Updated: Realta' contributor boycotts ceremony

Updated: - Adds Net TV reply - Alex Vella Gera, author of a story which raised a storm of controvery in the newspaper Ir-Realta’, has written to the organisers of the National Book Prize, saying he would boycott this evening’s award-giving ceremony.

He said he was protesting against the way he had been portrayed by certain sections of the media, such as Net television which had practically painted him and editor Mark Camilleri as promoting paedophilia. He did not feel comfortable being in the presence of the prime minister who, as PN leader, set that media’s policy.

Furthermore, Mr Gera said, he wondered how he could believe the claims that the obscenity laws would be updated to current realities when, concurrently, penalties were being increased.

How could he attend the ceremony as if nothing was happening?

NET TV REACTION

In a reaction, Nathaniel Attard, head of news services at Net Television, said he was surprised how somebody who was speaking out against censorship wanted Net TV to be censored.

He observed that no protest or court action had been made by Mr Vella Gera or Mr Camilleri against Net TV. The station, he said, had made no judgement on either of them or their writing and had simply reported the facts.