Annemarie Calleja, Law student and Lead participant
Today we are celebrating Freedom Day. However, there could have been no Freedom Day without Independence Day and no Independence Day without the events that took place on the day that is known as Sette Giugno.
It is true that having five national days can seem as too much. Especially in a country where there are also quite a number of other public holidays mainly due to religious traditions. In fact, it is not the first time we have read or heard about employers suggesting that we have too many leave and off days and that this can hinder productivity within the country. The economic success of our country is proving this argument wrong. However, this should not be the reasoning when answering the above question.
There are those who argue that one day this country should be mature enough to choose the national day while commemorating all other events with dignity and pride. Nevertheless, this day might not be in sight just yet.
As every person, with some background on the history of our country, knows the road to Independence was not free from the polarised debate that this country was and is still used to. Former prime ministers Dom Mintoff and George Borg Olivier had a different vision of what an independent constitution should look like and so did their supporters. This led to a situation where Labour Party supporters did not feel part of the 1964 Independence and persons who lived those times and supported Mintoff believed that true independence was acquired on Freedom Day, which also followed the important Republic Constitution. Republic Day was another milestone: although there was a broader consensus about it, it was opposed by former Prime Minister Borg Olivier and his closest collaborators.
Choosing one event over another could lead to unnecessary and undesirable social tension
This means that choosing one event over another could lead to unnecessary and undesirable social tension. One might argue that we can choose another day. True. But those who advocate for one of these events of recent history are not to be blamed.
I must note that during the past decade we have seen a great effort by the Prime Minister to pass a message that all these five national days are Tagħna Lkoll. We have seen him paying tribute to Independence Day as Opposition leader and inviting the Opposition leader to join him in the official celebrations of these national days.
Those who followed his speeches throughout these past years also know that he pays tribute to former Nationalist prime minister George Borg Olivier as much as he pays tribute to former prime minister from the Labour Party Dom Mintoff. It was Joseph Muscat who came out with the term that these national days are “aħwa”.
If the country feels the need to choose one national day this debate can be held within the discussion that the government is proposing on a new Constitution. As the Prime Minister stated when the Labour Party commemorated Freedom Day a few days ago, this must be a constitution built on the need of a unified country. Our institutions must be strengthened and modernised but must also reflect this need for unity and so the choice of a national day or national days.
I am in favour of a discussion regarding the issue, however at this stage my argument to those claiming that “we have too many national days” is that by removing these dates from our calendar, we would be losing an opportunity to reflect on all the hard work and progress that was created with so much passion towards our country. A vision created by a previous generation, for us.
Francis Zammit Dimech, Nationalist MEP
The first observation that needs to be made is that Malta does not have a national day. In virtue of the National Holidays and Other Public Holidays Act (Chapter 252) of the Laws of Malta, Malta has five national holidays but not one national day.
That law largely reflects one of the major reconciliation moves that former Nationalist prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami had made through Act VIII of 1989, amending the law as existing before that date.
Before 1989, Malta kept changing its National Day. For some time the Labour Party in Opposition had supported Malta’s Independence Day as the country’s national day, but when in power had not only chosen not to celebrate Independence Day as a national day but not even allow that day to be celebrated as a national holiday. Moreover, when the Nationalist Party would still organise events to celebrate our country’s birthday and gaining of full sovereignty, persons celebrating would be subjected to violent and repressive acts. My own baptism of blood within the Nationalist fold dates back to 1974 when I was beaten up for delivering a speech about the cultural significance of Independence.
Our country needs to honour its own birthday – September 21, 1964
When Labour was elected in 1971, it began by opting to change our national day to September 8 (Victory Day) – purely out of spite – and then after 1974, opted to proclaim December 13 (Republic Day) as the new national day, changing later to March 31 (Freedom Day). While in office, Labour went through four changes of national day.
The 1980 law retained a reference to Republic Day as national holiday but completely ignored Sette Giugno (June 7), Victory Day and Independence Day (September 21).
Fenech Adami opted for a totally different approach. He gave equal importance to March 31, June 7, September 8, September 21, and December 13. In the original Bill, Independence Day was indicated as the National Day while the other days were proclaimed as national holidays. Then in Parliament, Fenech Adami went a step further and removed any reference to any one day being referred to as the national day and equated all days as national holidays.
That is how the law still stands now.
I would like to think that we have since then matured enough politically to reach consensus over one national day – which we don’t have (!) and proclaim other days of relevance as national holidays.
In any country that respects its history, the choice should pertain to that country’s date of birth. That is when we became a sovereign country that could whenever it so desired change its status into that of a Republic, equally to change and then terminate any mutual defence agreement or rental of space for presence by British Forces in Malta, and later still to become a member of the European Union. None of these achievements could be secured without gaining sovereignty in the first place.
Just as every individual would first and foremost cherish his birthday before celebrating other achievements that he or she would make later on in life, our country needs to honour its own birthday – September 21, 1964.
That would be the obvious choice for our national day. Having said that it would be a futile point to make if we cannot achieve political consensus and, in that respect, we need to be open to a politically mature and evolved discussion about the issue, possibly within the context of other discussions that should serve to strengthen our country’s democratic and good governance institutions.
If you would like to put any questions to the two parties in Parliament send an e-mail marked clearly Question Time to editor@tiresomely.com.