Claudia Calleja
Police go back on decision to vet songs
Council urges respect for decency
Music spontaneity will, after all, be allowed during the Nadur carnival celebrations as police are no longer insisting that performing rock bands submit their planned repertoire for vetting.
In a statement issued yesterday the police said they had "reconsidered the decision" but did not explain what exactly led to this change of strategy.
"The reason why the police asked for the names of the bands and the songs they'd play was a genuine one. This was so that police could gauge the size of the crowd attending the (carnival) activity to make logistical arrangements," the police said.
The statement was issued in reaction to a story published in The Sunday Times in which a concerned band member said the Nadur local council and police were requesting to vet lyrics before the event in an attempt to eliminate offensive or vulgar language.
The police denied ever asking for the lyrics and said the original decision, to see the song repertoire, was taken with the cooperation of Nadur mayor Miriam Portelli.
Ms Portelli had explained it was the police who had suggested vetting lyrics but she did not know why.
Police sources had told The Sunday Times that the police wanted to vet the lyrics of songs, other than those that were well-known, in order to stamp out vulgar and offensive language or language that could make people upset or start a fight.
After releasing yesterday's statement, the police were asked to clarify how the list of songs could help them make logistical decisions and why they had changed strategy.
In reply the police wrote: "After considering its request to obtain the song titles, it (the police) decided this information is no longer relevant for the upkeep of public order and peace. For this reason, the original decision was withdrawn."
In a statement yesterday evening, the Nadur council said the local council had not requested the lyrics of songs.
Further to a police request, it said, owners of establishments were requested to provide details of the bands to be performing during the activity together with names of the songs they would perform.
The council added that three permits had been issued for the stages, which were to be provided by the council.
The council also urged those attending the spontaneous carnival to respect public order and decency. The Nadur carnival, which kicks off on Friday, has established a reputation for spontaneity. The celebrations traditionally attract thousands of people to Gozo for the five-day festivities, creating a series of management problems.
Last year, controversy arose when some revellers dressed up as Jesus Christ and as nuns. Amid condemnation from the bishops, the revellers ended up in court for choosing costumes deemed to be illegal and offensive to the Roman Catholic religion.
One young man was given a one-month suspended jail term for dressing up as Jesus. This was deemed as excessive censorship by some who argued it threatened the spontaneous character of the Nadur carnival.
In reaction to this, last year, a group was set up on Facebook with a page entitled Friends of Jesus: Nadur 2010 which said it was organising a "peaceful protest against a modern-day inquisition".
The group said it hoped to encourage hundreds of people to dress up as Jesus in an attempt to overwhelm any fear of retribution "by numbers".
Last week the mayor explained that police presence would this year be stepped up to ensure public morals were respected, traffic was well managed and glass bottles were banned from the streets.
16 Comments
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Joe Xuereb
Feb 11th 2010, 02:23
@ Joseph Briffa. Your comment on Mediterranean people and Catholic countries. Catholicism is globally widespread including northern Europe. Yet, can you imagine a Good Friday street procession, in, say, Copenhagen or London or Holland. But all that realistic gore is quite acceptable in Spain, Sicily and Malta. But not Greece, an orthodox country. In Malta and Sicily, we celebrate death, where we keep the dead 'alive' with all kinds of nonsense. It cannot be the sun. I think it's cultural. But there is rebellion in the air. Compare our Carnival with the much more refined version in the north of Italy. Interesting. Watch this space.
I have commented elsewhere - http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100209/local/mhra - urging young serving staff in Malta to be more spontaneous, relaxed, smiling, etc. I wonder if it's not, after all, as simple as merely trying to be pleasant, but that the lack of spontaneous confidence so natural to other peoples has deeper causes here. Just a thought. Confidence comes from within one of course. It's not something that can be forced. It can be learnt, naturally, but that is a different matter. Heavy religious indoctrination, in my opinion, has something to do with it. The young are rebelling.
Charles Vella
Feb 10th 2010, 00:19
I believe that rock bands should be banned. Not only from Nadur carnival, but from Malta in general. I respect the fact that people like noisy music, like rap and hip-hop, but rock... I'm sorry... but with all due respect... it's only for deviants and people with low moral values. Look what happened to Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson... from being accomplished artists, they lost their life to sin. Why not make a nice Eurovision song party for all to enjoy some nice, clean fun? Why all that noise? I heard that rock even leads people to the occult... did you ever hear 'Hotel California', by 'The Beagles', in reverse? Let's save the country before our youngsters fall into this vortex of sin. I suggest that the Police stop rock activities immediately!
R Muscat
Feb 9th 2010, 20:54
In Saudi Arabia, Iran and other islamic fundamentalist states one comes across the RELIGOUS POLICE who check on immoral behaviour like kissing, couples holding hands etc etc
Have our version been disbanded???
What a waste of Police time and tax payers money.
