Leading Maltese authors have signed a statement to express regret about censorship and what they called “the institutionalised curbing of free expression” in Malta.

In the statement, they said that, as authors, they cannot accept the implications that some power takes it upon itself to filter and decide on what can or cannot be read.

In European Malta of the twenty first century, they continued, expression should be free. Acts of censorship cast serious doubts on the respect of the fundamental rights and freedoms safeguarded by the Constitution.

The statement underlined the important roles played by writers in all societies. They insist on the need that urgent problems like freedom of expression and the status of artists in Malta be put at the forefront of the national agenda; that antiquated laws that can in some way hinder this freedom, be emended with immediate effect, and any prosecution by the police related to these antiqueated laws be stopped, also with immediate effect.

In the statement, the authors do not object to a classification system intended as a guide for the people about levels of adult content in the different arts, but they object with all possible might to that censorship that insults the intelligence and the freedom of the Maltese people.

The authors who signed the statement are John Aquilina, Clare Azzopardi , Mario Azzopardi, Simon Bartolo, Norbert Bugeja, Mark Camilleri, Charles Casha, Antoine Cassar, Charles Colerio, Noel Fabri, Lino Farrugia, Charles Flores, Francis Galea, Sergio Grech, Maria Grech Ganado, Adrian Grima, Simone Inguanez, Gorġ Peresso, Ray Mahoney, Ġorġ Mallia, Albert Marshall, Immnuel Mifsud, Kevin Saliba, Andrew Sciberras, Karl Schembri, Loranne Vella, Vince Vella, Alex Vella Gera and Trevor Żahra.

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