Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando said today that his attempts to place adverts on divorce on the Nationalist Party newspaper had been turned down.

His comment was made during a heated exchange with a reporter of In-Nazzjon during a press conference when the reporter asked if the Divorce Movement's TV spots were produced on Super One.

Dr Pullicino Orlando said he had tried to place pro-divorce adverts on In-Nazzjon, but was turned down. But, he claimed, free adverts against divorce were being carried on the newspaper.

Labour MP Evarist Bartolo said the Divorce Movement spots were not produced at One. Should Net TV offer its facilities, the would use them like they used other people's. Most of the work on the Divorce Movement's work was being done in a private studio, although some technical work may have been done at One Productions.

Dr Pullicino Orlando and Mr  Bartolo, who were speaking at a press conference, said they would not reveal the name of the studio, adding that people associated with the movement, who worked voluntarily, were being victimised or bullied. Some were also threatened that they would lose their jobs. 

During the press conference Mr Bartolo condemned vandalism on a billboard of the anti-divorce group in Tarxien.

Mr Bartolo earlier in the press conference said the Divorce Movement has protested to the Electoral Commission that it is being given a very restricted possibility of monitoring the referendum process.

Mr Bartolo said that the movement's officials were only being allowed to monitor the counting of votes.

He said the movement was calling on the commission to allow its officials to monitor the whole process, including the sealing of ballot boxes, their transport, the polling and then the counting.

The Electoral Commission has to date argued that the Referenda Act only allowed monitoring access to representatives of the two political parties represented in Parliament. 

The Divorce Movement officials said this attitude was discriminatory.