The Department of Information issued a press release. It communicated urgent important information - Minister Evarist Bartolo had a telephone conversation with US Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried.
The Maltese DOI bragged that Donfried expressed her appreciation for the Maltese government’s efforts relating to the FATF greylisting. They boasted that US Assistant Secretary of State lauded the government’s strengthening of the freedom of the press.
The US department of state website made absolutely no reference to either Evarist Bartolo or to his phone call - far less to Donfried’s praise for Labour’s “strengthening of freedom of the press”. A US embassy spokesperson commented: “we encourage the government to continue its pursuit of avenues to protect independent journalists” and “the US embassy works with local partners to prevent disinformation”. Labour did not strengthen freedom of the press at all. Quite the opposite.
Malta under Labour holds the record for the most precipitous descent in World Press Freedom Index of any other country in the world. In 2013, Reporters without Borders ranked Malta a creditable 45th out of 180 countries in press freedom. By 2018, the year after Labour’s second victory Malta plummeted to 65th. In 2019 it was 77th. Malta now wallows in 81st place.
Malta ranks below Burkina Faso, Botswana, Senegal, Belize, Niger, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Panama. Even Kyrgyzstan, where human rights defender Azimjon Askarov died in custody, after 10 years imprisonment on politically motivated charges, is ranked higher. In a few short Labour years, Malta has gone from 45th to 81st. But Evarist Bartolo brags that his government has been lauded for strengthening freedom of the press.
The US State department cannot be part of Evarist Bartolo’s mythical deceit. Just two days earlier the Prime minister himself vilified journalists accusing them of lying, conspiring with his adversaries and of publishing “disgusting” reports. He maligned the editor of Malta’s leading newspaper and refused to answer questions.
The following day l-Orizzont editor Victor Vella was suspended for publishing stories about social injustice and the rising cost of living and for embarrassing Labour. Minister Clayton Bartolo mocked a journalist who asked how much David Walliams was paid for presenting the Malta Film awards. The Minister retorted by asking the journalist how much tax Bernard Grech paid and failed to reply. Minister Ian Borg ridiculed journalists by asking them to put their cameras in selfie mode.
No wonder Malta’s press freedom is in such an appalling state. Labour’s cabinet, led by Robert Abela, heaps scorn and humiliation on journalists at every opportunity. It denies them access to timely accurate information. Not only has government failed to implement the Caruana Galizia inquiry recommendations to protect journalists but Labour is leading the assault on the press.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) commented recently that Malta’s press freedom climate remains a cause for concern. “A political system that continues to muzzle press freedom has continued to present obstacles to public interest reporting as well as a threat to journalists’ ability to do their job safely” its 2021 Malta report concluded. It lamented the “stifling of public debate in an environment where propaganda dominates the news” and condemned “the opaque and inequitable allocation of state funds to select independent media”.
One of the owners of that “select independent media”, Saviour Balzan received over 1 million euro in government contracts under Labour. Multiple FOI requests about Balzan’s payments were turned down, The Data commissioner ruled that the information must be provided. 29 different government entities appealed the Data Commissioner’s decision to make sure the “opaque and inequitable” state fund allocation to Balzan remains secret. Cynically Robert Abela appointed Balzan on the Committee of Experts on journalism and the media sector.
Abela conned the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) after meeting them on 15 October 2021. The CPJ conducted its mission to raise concerns about the press freedom climate in Malta with Abela himself. Abela “reaffirmed his commitment to remain in dialogue and consultation with civil society and journalists on the ongoing reforms”. Instead Abela excluded civil society completely.
The Journalists’ Committee emphasised the importance of the full independence of the Experts commission to ensure that the terms of reference met international standards. Instead Abela appointed Saviour Balzan, the founder and co-owner of Maltatoday and the compliant presenter of Xtra on which Robert Abela was allowed one hour of unchallenged propaganda - in the comfort of his own office in Castille.
The CPJ pressed Abela for broader press freedom reforms to recognise journalism as the 4th pillar of democracy. Abela refused. No reference to journalism as the fourth pillar of democracy was made in the terms of reference.
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic also visited Malta in October 2021. In the final report, Mijatovic condemned the political attitude towards journalists as “openly hostile and derogatory”. She commented that “journalists continue to face harassment and investigative journalists are dismissed as hate figures and are regularly targeted by retaliatory hate speech, threats and lawsuits”. Mijatovic also pushed the government to “effectively engage civil society in this process and ensure accountability and transparency at all stages”. Robert Abela did the opposite.
“The commission calls on authorities at the highest political level to take a robust public stance against attacks on journalists and refrain from any conduct that encourages hate speech against them”. Instead Robert Abela launched a public tongue-lashing of a journalist and an invective-laden diatribe against his editor.
When Abela appointed the Committee of Experts, the European Federation of journalists appealed to the government to strengthen media freedom. “We have been concerned by a lack of transparent consultation with civil society and key stakeholders”. Robert Abela arrogantly refused their offer of technical assistance.
No surprise. For a government that perceives truth as its biggest threat, journalists are the worst enemy. With the spotlight shining intensely on Malta, Robert Abela still publicly berates and maligns journalists. Only when Labour is removed can freedom of the press recover.