Here come the circumcision warriors

I have rarely seen an interviewer as puzzled as Herman Grech was when questioning PN MEP candidate Frank Portelli. Having covered Portelli's views on illegal immigration, (where he graciously conceded that they are human too but that we are facing an invasion of these... humans) Grech asked if Portelli wasn't perhaps using religion for partisan purposes. The reply came thundering back, "So do you agree with female circumcision? Their religion promotes female circumcision. They discriminate against women. God forbid that the (deputy) editor of The (Sunday) Times is in favour of female circumcision."

I imagine that Grech, like all the viewers of that clip, was momentarily at a loss, as he tried to figure out how he could conceivably be seen as rooting for female genital mutilation. In any case, he snapped back with other pertinent questions and I was left with the image of Frank - valiant warrior and defender of female genitals. Don't get me wrong - I don't think that female circumcision is a laughing matter. It is a barbaric practice which has ruined many young girls' lives and left them traumatised and petrified. Of course, it is a condemnable and criminal practice.

But to sound off about female circumcision as if all the womenfolk in Malta are in grave and imminent danger of having their genitals ripped off smacks of the ridiculous. That's because the practice is practically non-existent in Malta. Two years ago, the NGOs which are in daily contact with immigrants confirmed that they had not seen any cases of female circumcision. So why is Portelli talking about a non-existent criminal practice which is already punishable by law? I guess that it has everything to do with the issue of illegal immigration - one which features as a major concern for many voters.

Addressing the concerns of a good chunk of the electorate should be a priority for politicians of all stripes, but the way in which the PN is framing the issue of illegal immigration in this electoral campaign is disturbing and frankly unethical. Forget "Are-you-in-favour-of-female-circumcision-Frank" for a minute, and look at the PN's video clip about 'values'.

As we see shots of black people in what looks like a chain gang, an ominous voice-over tells us that the Labour MEPs do not share our values and that they voted to give migrants the vote. So far, so predictable, and so 'let's make fun of the idiots who pressed the wrong button' (They had it coming). Then the scaremongering and selective quotes begin. The voice tells us that if migrants are given the vote they will be able to overturn an election result. The implication is quite clear. The black people filmed in the clip will be able to vote in our elections and sway election results their way (presumably on the basis of an electoral manifesto promoting those barbaric practices so despised by Frank).

There is a deliberate fudging of the true nature of the vote taken. The MEPs approved a report, proposing that legal migrants may be allowed to vote in local council elections if the individual member states so decide. That means that only people who have a residence permit, who have lived here for a number of years, who have valid working permits and who satisfy certain criteria may vote, only in local council elections and only if the Maltese government so decides.

For all we know Lawrence Gonzi may decide against such a recommendation and say that the Americans, Canadians or Norwegians or other non-EU nationals living and working in Malta legally should not be allowed to vote for the mayor of their locality. Of course that would go against what he told the foreign press recently when he talked about providing "a decent life and integration to people given refugee status", but it would seem that all's fair in love and war and electoral campaigns.

The PN exponents squealing and stamping away at their Labour opponents for selectively quoting from Alex Perici Calascione's speech, should have a long, hard look at the way their media has totally misrepresented the migrant vote issue. Their indignant squawks for ethical reporting and their po-faced posturing about good media practice have been exposed as a load of hot air.

What's more, they show that they don't realise how shortsighted they are and how a campaign based on half-truths and xenophobic drivel will backfire. By trying to drum-up panic over a measure which is entirely within the government's discretion to implement or not, the PN is depicting itself as a party which has no selling points and which has to rely on misrepresentations to attract attention.

There's also the fact that it's ignoring the more important aspects of the illegal immigrant issue - such as how EU funds can be tapped for speedier processing and repatriation or burden-sharing. These are far more vital than the phantom threat of Frank's female circumcisions or black Africans being able to vote in local council elections.

The misleading PN clip is fanning the flames of fear and racism - quite unnecessarily and in a way which will ultimately be detrimental to its own interests. Eventually the facts will emerge and voters will realise that the makers of the clip were trying to pull the wool over their eyes. Voters with liberal tendencies and those who have no sympathy whatsoever for illegal migrants, will unite in condemnation at this attempt at trickery.

Obvious attempts at deception tend to have that effect. And when Portelli pops up again ranting about female circumcision, we'll just roll our eyes, but being polite readers we won't spell out what we think of his monologues.

cl.bon@nextgen.net.mt