Author: Jacques René Zammit

Categories
Constitutional Development Values

The Justice Dispensers

justice_akkuza

The Supreme Court building in New York sports a quote spread along its facade. Attributed to George Washington it states “The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government”. There are many other quips in similar vein that can be formed into a digest of civic education necessary to form a Havel-inspired backbone of society. “We are servants of the law so we may be free”, “everybody is equal in the eyes of the law” and “justice must not only be done but also seen to be done” are but a tiny sampler of a hypothetical dispenser of sayings related to the role of justice in forming a strong backbone of society.

The onset of relativism in Malta, poisoned as it was with strong doses of populism and twisting of truths in order to benefit whatever half of the population was being courted, has had a devastating effect on our concept of administration of justice and its dispensation. The institutional (constitutional) set up intended to be a fine machinery with which laws would be discussed, promulgated and implemented has been the main victim of the spread of the malaise of relativism and once the mother of all populist and relativist movements plonked itself in the seat of “power” the inevitable happened.

It began slowly. The “fairness” of justice was (rightly) made a subject of debate. Nothing wrong there, especially since society has a way of revising its concept of justice and mores on a regular basis. The problem begins when the proper channels for the revision of laws and finally the dispensation of justice are bypassed in the name of some relativist concept of fairness that operates plainly outside the codebook. There is no legal certainty, no legitimate expectation – simply an unpredictable machine churning out populist edicts as becomes the popular call of the moment. The erosion happens quick and fast by eradicating any concept of merit, of just deserts and introducing a volatile idea of “fairness” (at least perceived).

This is a society that will now reward failures (repeaters at University will still receive their stipend). This is a government that, without any legal foundation, decides to create a blanket amnesty to 1,500 persons who are blatantly accomplices in the crime of theft of public property. The example this sets is an abomination to any aspirations of a just society. The transparent reasoning behind it all – notwithstanding all the faffle from the respective Ministers and PM – is that most of these people would form part of the disgruntled who complained about the price of electricity. Those disgruntled had thrown their weight behind the current government – no wonder they suddenly find a reprieve whisked out of thin air.

Under this government though we have been told that if you consider a tax or a cost to be unfair then you are perfectly within your rights to try and avoid paying it. Committing a crime to do so is perfectly kosher – this is thegovernment that supposedly rewards Robin Hoods. There is no sense in all this other than the distortion of justice for political mileage.

“We cannot expect people to have respect for law and order until we teach respect to those we have entrusted to enforce those laws.” – Hunter S. Thompson.

Categories
Arts

Culture and politics (more Havel)

vaclav_akkuza

In this part of an essay entitled “Politics, Morality and Civility”, Havel concentrates on an important aspect in the development of citizenship. It is evident that Havel’s ideal state involves a cultured citizenship – what he calls “civility” in the wider sense of the world. The fundamentals of a state lie in the building and molding of individuals – upon civility is his future republic based.

From my political ideals, it should be clear enough that what I would like to accentuate in every possible way in my practice of politics is culture. Culture in the widest possible sense of the world, including everything from what might be called the culture of everyday life – or “civility” – to what we know as high culture, including the arts and sciences.

I don’t mean that the state should heavily subsidize culture as a particular area of human endeavour, nor do I at all share the indignant fear of many artists that the period we are going through now is ruining culture and will eventually destroy it. Most of our artists have, unwittingly, grown accustomed to the unending generosity of the socialist state. It subsidised a number of cultural institutions and offices, heedless of whether a film cost one million or ten million crowns, or whether anyone ever went to see it.

It didn’t matter how many idle actors the theatres had on their payrolls; the main thing was that everyone was on one, and thus on the take. The Communist state knew, better than the Czech-Californian philosopher, where the greatest danger to it lay: in the realm of the intellect and the spirit. It knew who first had to be pacified through irrational largesse. That the state was less and less successful at doing so is another matter which merely confirms how right it was to be afraid; for, despite all the bribes and prizes and titles thrown their way, the artists were among the first to rebel.

