Good evening,
These are the main news as reported by the Maltese main news portals:
- The President of Malta said that ‘Free speech is not a free for all’.
- The Police board is expected to investigate excessive use of force when handling protesters
- A new health centre was inaugurated in Kirkop
- MPs within the Nationalist Party are critical of the leadership’s reluctance to assemble the entire parliamentary group for regular meeting
- Improving the lives of LGBTIQ people at schools, on the workplace and on the sports field, will be the next target for government action on equality.
“Free speech is not a free for all; free speech is the manifestation of sharing diverse views in a respectful way”, said the President, whilst adding that this can be achieved through education in general and media literacy in particular. “Social media should stand for a stronger democracy, and not to foment hatred” President Coleiro Preca said that social media presents a significant opportunity for the recovery of democratic life, providing opportunities for outreach, social networking and political engagement. The President was addressing the 14th Meeting of the non-executive European Union Presidents of the Arraiolos Group, currently being held in Latvia.
The Times reports that the Police Board is expected to investigate whether police officers used excessive force when handling a group of protestors on Thursday. Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia told the Times of Malta that the autonomous board, headed by Judge Franco Depasquale, was expected to look into whether officers had been violent when they dragged protesters out of the Planning Authority premises during a protest. The Prime Minister, earlier on said that he gave instructions so that the scenes witnessed yesterday won’t happen again. In comments given to the media on Friday morning, the Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat described the excessive force used by the Police on the activists protesting outside the Planning Authority on 13 September as “heavy handed”. One News, Newsbook, Lovin Malta
Net News reports that the Police Officers’ Union and the Malta Police Association declared their support to the police officers.
iNews reports that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and the Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne, inaugurated a new health centre in Kirkop. The project, worth €1 million, is expected to serve 28,000 people who live in the area of Kirkop, Qrendi, Zurrieq and other villages in the zone.
A convicted murderer awaiting trial for drug trafficking has claimed that his fundamental rights were breached when the Secret Service tapped phone calls he had made from prison. Charles Steven Muscat, known as “il-Pips”, had been, along with 18 others, accused with conspiracy to traffic drugs based on phone calls intercepted by the Maltese Secret Service. Muscat gained notoriety during the 1990s, eventually being sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in 1999 for a cocaine-fuelled double homicide. The Malta Independent
MPs within the Nationalist Party are critical of the leadership’s reluctance to assemble the entire parliamentary group for regular meetings, multiple frustrated PN parliamentarians told the Times of Malta. Sources within the parliamentary group also said the last formal meeting of PN MPs has taken place in June. The Times
Improving the lives of LGBTIQ people at schools, on the workplace and on the sports field, will be the next target for government action on equality. The strategy, which is the second of its kind, was approved by Cabinet and LGBTIQ activist Gabi Calleja has been tasked with the implementation of the action plan. Calleja said homophobia “is not the biggest challenge now” but “normalisation is”. “Malta’s second LGBTIQ strategy is another step forward to ensure normalisation,” she said. MaltaToday
