President Myriam Spiteri Debono called for “prudence” to be exercised in the choice of words being spoken and said that the courts and judiciary need to be allowed to work in a serene atmosphere.

The statement was amended on Tuesday afternoon after the initial version contained several incongruences between the Maltese and English translations, as pointed out by The Malta Independent.

“The times our nation is living through at present calls for reticence and caution. Prudence has to be exercised in the choice of words spoken; emotions should not rule our heads. Such behaviour only serves to cloud the reasoning faculties,” the statement read.

“The exercise of prudence is of utmost importance; it is necessary that situations are given time to develop,” Spiteri Debono continued.

It is rare statement for the President’s office to comment on a matter of current affairs, but not unprecedented.

“Our laws provide remedies in those cases where individuals feel subjected to prejudice. This also includes instances where individuals consider they have been discriminated against, and deprived of their legitimate rights Legal remedies also exist if legal processes are in some way vitiated,” she wrote.

“The present situations essentially require that all institutions, but particularly the courts and the judiciary, can exercise their functions in a serene atmosphere,” the President said.

“A calm and serene atmosphere is beneficial to all parties involved, or somehow impacted,” she concluded.

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Earlier version

Lost in translation: President statement on current state of affairs quite confusing

 

In what appears to be a hidden suggestion not easily decipherable, President Myriam Spiteri Debono said Wednesday that legal remedies exist if legal processes are in some way vitiates.

The President’s office issued a statement – in both Maltese and English – which refers to the “times our nation is living through”, an obvious reference to the charges issued against former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat among others following the conclusion of the Vitals inquiry.

But there is some incongruence between the two versions issued by the Department of Information. The Maltese version of the statement uses the words “razan u kawtela” (which is translated into “restraint and caution”), while the English version of the official statement speaks of “resistance” (rather than “restraint”) and “caution”.

Prudence has to be exercised in the choice of words spoken; emotions should not rule our heads. Such behaviour only serves to cloud the reasoning faculties, the President said.

The exercise of prudence is of utmost importance; it is necessary that situations are given time to develop, she added.

The English version of the statement says that “our laws provide remedies in those cases where individuals feel injured and subjected to prejudice”. In the Maltese version, the word for “injured” is “ingurjat”, which when translated should be “insulted” (not “injured”)

This also includes instances where individuals consider they have been discriminated against, and deprived of their legitimate rights. Legal remedies also exist if legal processes are in some way vitiated, the statement said.

The present situations essentially require that all institutions, but particularly the courts and the judiciary, should be allowed to exercise their functions in a serene atmosphere.

 

“A calm and serene atmosphere is beneficial to all parties involved, or somehow involved”, the English version concluded. In the Maltese version, the statement referred to “dawn b’xi mod milquta” – which, when translated, should be “those somehow impacted” (not involved).