Tuesday, 18th November 2008 - 14:01CET
Government preparing anti-racism bill
A bill attacking xenophobia and racism is being prepared and will be presented to Parliament in the coming days, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici said today.
Speaking in parliament during the budget debate, the minister said that an increasing number of illegal immigrants were accepting to return to their countries voluntarily once they realised they could never be refugees or receive international protection.
Malta, he said, was being firm and was not yielding to pressure to do away with its immigration policy.
The government, he said, disagreed with any notion of stopping Frontex patrols, but it wanted a stronger, more efficient patrol system.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici said a meeting between Malta, Cyprus, Greece and Italy would be held next week to keep illegal immigration at the top of the EU’s agenda.
The minister thanked the United States for its assistance in the relocation of migrants, and said that a mechanism of repatriation was being established with a number of 'countries of departure'.
In his speech, the minister also said that publication of a White Paper on parole was imminent. The aim was to incentivise every prisoner to earn remission by attending rehabilitation courses. This would help ensure a decreasing incidence of repeat offenders.
The minister also announced that fines for hit-and-run incidents, drink driving and using mobile phones while driving were to be raised.
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I share your same line of thinking. It sounds like a new form of Inquistion. Back in the old dark ages we had the heretics that didn't believe and think in line with the dogmatic teachings and the alleged witches were burned at the stake. Today the situation is getting similar. Instead of the dogmatic teachings we have the brainwashings, instead of the heretics we have the "evil" xenophobic and instead of the witches we have the racists. Instead of being burned at the stake, today you will be crucified by the media, suppressed and fined or jailed.
Government, please just remember that you were elected to safeguard your citizens' interests and not that of some shady NGO.
For a search warrant to be issued, the police have to have reasonable leads that cause serious suspicion of illegal activity.
Regarding prefering your own race and feeling more at ease with people who share your culture and values, that cannot be illegal. What could be illegal is denial or infringement of rights on discriminatory basis or hate-speech. It is not racist thought (repulsive as much as it is) that would be illegal, but racist speech and action.
Those who have nothing illegal need not worry. Yes right!
How do you define racism? I prefer my own race. I feel more at ease with people who share my culture and values. That makes me racist. Fine, put me in jail.
People who are misfits in their own society or who have an axe to grind are usually the ones that reject their own people and culture in search of something where they would fit, albeit artificially.
Go ahead and expose. I'm serious. Truth cannot be silenced provided one has the evidence.
Will those Gozitans making 'remarks' about the fellow Maltese be prosecuted?
will the Northerners who have a view and express themselves against the Southerners be prosecuted?
Which govt department and who is the govt officer to be prosecuted and accused of keeping the illegal Africans in detention centres?
why are illegal Africans being held in detention centres and illegal western Europeans and illegal Chinese, etc, are not treated equally?
Can these accuse the govt of being racist for not providing them with accommodation, food and social services because they are not Maltese or Africans?
Who will finally end up paying the fines our govt will be ordered to pay in such cases?
Is this being done to please Brussels??
Can we Maltese sue the EU for being racist against us and not accepting to share the burden with illegal Africans? (its not money that we want but every Member State take an equal share of immigrants).
Can we sue the Baltic Member States for this also?
Can we sue our PM for imposing such heavy financial burden on lower classes instead of the high class? Is this racism??????????????
Nahseb irid jaghmel hekk biex il Ministru ma jidherx ikrah ghax gejjin hafna illegal immigrants is sena d diehla. se nkomplu nimtlew bihom u hadd mill pajjizi tal EU mhu se jiehu minnhom.
Do you think people in America know, that in Malta illegal immigrants from the former soviet bloc are in beautiful flats, while Africans are kept in tents and detention centers??
Kenneth we have a lot to expose. Wait till Jan 20th 2009. Maybe you can join us at one of the joint African American/ Maltese protest in front of the Maltese mission to the United Nations in New York on February 2009. We will be serving lunch and refreshments.
I might not waste any more time replying to wild speculations. At this point, I will only repeat that if you believe someone is innocent until proven guilty, don't you think this would apply to the government too?
So, before making any wild and baseless speculations, ask yourself this question: Is this in the bill?
So can we, but what is it that the government is secretly doing, that you will expose?
What makes you think that Michelle Obama reads The Times of Malta?
