David Darmanin
At a meeting held among five PN candidates for MEP and members of the Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) yesterday afternoon, incumbents Simon Busuttil and David Casa, and candidates Roberta Metsola Tedesco Triccas, Alan Deidun and Edward Demicoli all agreed to sign a petition endorsing formal recognition of same-sex couples, among other things.
The MGRM is now hoping that all PN candidates sign the petition, as seems to have been promised at yesterday’s meeting.
Until yesterday, the candidates who signed ILGA-Europe’s petition were AD candidates Arnold Cassola and Yvonne Ebejer-Arqueros, Liberal candidate John Zammit, and Labour candidates Sharon Ellul-Bonici, Claudette Abela-Baldacchino, Marlene Mizzi, and Joseph Cuschieri.
For the PN yesterday’s move marks a different direction in its campaign. According to the International Lesbian-Gay Association (ILGA-Europe), PN frontrunner Simon Busuttil has the worst track record on gay-friendly resolutions and reports in the European Parliament.
On seven items listed by ILGA on its website, Busuttil and Casa did not vote in favour of any of the resolutions and reports. Busuttil and Casa abstained on the Lynne report for a new anti-discrimination law to outlaw discrimination outside employment on access to goods and services on grounds of sexual orientation, amongst others.
Busuttil also abstained on the Buitenweg report calling for a law to enforce equal treatment between persons, irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, while Casa was not present for the vote.
In the petition, the MGRM is calling for stricter laws regarding homophobic and trans-phobic violence and bullying; legal protection against discrimination in the delivery of goods and services to homosexuals; an extension in the remit of the National Commission for Protection of Equality to cater for the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression; as well as the inclusion of gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapy for transgender persons as part of the public health services.
Speaking to MaltaToday, MGRM spokesperson Gabi Calleja described the meeting with PN candidates as “fruitful”.
“Although we disagree with the PN on same sex marriage and all the rights that go with it, there were other things we agreed upon,” she said. “We agreed, for example, that transsexuals should not have to go through gender reassignment surgery to change their documents.”
PN MEP Simon Busuttil said the PN will work to combat discrimination against people over their sexual orientation, but there were issues with which the party did not agree with the gay rights movement. Busuttil said the PN was not in favour of same-sex marriages and child adoptions by same-sex couples, but it was ready to discuss issues such as rights for same sex cohabiting couples.
Asked to comment on the PN’s voting patterns in the EP vis-à-vis gay rights, Calleja said that “the PN said that they voted against certain issues on gay rights because they disagreed with details in reports that were behind the vote itself, as these seemed to have carried an impact on family values and implications favouring divorce. Regardless, what we see is the vote – as this is what determines the final result.”
The MGRM has already met up with individual candidates from the PL camp – namely Sharon Ellul Bonici, Claudette Abela Baldacchino and Marlene Mizzi; as well as both Arnold Cassola and Yvonne Aqueiros Ebejer from AD.
Asked whether the MGRM has identified more with a specific party in the run up to the June 6 elections, Calleja said that “although the Socialist camp seems to defend gay rights more than others, it is not the actual party that matters for all we are concerned”.
“Our aim is to get as many candidates as possible to sign the pledge, and this what we are pushing for most,” she said.
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