The Maltese Institute of Journalists has called out the Prime Minister’s attempts at restricting journalists questions in a strongly worded statement marking World Press Freedom Day.

“We refer to Friday’s remarks by Prime Minister Robert Abela during a press conference, where he stated that he would ‘appreciate’ if journalists would only ask on the subject of the press conference and not delve into issues related to the migration crisis that Malta is currently facing. Prime Minister, this is not on,” the IĠM said.

“While you might have uttered all information that could be communicated at the time on such a subject, journalists’ questions can never be restricted to a particular subject that the authority deems fit. This, on the contrary, simply fuels more hatred towards what constitutes the fourth pillar in a democracy.”

The statement comes at a time when Maltese journalists face “daily” harassment over their reporting on sensitive topics such as migration and the coronavirus pandemic as well as waves of misinformation online. It also comes after Malta dropped 31 places in the World Press Freedom Index when compared to 2016.

“We reiterate that no society can be truly free and democratic if it is not well-informed, and in this respect, this latest drop is worrying as much as it is disappointing,” they continued.

“We call on the authorities, including politicians, to understand and most importantly pronounce themselves against any type of anti-media rhetoric.”

On another note, the IĠM applauded Opposition Leader Adrian Delia’s new pledge to televise weekly interviews with independent journalists – usually, party leaders tend to be interviewed by their own party media during weekends.

However, just this week, Delia was interviewed by Lovin Malta founder Chris Peregin, and he said he is intent to continue this new initiative, which the IĠM welcomed.

“This is a step in the right direction towards more transparency – IĠM not only invites the Prime Minister to follow suit but proposes that a weekly Press Conference is organised for the sole purpose to let journalists representing all media houses to field questions,” they said.

“This can contribute much better towards press freedom in Malta, rather than being cushioned while transmitting messages as done by the two political leaders during the past months,” they ended.

What do you think of the IĠM’s statement?