The recently set up pro-divorce lobby group kicked off its campaign today with a press conference in parliamentary offices at the Palace.

Committee chairman Deborah Schembri insisted that this was not a matter of destroying families or instilling a divorce mentality.

"Families break down before they seek divorce. The law which we favour would recognise that a family would have been destroyed and give the parties an opportunity to start afresh," she said.

The group was formally constituted last week and is backing the divorce law proposed in Parliament by Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando.

Dr Schembri insisted that the new law would not affect those who were happily married but give a fresh opportunity to those whose marriage had failed.

She stressed that her movement was not objecting to the Church making its views heard, according to its beliefs, as long as no one denied anybody else his rights.

Divorce, she said, already existed for Maltese who were married abroad and the local courts recognised divorce decrees given abroad. Such a right should be extended to the Maltese in Malta.

The proposed law, she said, took into consideration the efforts made by the spouses to reconcile and also made provision for the care and maintenance of children.

AD chairman Michael Briguglio said divorce legislation would regulate the life of people whose marriage had irretrievable collapsed and they were starting a new life. He said a divorce law was a law in favour of the family since people who separated would be given a new chance to start afresh.

He said the rate of separations in Malta was not less than in other countries.

Former Nationalist minister Michael Falzon said the lack of divorce legislation meant many people were living in a legal limbo. The state had a duty to recognise coupples which had formed new families, he said. The right to happiness should not end when a marriage broke down, Mr Falzon argued.

Members of the committee said they would be using all forms of the media, notably the internet, and were setting up a facebook page.

Replying to questions, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando said he did not know when his Bill would be debated in Parliament. He said that it would appear that the Bill would start being debated on second reading, and possibly in committee, but before the (final) third reading was reached, a referendum would be held, and the progress of the Bill in Parliament would then follow according to the result.

Labour MP Evarist Bartolo said he hoped the majority would back divorce so that the needs and rights of the minority would not suffer. Mr Bartolo said his participation in the committee had the backing of partly leader Joseph Muscat.

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