The Institute of Maltese Journalists has joined international press associations and civil society groups in reminding the public of how essential the free press is to the maintaining the freedoms everyone took forgranted.
It reiterated that libel suits against independent media should only be used as a last resort and should never be used to silence and deter journalists from following a story. IGM said it remained concerned at the risk to the local press of SLAPP lawsuits filed in foreign jurisdictions and called on the authorities to provide the necessary guarantees against such threats.
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IGM appeals to all election candidates and political activists not to use, and to understand the dangers of anti-media rhetoric.
The media, it said, had an obligation to inform the public about the people asking to be their representatives on the local and European stage and for this to happen, the press had to be allowed to do their job without fear of repercussion.
IGM therefore joins the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in its campaign for safe and independent election coverage. “Elections represent a test of political commitment to democracy, when the impulse to manipulate media and control information is strongest among ruling parties and candidates running for office,” IFJ president Philippe Leruth said.
The IGM pointed out that, in recent years, journalists were repeatedly harassed or intimidated online, driven to a certain extent by a de-legitimisation of journalists and the press by those unwilling to open themselves up to the scrutiny required of them in their position.
Citizens could only form informed opinions if they had clear answers to pertinent questions, and information based on factual truth.
The institute also remembered slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed over a year-and-a-half ago, by someone who wanted to deprive the public of information, it said. It called on the authorities to do all in their power to bring all those responsible to justice as quickly as possible.
“As long as we remain in the dark about why Daphne was killed, we can never be truly free to do our work. Those who believed that killing a journalist was a viable way to cover up a story must be shown that they were mistaken,” the IGM said.