The Forum Żgħażagħ Laburisti wrote to the European People’s Party chairman Manfred Weber today to rebut claims that Malta’s democracy was under threat.

The FŻL was referring to a harshly-worded statement by Mr Weber last Friday who said Maltese democracy was under threat in the wake of criminal proceedings taken against Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi.

In their letter to Mr Weber, the FZL said Opposition leader  Simon Busuttil availed of the same criminal libel proceedings against the former President of the Labour Party in November 2000.

“We would also like to remind you that the Nationalist Party, which was in government for more than 25 years, has never put forward any legislative amendments to remove this procedure. It is also important to recall that that this criminal procedure was staunchly defended by Hon. Jason Azzoppardi, a couple of months ago.

“Dr.Azzopardi in Parliament said that he strongly believes that criminal libel remain in our criminal legislation and that this should be applicable to artists and writers when dealing with cases related to the vilification of religion.

“ Finally, we would also like to remind the EPP that Malta’s Constitution is strict seperates powers. It is a system whereby the Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary are totally seperate pillars within our democracy. Therfore, it would be greatly appreciated if you could please clarify what you believe is the “authoritarian rule” practiced by the Maltese Government.

“We strongly believe that the Government need not interfere with the Judiciary and should not stop a Maltese private citizen from pursuing his rights as a citizen in court. We also believe that Members of Parliament should not be immune or placed in privilaged positions over ordinary citizens in such cases,” they wrote.