I don't need to verify your examples. I know they happen, just as in some countries men will find themselves in trouble if they complement (politely) a woman colleague at their office.
However, we cannot say that this will necessarily happen in Malta...what I say is let's find out what the bill is all about before commenting.
Regarding the case of the librarian you mention, the librarian was found not guilty - end of story. I know that it is not pleasant to be falsely accused. I know...in the eighties I was arrested (in a theft case) and released after two days without even being taken to court, just because I had long hair.
1. Who is a racist, the people trying to gain freedom of movement within the EU for Africans. Which will help the Maltese and the illegals???
2. Who is a racist, the people NOT trying to gain freedom of movement within the EU for Africans. Would rather see them somewhere where there is no work, no space, plenty of cheap labor and somewhere they don't want to be???
I am pleased to see that we are in agreement. However over the top political correctness is what we will get. If it happened in the other countries of the EU it will happen to us.
The examples I gave below are just the tip of the iceberg. Due to lack of space I only included a few links. I suggest you look at them and try to think of the reasonon why these cases will not occur in Malta. Remember it could be you at the centre of an unjust accusation of racism.
Its happened in Malta already, to a librarian who subsequently was found not guilty. Imagine if the plantiff had the police and attorney general on his side too because of the new laws. He was found not guilty but he still went through months of stress and worry. Would you want that?
"As for anyone accusing someone of being a racist, and the person having to prove he/she is not, a just society would work in the opposite direction - innocent until proven guilty."
I agree 100%. But unfortunately that is not how reality is. In Malta, those in favour of gender equality/positive discrimination recently pressured the Gov to pass a law about sexual harassment that states that you are guilty until proven innocent. That 'unjust' law is now a reality.
"I hope you're joking."
I was not joking just giving some hypothetical examples.
If I recall well, I think you already know that I oppose "positive" discrimination.
As for anyone accusing someone of being a racist, and the person having to prove he/she is not, a just society would work in the opposite direction - innocent until proven guilty. A just society would also not incriminate anyone for "thought-crime". Laws, in democratic societies, are usually about action (including some forms of speech - like libel, for example), not thought.
As for having to prove one is not a racist by marrying a black woman or paying a donation, I hope you're joking. I don't believe that happens anywhere on the planet.
Finally, I don't believe that anyone commenting has any details on the bill being prepared. So all the "hysteria" is only due to wild speculation. If you believe someone is innocent until proven guilty, don't you think this would apply to the government too?
"Thought cannot be criminalised (how can one determine what I'm thinking, unless I show it through action?),"
You hit the nail on its head! Don't underestimate the creativity of those behind positive (sic) discrimination. For example a law could state that whoever is accused of being a racist -i.e. someone who thinks that race A is inferior to race B- would be guilty until proven innocent (to the contrary 'innocent until proven guilty'). Hence if for example I am accused of being a racist I would have to prove that I don't think that a race is inferior to the other. And since they can't "determine what I'm thinking" I would have to prove that I think otherwise "through action" by for example marry a black women or pay a donation to the illegal immigrants or else be jailed.
One must make a distinction between racist/xenophobic thought and action. Thought cannot be criminalised (how can one determine what I'm thinking, unless I show it through action?), and it shouldn't. I believe that in every point in time, people can't help being what they are. Luckily, education can change people.
Racist/xenophobic action (which includes hate-speech), on the otherhand, is a different question.
I might not agree with all the laws of my country, and might believe that some of them are unjust, but I only break the law at my own risk.
"Anyone who is not a racist, xenophobic thug need not worry."
"people who are neither racists nor xenophobes need not worry"
I find these comments shocking. Do you guys realise the extremism of your comments? This means that whoever is xenophobic has to worry. Xenophobic means having fear of the foreign, so we are now persecuting people for just having a normal feeling/emotion like fear. What's the next in line? To burn at the proverbial stake those that fear fire? We are now going to be persecuted not only for expressing our opinions but also for just thinking or having feelings. With these kinds of laws we would be jailed just for looking at a black skin.
@Michelle Dali
"The sad thing is that if one is 'white' anyone can be racist towards you and you just have to sit back and take it. Racist laws do not defend all races, unfortunately, and racism works both ways."
That is what positive discrimination or affirmative action really is. The next MEP election is our last last chance to prevent all this.
