24 October 2011

Really liberal. Really moderate.

I wrote to the Partit Laburista asking for a right of reply to last Monday's Inkontri in which I was slandered and lied about throughout the entire programme.

Not only had I not been invited to Inkontri to defend myself but Joe Grima turned down 13 requests to call me during the programme to give me a chance to respond.

This is what I got from the Partit Laburista:

"Minkejja li ma għandekx raġun skont il-ligi u mingħajr ebda preġudizzju, qegħdin noffurlek li tibgħatilna dikjarazzjoni li tinqara waqt il-programm Inkontri ta’ nhar it-Tnejn li ġej.

Ngħarrfuk li din id-dikjarazzjoni ma għandhiex tiehu aktar minn 180 sekonda air time, skont il-ligi. Din id-dikjarazzjoni se tinqara waqt il-programm li jmiss.

Id-dikjarazzjoni trid tasal sa nofs-in-nhar ta’ nhar it-Tnejn 24 ta’ Ottubru 2011." 

So let me see if I get this straight. According to the Partit Laburista I do not have the legal right to reply to a staged two-hour long slanderfest against me. And it is only through the goodness of their heart that they are giving me 180 seconds to respond. 

In other words, the Partit Laburista, the government in waiting, believes that I do not have the right to speak, not even when I am being slandered.

Really moderate. Really liberal. 

Obviously, the matter will not rest here.

16 comments:

R said...

Assuming they are correct in their assertion that "ma għandekx raġun skont il-ligi" why are they then saying that you have "180 sekonda air time, skont il-ligi"?!?!

They are just a bunch of amateurs playing grown up games - at our peril!

NAVI said...

Twikkew bl-imbarazz tal-passat halli b'hekk jergghu "forsi" jerbhu voti antiki li ntilfu grazzi ghal-Alfred sant.

Dawn nies b'ideologiji antiki u antikwati....militanti inzid nghid.

Inhobb insostni dan:

Il-problema mhux li jghidu u jaghmlu dak kollu fuq is super one, imma li hawn nofs malta jemmnu u japprovaw dan kollu!!

Barbagann said...

Can someone tell them it's skond and not skont. Geeez at least they should have someone to check their spelling.

Anonymous said...

So, you don't have a right 'by law' but they concede 180 seconds because that is what the law gives right to.

It seems like they are trying to give you what is yours to pre-empt any further action but without accepting that you have a right to it.

Knickers in a twist and all that.

BondiBlog said...

@ Barbagan - I'm afraid that the spelling is correct, according to the most resent Maltese rule book.

Cikku said...

Joe GRIMA kien ministru meta f'pajjizna saru hnizrijiet kbar. Meta kien hawn theddieda ghad-deomkrazija. Meta l-item tal-Kap tal- Opozizzjono ta' dak iz-zmien Eddie Fenech Adami ma kienx jisemma fuq Xandir Malta.

Ilum Joe GRIMA irrid jaghtina lectures fuq I'd-demokrazija. Fuq kif ghandu jkun xandir hieles. Jekk Joe GRIMA konvinjentament nessa l- passat tieghu ahna ghadna niftakkruh.

Joe GRIMA has become a joke.

Darren Muscat said...

sa fejn naf jien, Skont = Discount, Skond has a totally different meaning Lou.

Peter Pan said...

@ Barbagann... recent decisions by Kunsill tal-Ilsien Malti state that "skond" is no longer valid.

ergo, both "discount" and "according", in Maltese are spelt "skont".

spirit said...

In my opinion these political dinosaurs should make way and forget the pre 87 era. On the other hand we have the young ones that they are behaving just the same as the dinosaurs. The problem is that they are putting too much their influence in this "new" PL.They want to appear as moderate and progressive with people like Karmenu Vella, Alex Sciberas Trigona and Joe Grima...yeah right lets move on we change skin but the core remains the same.
Saying this does not mean that the PL cannot do better than the PN as the PN has it bad apples just the same.

Going back to Inkontri it was barbaric but that does not mean that Bondi+ is not biased towards the PN. The reason is that Lou you are biased towards PN,this reflects on the program you did about Libya.
I am not making accusations but reflections on the way you treated Tonio Fenech and then if I am not wrong Karmenu Vella.
You ask the PN what they are doing but you ask the PL what they are not doing......

adamus said...

The PN must issue a directive to its MPs that if the panel on a program on One TV is not balanced, that is 50/50, then they should not take part, and if necessary leave the studio as the program starts.

Anonymous said...

Biddel il-host Bondi, għax taqla' l-fwied biex taqra paġna u titlef il-gost tal-kontenut.

Minħabba Sajrus ħa jkolli nevita li ngħaddilek kompliment u minflok ngħidlek "Terħilhomx", u huma j'Alla jkomplu sejrin kif inhuma sejrin ... dritt ġol-ħajt bil-gass mal-pjanċa.

Richard Borg said...

7th November - will you be on Inkontri? You can set the records straight....

Matt said...

When you usually have a right of reply how long does it take to read it usually?

BondiBlog said...

@ Matt - the law says that under "normal" circumstances the maximum is 180 seconds. But a programme which discussed me incessantly for hours without me being there is not "normal".

Anonymous said...

In maltese we have a saying,HANZIR TAQTALU DENBU HANZIR JIBQA.These people never learn and its a pity that todays youngsters who are voting for the first time do not know the history of these people.Under PN the 18-20year olds live a life where they have the liberty to protest against the goverment without ending with a black eye or at police headquarters,apart from other things that we 50year old never managed to enjoy because EVERYTHING was controlled.HALLINA GRIMA and CO.

Antoine Vella said...

@ Spirit: "You ask the PN what they are doing but you ask the PL what they are not doing......"

That's because the PN are doing and the PL are not doing.