Shouting, claims and counterclaims rendered the annual general meeting of the Akkademja tal-Malti held yesterday week, a painful experience for those who attended and who wish the Maltese language and Akkademja well.

Previous to that meeting, there was the surprise and the continuing reverberations following the publication of the article “Bubble, bubble, is the Akkademja in trouble?” the previous Sunday.

All through that week, frantically, the members of the outgoing council worked hard, especially because of a letter sent in by Trevor Zahra, the Akkademja’s PRO, which mentioned my name in every sentence and consisted basically of a long list of what the outgoing council had done (something not questioned in my original article), rather than answer the points made in the article.

Mainly, the issue seems to be a deep divergence of opinion between the outgoing council and its immediate predecessor and with bad blood still present because of the way the previous council was attacked.

There was also the comic (at least it may have seemed so to onlookers) verbal onslaught hurled at a very bemused me, as I waited at the Bombi bus stop, by Olvin Vella, one of the outgoing council who was on a passing bus.

Anyway, yesterday week’s AGM took place at the Robert Samut Hall, on loan from the Ministry for Education, in the presence of the Minister himself.

Just before the meeting began, according to information relayed to this paper, Professor Manwel Mifsud distributed a letter to the members present (some 50 of the around 180 who could have attended) that compared my article, a photocopy of which was also given, to a letter that was sent to all members last January, saying that it came from some members of the previous council.

Prof. Mifsud told the members: “Look what a conspiracy we have to face before you cast your vote today” and asked members to give an adequate reply to “this Conspiracy of Lies”.

In his opening comments, Dr Louis Galea asked members to forget any differences between them and thanked the outgoing council. He also announced that the Akkademja now has a place where it can meet and presented the keys to the president.

It was remarked by some that some thanks should have also gone to the previous council that had worked so hard to get the place, and to Mario Azzopardi, who came up with the idea.

The meeting then continued with the reading of the minutes by the secretary. Questions about the minutes were then allowed. Prof. Mifsud asked many questions about what happened at the previous AGM, referring once again to the article in the paper, and claimed that the underlying aim of the article was to influence that day’s vote.

He also added statements that some of those present understood as attacks on the previous council, and also seemed to hint he knew who was the source of that article.

Rising, Dr Charles Briffa denied he had anything to do with the article (and this is the absolute truth, I had no contact with him at all). Dr Briffa also asked to comment about the minutes and referred to what the previous council had to go through both in and outside the council.

Prof. Mifsud here interrupted Dr Briffa.

When Dr Briffa resumed, he reiterated that the previous council had not been treated well as promises made were not kept. He said that what had previously been hidden has now been revealed: whatever others may say, it is now clear how the previous council was right and why there had been so much pressure to keep quiet while the Act of the Maltese Language was being passed through Parliament.

Prof. Mifsud interrupted again and claimed the January letter had been signed by some members of the previous council who never felt they should apologise to the members of the council.

Maurice Mifsud Bonnici was mentioned in this regard. Mr Mifsud Bonnici, who was present at the AGM rose to rebut this, as tempers grew quite frayed. He said the January letter had some incontrovertible truths in it. The previous council had been blamed because the authorities did not keep their promises.

Prof. Mifsud then started to distribute another letter to the members. This was a copy of a letter sent by Carmel Azzopardi, the Akkademja’s secretary in the previous council, to Dr Briffa, the president of that council. In this letter, Mr Azzopardi rebuts charges made against him as secretary regarding internal council matters that had been spread outside the council and, at the same time, announced his resignation as he was going to Brussels.

Once again, Prof. Mifsud urged members to be careful who they were about to vote for.

Other members, some of who were fed up by the way things had been handled so far, rose to speak and to protest.

Charlo Bonnici confirmed, in a diplomatic way, the promises that were made to the previous council. Mario Azzopardi added some clarifications regarding Doreen Micallef’s house in Valletta and how he had worked to get the Akkademja a place of its own.

After further procedural details and the president’s speech, the voting took place. Predictably, any hope that Dr Briffa may have had of being elected soon evaporated and Dr Marco Galea was elected president. The rest of the members elected were perceived to be more from one side of the two opposing fronts than of the other. An amendment to the statute, moved by Anton Agius Muscat on ‘The Maltese author today’ was passed.

The Akkademja now has its top level. One hopes that it will continue in the steps of the previous ones and work to the Maltese language.