Front Against Censorship requests meetings with leaders

The Front Against Censorship is appealing to the Prime Minister and other political leaders to have direct talks with it so it can explain the censorship reforms it is demanding.

It also wishes to clarify whether the respective parties are willing to implement these changes in the first place.

The Front presented proposals to the MPs yesterday evening as they entered Parliament. It wants abolish or change outdated laws, acts and boards which it thinks are standing in the way of freedom of expression.

It said the fact censorship prevailed in 21st century Malta was "highly unacceptable and offensive" by EU standards and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Consequently, it wanted "eradication of the censorship regime" in a bid to abide by one core European value - freedom of expression.

Among the proposals, the Front would like to see the Classification Board for theatre performances and film abolished and a set of criteria established for self-classification, which would be updated periodically.

It also wants to decriminalise the possession, distribution and production of pornography, as long it does not in any way involve exploitation of children or adults.

Other proposals included removing articles from Malta's Criminal Code, such as Article 163, which dates back to 1933 and says individuals cannot vilify the Roman Catholic religion or those who preach it in any way.

Last year saw numerous instances of censorship, such as individuals prosecuted for dressing up in church vestments at Gozo's Nadur carnival and a ban on the theatrical play Stitching, by Scottish author Anthony Nielsen.

Arguably the most notorious example was student editor Mark Camilleri and author Alex Vella Gera being arraigned in court over the story Li Tkisser Sewwi, which was published in student newspaper Ir-Realta'. The story is a fictional first person account of a rampantly sexual man and his objectification of women.