The Institute of Maltese Journalists (IGM), the Journalists’ Committee and the Malta Youth Press yesterday came out disagreeing with the ban of the student newspaper Realtà.
The newspaper was banned from the University campus because of a short story it contained dealing with adult themes of sexual violence using crude, colloquial language and pornographic descriptions.
The Journalists’ Committee said the ban revealed “the confessional shift in Maltese politics” because the police were being made to intervene on “offensive” literature despite the fact that freedom of expression included the freedom to offend.
A spokesman for the committee said that if the University rector believed “obscene” material should not be read by University students this was a “patronising” attitude that the Education Minister should be looking into.
“At this rate, why not ban Bret Easton Ellis and Irvine Welsh books for the obscenities they write about?”
A spokesman for the Malta Youth Press, which is part of the IGM, said there was no way the newspaper should have been banned or censored, especially since this was an independent publication and that the short story was literature, not news.
“I just think they should have put a disclaimer on the front page to warn about the language used. But, anyway, it shouldn’t have been censored,”
Keith Demicoli, the president, said.
“We strongly believe that freedom of expression and speech should prevail,” he said, adding “that being said, I am not keen on reading such literature and I find it low.”
The University explained yesterday that the publication was banned after the Rector was advised that the article entitled 'Li Tkisser Sewwi' might constitute a violation the Press Act and the Criminal Code. There was no indication on the front cover or on the page containing the article that the material was ‘adult' reading.
It said the Rector was obliged to consider the legal aspects which may affect the University and to protect underage visitors to campus from writing which was for adult consumption only.