Great March of Return protests began on 30 March, and at least 97 Palestinian protesters have been killed by Israeli forces since then. There were more injuries during these protests so far than there have been during Israel's 51-day military offensive on Gaza in 2014. Israeli occupation 'a case of ethnic cleaning' says former Labour minister