The Journalists’ Committee has put forward its proposals to political parties in separate intensive meetings it held with the PN, MLP and AD.
In the meetings, the different leaderships of the three parties agreed with the majority of the 12 concrete proposals aimed at increasing the country’s transparency, accountability and democratic credentials which should have come as a natural consequence of EU membership.
First on the Committee’s priorities is the legislation for a Freedom of Information Act, the process of which was stalled following discussions and the publication of a White Paper.
Accompanying such an important piece of legislation that would empower citizens into getting the information they require from all aspects of government, the Committee reiterates its call for a Whistleblower’s Act that would protect conscientious citizens who report corruption or maladministration in government.
The Committee is also insisting on a radical revision of libel laws so that private citizens are better protected, while public figures would have to make a stronger case for their suits to be heard.
The call comes as public figures and politicians keep resorting to libel laws in their bid to silence the media from keeping them under scrutiny.
Another pressing request is the opening of detention centres and prisons to the media amid conflicting reports about the situation within these closed places.
Despite a petition from all media houses presented two years ago to the government and European Commissioner Franco Frattini, the government is still imposing a media ban on these places of detention despite the public need for information.
The Committee is also extremely worried about the state of public broadcasting, where the national broadcaster has been stripped of its ethos for commercial imperatives. In its proposals, the committee argues that the broadcasting policy has to be rewritten so that the editorial board’s remit is clearly defined.
PBS should no longer fall under two distinct ministries, which has created problems trickling down to the editorial board and the board of directors. Instead, the ministry for culture or education should become solely responsible for the national stations.
As regards the Broadcasting Authority board, the Committee believes this should be expanded to reflect civil society and minorities and stop being the exclusive monopoly of the two main parties, in direct contradiction with their claims of pluralism.
The committee also agrees with the proposals to have a parliamentary committee to scrutinise public appointments before they are made, submitting candidates for such posts to public sessions in which they declare their interests and answer questions in the public interest.
The committee is also calling for a radical overhaul of the police Community and Media Relations Unit, which, thanks to the Police Commissioner’s total centralisation of the information flow, has been rendered useless and inefficient.
Meanwhile the Journalists’ Committee will be holding its Annual General Meeting on Monday 11 February at the Radisson SAS Resort, St Julians, at 7.30pm
Data Protection Commissioner Paul Mifsud Cremona will speak about Freedom of Information, followed by a Question and Answer session that will be open to the public.