Joseph E Briffa
Feb 9th 2010, 19:16
The Maltese are not renowned for their sense of humour. The fact that they live in a densely populated place and do not travel wldely does not help matters at all; they take offence very easily and their pan-Sicilian genes make them over react to anything they perceive as a threat however mild. . .And they can see a threat under every tree - good thing in a way that we don't have so many trees.. Moreover they are on the whole very pompous and therefore tend to be pugnaceous.and don't like anybody taking a dig at them or pulling their legs even during Carnival. They are therefore not very tolerant like all Mediterraneans. Perhaps that's the reason why the Inquisition was born and practised in Latin countries. It would be much better for us all if we had more selfconfidence and learnt to overlook insignificant matters; we would be more relaxed and live much happier if we were able to take a good laugh at ourselves when we make fools of ourselves which is not a rare thing..
Ciaran O Mullain
Feb 9th 2010, 16:45
Does the picture of two “Irish Leprechauns” attached to this article have a significance.
Have a great Carnival.
Alison Natalie Keeler
Feb 9th 2010, 15:36
Hoorah for common sense.
Let's hope it prevails throughout Carnival weekend, by both the authorities and everyone simply wanting to have a good time.
Peter Green
Feb 9th 2010, 13:18
Is this government creating a confessional STASI state?
The police should be ashamed for letting themselves be used to instill censorship fear! Cannot wait till this church bound control freak government is toppled by its own people!
JJ Galea
Feb 9th 2010, 12:17
This is even more depressing!! It means that the police in Malta do not have a principle to which they stand for BUT they reconsider decisions. This is sick. One should take time to decide but please once you decide do not go back from your word to reconsider. Vetting songs was already a shameful decision but this is much worse!!
adrian aquilina
Feb 9th 2010, 12:09
what a terrible excuse by the police..and noone wants to take responsibility for the decision to vet the bands and lyrics,but then thats the christian way,not accepting responsibility for your actions...a win for freedom of expression...do not stop there in a country that likes to censor and control what people can see,read,think and do
Guzi Muscat
Feb 9th 2010, 11:42
So, according to the Police statement, quote "the reason why the police asked for the names of the bands and the songs they'd play was a genuine one. This was so that police could gauge the size of the crowd attending the (carnival) activity to make logistical arrangements".
What a joke! How can one judge the size of a crowd by the songs that would be played?! Getting sillier by the minute, aren't we?
John Azzopardi
Feb 9th 2010, 11:32
Of course they had to go back. The move was illegal and uncalled for. People should use decency as the Nadur Mayor says and refrain from insulting other people by dressing up in provocative ways. That is the law that police should be enforcing. And one more thing. They should not be mingling with the crowds and drinking as they do sometimes. They are there to enforce the law.
G.Debono
Feb 9th 2010, 11:25
The excuse given is puerile to say the least. This stand has created a movement (Mhux PL :) within the poplu. The police force and the Nadur Mayor are the talk of the country. The least one expects is a resignation by either the Mayor of Nadur or the Police commissoner. Inkella ser tghadduna ta bolloh lilna l-Maltin!
The excuse given is nowhere to be believed - the real reason is basically a communist state of affairs which you had to back off with the power of the Times of Malta and the power of the people. A sort of rose revolution.
As things stand Ms. Mayor and Mr. Commissoner, bow down or be the laughing stock of people.
PS. Thank you for protecting us from the song lyrics
PSS Can you please forward the mathematical formula where it gives mass of people expected based on the input values (in this case the song lyrics X the song names)
Karnivalta
Ramon Mizzi
Feb 9th 2010, 11:25
Finally the Malta Police came to their senses about such a move/policy, because it was clearly the public outcry that initiated such a u turn. These censorship policies reflect a communist society that is far from the Freedom of Speech that the EU embrases. Let the rock bands express their right as Maltese Citziens and most of all of EU citizens. Although the band is not metioned, but clearly everyone knows who the band is, is an awesome Maltese band who are not scared to make fun of the Maltese society, thus making our society a better place to live. It's brave to be able to laugh at ourselves and see what makes us Maltese in the end.
Steph Grima
Feb 9th 2010, 11:04
Hekk mela!!
Joseph (Joe ) Grima
Feb 9th 2010, 10:54
Proof if any was needed that when people combine to voice their apporoval or disapproval of actions take by people in power, people's power definitely works. Power is afraid of a united pople and that is why the constant ploys to divide and rule in all spheres of Maltese society. When people understand the pwoer they hold and shed their poltiical affiliations to fend for themsleves, that is real power that can face anyone. George Bonello Dupuis recently told the Times that there is no one greater than the Party. Forty years ago maybe and not even then. Now there is no one greater and more powerful than a united people. Populism rules OK?
N.Lawrence
Feb 9th 2010, 10:29
Police go back on decision to vet songs--------------
Hardly surprising, considering the public outrage and disgust at such a move.