Over 130 Of Malta’s Journalists And Activists Come Together, Pushing Robert Abela To Publish Secretive Report On Media Reform
Over 130 journalists, editors, academics, members of civil society and artists have come together to petition Prime Minister Robert Abela to publish a report on the protection of the media.
The first phase of the report – which was compiled by the Committee of Experts on Media – was presented to Abela in July, but has not yet been published. But that’s not all.
A Freedom Of Information requested by the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation for a copy of the report was turned down, with six weeks now having elapsed without the report’s publication.
In this latest letter signed by all the journalists and activists, Abela is being demanded to finally publish the report, with the petition insisting that every citizen has the right to participate in reforms that are aimed at protecting their fundamental rights.
“Freedom of expression cannot be protected by laws drafted in secret,” the letter states. “Without the active participation of members of the profession and the public, the reform would be written secretly and cannot reflect the needs of society and will therefore fail.”
The letter – which was also signed by Lovin Malta’s newsroom -expresses “grave concern about the lack of transparency with which media reform is being conducted”, going to say “this is supposed to be a process intended to strengthen free speech, journalism, and participation in public discourse.”
“One would expect the government to prepare laws that implement the reform.”
“The failure to protect journalists and to prevent the hindrances and the abuses they face when they live up to their duty of exposing abuse of power is an assault on the right of every citizen in a democratic society to be informed of the conduct of people holding power,” the strongly-worded letter asserts.
Beyond that, the petition is also calling for “an open and effective” public consultation process on a published White Paper to be opened before “any legislative bill” is taken to parliament.
“We expect the State to implement all the Public Inquiry recommendations and to do so in a holistic manner,” the letter ends. “This must include the recommendations on how to address impunity, corruption, and the abuse of power. This is the only way we can ensure journalists are protected.”
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