Monday’s editorial fell into the rut of rights and integration.

Before considering the possibility of giving migrants the vote, the two major parties must draw up a national manifesto of what constitutes a Maltese citizen. Any new citizen must bind himself to honour and respect Maltese traditions and cultures. Malta has an excellent history of religious tolerance but we are now facing the danger of having extremists who do not want to accept western culture.

The main obstacle to integration is not fear per se. I differ from the opinion expressed in the editorial that the authorities need to educate the Maltese. Primarily they need to educate the migrants into western culture. It is a fact that some have a very long way to go before accepting modern democracy and civilisation.

Integration does not mean that the Maltese people should succumb to strange customs but that the foreigner will accept and integrate into modern living.

Before giving any voting rights, we must make sure that our Constitution is foolproof and cannot be changed by any concentrated group. We must ensure that all those who live in Malta, irrespective of their background or religion, enjoy full human rights.

Without these guarantees, we shall be facing grave problems.

It is the migrants who must accept integration and, to do that, they will have to study and then assimilate what it means to live in the western world and why certain cultures are no longer applicable in the 21st century.