In your contribution “Bubble, bubble, is the Akkademja tal-Malti in trouble?” (TMIS, 18 September), you stated that in the 2002 elections of the said society I “was offered the post of vice-president, but shied away”.

This assertion had previously been made in an unsigned letter, which all members of the Akkademja received some months ago. I did not reply because it was unsigned. Moreover, members who were present for the elections know that (1) I did not shy away, (2) an election was actually held for the vice-presidency, and (3) though I was not elected I obtained a good number of votes.

As editor of the newspaper and author of this article you were duty-bound to check your facts to avoid tarnishing the public image of the people involved. If the secretary of the Akkademja were to publish the minutes of the 2002 elections, the public would know the results of the said elections. In the absence of such within a fortnight from the publication of my letter, it can only be concluded that, for unknown reasons, you have been misinformed, as have your readers.

It is well-known that I never shy away from work and responsibility. Three examples should suffice: due to my initiative in the 1990s, the way was paved for a rapprochement between disagreeing factions of the Akkademja; I helped give new life to the Bord tal-Malti process in moving on with its agenda, which eventually led to the publication of the report Strategija ghal-Lingwa Nazzjonali (May 2001); recently, I was asked to stand for the forthcoming elections of the Akkademja (to be held on 24 September 2005), but I declined the offer as I had already accepted various cultural commitments in Malta and abroad.

Gorg Mifsud-Chircop

University of Malta