The Ministry of Education insists that the decision to amend the Maltese Language Council was reached after 'wide consultation with the public.' In a statement published this morning following the press conference by the Council which called on the Minister to scrap the amendments proposed, Evarist Bartolo reacted by saying that these changes are needed so that more qualified people are included in the policies related to the Maltese language.

He insists that contrary to what the Council is saying, the amendments will strengthen, not weaken the council.

The amendments proposed will be increasing the number of council members from 11 to 13, bringing the majority of the council made up of representatives, instead of academics.

The Ministry is saying that those introduced in the council will be "qualified in Maltese." However, when speaking to The Malta Independent in a conference held yesterday, Olvin Vella from the Akkademja tal-Malti, said that the Minister wants to introduce 'language Taliban who are detached from reality.'

"The council sometimes failed to reach the public's expectations. This debate shows the wide interest of the public in the Maltese language," the statement concluded.

In an interview with this newspaper, Olvin Vella had explained that this decision did not come after consultation, but the council heard about the changes through the media. The Council is concerned that this change will weaken the council as the academics, meaning those who have always worked in the Maltese language, will be in a minority.

PN reacts

The Nationalist Party said that it is quite surprising to see that despite interviews in the media and press conferences calling on the government not to put forward the amendments in the Maltese Language Council, the Minister still states that there was adequate public consultation.

In a statement, the PN said that the Opposition will be the voice for the Maltese language organisations at committee stage in Parliament.

“It is also very surprising to see that the document which announced the changes had no less than 28 elementary spelling mistakes in just three pages.”

The Opposition had expressed its agreements on certain changes such as the widening of the representation in the council.  “All of this conforms to the politics of the Nationalist Party to protect those who are being ignored by the government.”

The statement was signed by George Pullicino, Karl Gauder and Therese Commodini Cachia.