I would hate to see what has happened in the UK with regard to racist laws happen in Malta. The many examples quoted here are real. The sad thing is that if one is 'white' anyone can be racist towards you and you just have to sit back and take it. Racist laws do not defend all races, unfortunately, and racism works both ways.
A relative was recently called a 'white-assed b***h' by a black woman who moved into the neighbourhood and whose son had been bullying her daughter. In the meantime, the children in the school they both attend have been banned from using the word 'black'.
They want to muzzle the people because everyone is now seeing and talking about the unsustainable situation and the damage the ILLEGAL immigrants INVASION is causing to the Maltese population.
Maltese people must protest against this DICTATORIAL muzzling which the Government is seeking to impose upon the Maltese people who show their preoccupation, concern and protest against the ILLEGAL immigrants INVASION and what is being imposed on the Maltese people.
THIS IS DICTATORSHIP AT ITS BEST (OR WORST)
AND THEY HAD THE GALL TO TALK ABOUT THE KGB IN THE EX-USSR!!!!
And to add insult to injury the minister is telling us that the grumbles are not justified because the immigrants are beginning to leave on their own initiative. If you live in the clouds or on the dark side of the moon you may believe what the minister is saying. In my opinion this is not a mature approach. The people should be educated about the issue and not forced not to speak. Oppression brings round repression.
Again, complaining against illegal immigration need not be xenophobic (although much of it is).
Regarding the law being used "discriminately" (I think you meant indiscriminately), if the law really incriminated all those complaining against immigration, it would have to be immediately repealed, since the prisons would be full in a single day.
I honestly believe you are making a mountain out of a molehill.
Who is to say if the next time a similar incident happens, some dogooder will phone the Police and the journalist in question will be hauled off to the police station to be quizzed on charges of racism?
If it can happen to the mother of a six year old who put a doll in the window, it can happen to a journalist too.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1067229_golly_mum_denies_racism
Would the Maltese driver and others be protected by this new law?
You will be pleased to learn that I am opposed to over-the-top political correctness, or of the abuse of anti-racist laws.
You'll be surprised to learn that I would even make burqas illegal.
That's were you are wrong. If the UK is anything to go by, it will create a state of affairs where people will start claiming discrimination to obtain compensation. Witness the present saga in the Metropolitan Police.
Any attempts to sack people because of gross incompetence will result in accusations of discrimination being levelled if they happen to be of a different ethnicity. Even hiring/failing to hire somebody could land you in trouble. See link . Consider if you want this to happen in your country.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1027300/How-I-nearly-lost-business-refusing-hire-Muslim-hair-stylist-wouldnt-hair.html
This isn't a one off . There are hundreds of others.
The four year old who was interviewed bythe headteacher andnearly ended up arrested along with his parents for spitting on another student who happened to be coloured.
The lady whose DNA and fingerprints were taken by police was interrogated for an hour on suspicion of racially-aggravated public order after her six year old daughter put a golly doll in a window .
At our demonstration in front of the French Embassy in New York on Dec 5th 2008. We might have to show the pictures of Africans behind barbed wire. To tell the world it's not the Maltese people that are racists, but the Maltese government. Has anyone from WenzuPN's government ever asked publicly a northern state why they won't accept illegal immigrants from Africa??? Has anyone from WenzuPN's government called any of these countries a racist??? WHY NOT???
I know what you meant regarding mentioning the name of Gaddafi, but I still don't see the connection.
Like I said, debating immigration laws (or immigration itself) does not have to be either racist or xenophobic. In fact, I don't believe that all commentators who are anti-immigration are racist or xenophobes.
The one sentence about the bill says that the bill attacks xenophobia and racism. If this is actually so (we'll have to wait and see), people who are neither racists nor xenophobes need not worry.
There are people who dislike chinese, americans, africans, middle eastern, americans, europeans and even fellow Maltese. This bill would address all of these i guess not just the klandestini. I still don't want the illegals here but it has nothing to do.
This shows , once again that Dr Gonzi has lost touch with what the already overcrowded Maltese living in malta and Gozo feel and have to endure.
Obviously it has nothing to do directly with the proposed bill. My point is, to make it easier for you to comprehend, that in Libya you cannot mention the name of Gaddafi because of possible repercussions, here in Malta, a person will not be able to give an opinion on the daily occurrences (especially during the summer months) because of repercussions if this bill makes it through.
