I find it hard to believe that in 2009, our country is still suffering from bouts of theocratic nonsense. All the hype caused by the now infamous “Nadur Carnival Case” highlights the contradictions and hypocrisies of this nation.

On one hand we have the ecclesiastical authorities going on a trip back to the Middle Ages, and back to the “jolly” old days of the inquisition, when freedom of expression was not considered as one of the most basic rights, and on the other hand we have the police force deciding to waste the taxpayers money on a case as ridiculous as the lap dancers’ case.

Any vestige of respect I could have possibly had for both the ecclesiastical authorities and for the police force is definitely “gone with the wind”!

It is indeed a contradiction that a country notorious for its lack of enforcement, especially on issues far more serious than this, decides to take act on such a petty, ridiculous and irrelevant issue, and to boot after being “ordered” to do so by the religious authorities.

It is indeed serious that the ecclesiastical authorities manage to coerce the civil authorities into obeying their ridiculous dictates. And then we have all the right-wing cronies kicking up a fuss about the Shariah law in Islamic states. It is indeed a sad day for all those who believe in the separation of Church and state.

I thought that this joke was very much in bad taste but as Voltaire put it, “I will die for their right to express themselves in such a way”. This principle should prevail over any other religious or non-religious value and if it is not so then we are in trouble.

Let this be a wake up call!

Finally, I would like to urge all those people who hold high the right of freedom of expression and the principle of separation of church and state to take this case to the European Court of Justice. I am sure that the latter will teach Malta a lesson in Liberal Democracy.

Mark Scerri

Attard