Will our race laws be used as in Belgium to convict people who never made any racist remarks and were not present when they were made?
http://newsouthwails.blogspot.com/2008/10/belgian-politician-bart-debie-jailed.html
or llike in the Uk where a person was removed from an Airmalta flight because he asked a ground hostess where she came from and she took offense as she was Pakistani.
or again in the UK where a schoolgirl was arrested because she requested to join a different class group as she did not want to carry out groupwork with other children who were speaking in Urdu and didn't speak english. She was arrested and placed in a Police cell.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-410150/Schoolgirl-arrested-refusing-study-non-English-pupils.html
Will the person being accused be considered guilty until proved otherwise as in the case of Norway? Two ambulancemen were urinated on by a Somali victim who needed help . They called the police to take him to hospital. The media interpreted it as racism and a witchunt commenced.
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3576
Will our laws be modelled on these countries laws?
While I have nothing against the unfortunate people themselves, it is useless that the goverment tries to look nice with the 'inclusionists' by enacting an anti-racism bill while tackling this national and European crisis. We are prisoners of our own vote by the introduction of this Muzzling Act
As an avid reader of European history, I would challenge you to mention wars that started due to anti-racism laws. On the other hand one need not go far to think of wars that were caused, in part, by xenophobic tensions.
U Halina sur Ministru........
.ahjar tara kif ha tnaqqar mill ispejjez zejda u l- hela tad dawl u l-ilma tal ministeru tieghek u tal qorti fi zmienijiet daqshekk iebsin li gejjin fuqna , milli tinhela fuq affarijiet sekondarji.
u Jekk jien mandiex pjacir bihom (imma mhux qed ninsulentahom bl ghemil jew bil fomm), andi nissejah razzist!! Aqra l - istorja ta Ewropa u tirrealizza li l gwerrer min xiex bdew.
Well, here are a few replies to some comments:
@ Eric Gahn: The single sentence you are replying to says nothing about "silencing dissenting voices". Your comment is just speculation.
@ Malcolm Seychell: Again...speculation. The bill, according to the one sentence, attacks xenophobia and racism...nothing more, nothing less.
@ Ivan Scicluna: Freedom of speech ends when incitement to discrimination or violence begins.
@ Martin Farrugia: An anti-racism bill serves the purpose of actually stopping witch-hunts, except that the hunted in this case are the true victims (of racism).
@ I M Dingli: What has the name of Gaddafi got to do with an anti-racism bill?
@ the rest: Instead of indulging in conspiracy theories, why not wait until you have more details. The bill has to pass through the parliamentary process, in any case.
First they term it an invasion, then they shut your mouth against it. The more they suppress people's sentiments on this issue, the worse it will become.
Is buy any chance Mr. Mifsud Bonnici not too convinced himself that his burden sharing pact will not work too good and is preparing his defense against his critics?
And once again I ask!
What is the maximum number of illegal immigrants that Malta can accommodate?
@ Dr. Carm Mifsud Bonnici,
INCREDIBLE !,
UNBELIEVABLE !
MA NISTAX NIFHEM !
I can't believe of what I have just read !
Is it possible that our government hasn't more important matters to take care of?
This anti-racism bill is nothing but a witch-hunt to genuine Maltese citizens.
Now Maltese citizens are going to be persecuted in their own country by their own government whom they have enthusiastically elected only some months ago ! - UNBELIEVABLE -.
Fejn ser nispiccaw ?
Please God help us ! ! !
../..
This government is doing the same by playing the 'racism' card. Anyone who dares speak out against illegal immigrants or the government's policies dealing with this matter will be branded a racist and burned at the proverbial stake!
U hallina Ministru
I think that with the arrival of Africans to our shores, xenophobia will be something that will raise its ugly head, if it hasn't done so already. So Government is merely passing a law to address a shortcoming in our code of laws...
Whom is Dr. Mifsud Bonnici trying to please?
One must also uphold that other human right about Freedom of Speech.
There is an enormous difference between "silencing dissenting voices" and making illegal the denial of basic human rights. Anti-racism bills in other countries, that I expect this bill will resemble, do not prevent people from pointing out the problems of illegal immigration. These laws are there to prevent discrimination and incitement, not to deny us our freedom of speech.
It is another measure of censorship.
The government should go and get some lessons from Minister Maroni in Italy.