This nostalgic complaint by artists who fondly remember their “social security” under socialism therefore leaves me unmoved. Culture must, in part at least, learn how to make its own way.

Categories
Citizenship Mediawatch Politics

I will, in short, dream for a while

vaclav_akkuzaBack in 1992, Vaclav Havel was the President of a reborn Czechoslovakia. The fall of the Wall and the crumbling of the Iron Curtain was still fresh in recent memory and Havel’s new republic was making its way towards the ideal of “Western Democracy”. Fukuyama might be standing round the corner proclaiming the end of history but for the Czechoslovak playwright and poet President the future was full of hope. In the summer of 1992, Havel wrote a series of essays published in a book called “Summer Meditations”. In “Beyond the Shock of Freedom” he tries to imagine what Czechoslovakia would be like in the future (ten, fifteen, or twenty years). Though he admits that “life is unfathomable” he does try to dream for a while.

It’s not Martin Luther King’s dream. In many ways it is much more down to earth. What we read is a President who hopes to shepherd his newborn Western nation to working the basic tenets of what was understood to be the workings of a western liberal democracy. This was, remember, around the same time as the second mandate of Fenech Adami’s reworking of the Maltese republic – from Work, Justice and Liberty we had segued onto “Solidarity… always… everywhere”. Solidarity was a page lifted straight from the rebirth of another former Iron curtain nation – Walesa’s Poland. It was the call for change that was answered and that began to break away at the shackles of totalitarian hypocrisy.

But back to Havel’s dream. It remains relevant today – and not just for Czechoslovakia (the split into the Czech and Slovak republics occurred a little while after Havel published his thoughts). I find Havel’s hopes for the citizenry particularly telling. What he describes as ‘the shock of freedom’ has impacted the way citizens think and he hopes for an evolution in their attitude. The civic responsibility that he evokes involves confidence and pride – leading citizens to feel comfortable with their own country. Here is an extract from the opening lines of his essay with my emphasis added.

In the first place, I hope the atmosphere of our lives will change. The shock of freedom, expressed through frustration, paralysis and spite, will have gradually dissipated from society. Citizens will be more confident and proud, and will share a feeling of co-responsibility for public affairs.They will believe that it makes sense to live in this country.

Political life will have become more harmonious. We will have two large parties with their own traditions, their own intellectual potential, clear programs, and their own grass-roots support. They will be led by a new generation of young, well-educated politicians whose outlook has not been distorted by the era of totalitarianism. And of course there will be several smaller parties as well.

Our constitutional and political system will have been created and tested. It will have a set of established gentlemanly, unbendable rules. The legislative bodies will work calmly, with deliberation and objectivity. The executive branch of government and the civil service will be inconspicuous and efficient. The judiciary will be independent and will enjoy popular trust, and there will be an ample supply of new judges. […] A well-functioning, courteous police force wioll enjoy the respect of the population, and thanks to it – not only to it – there will no longer be anything like the high crime rate there is now.

At the head of the state will be a grey-haired professor with the charm of a Richard von Weizsacker.

We will, in short, be a stable Central Europen democracy that has found its identity and learned to live with itself.

Categories
Hunting Mediawatch

A history of violence and animals

violence_akkuzaThe works of a psychopath in Mosta (whether direct or through a hired hand) have tickled the curiosity of the Maltese public. It does not take much for anything to get onto the media these days (as I discovered to my chagrin thanks to a what I thought would be an innocuous Eurovisionjoke involving Gary Barlow) but the “Mosta Cat Killer” has qualified for permanent stardom. Let’s face it, the case of dead cats and dogs hanging from crucifixes is destined to be spoken of for many years to come – there will probably be a Xarabank programme about it on the 16th anniversary complete with a live performance from the musical “Cats”.

In a tiny island that still gets its occasional murder or two as well as multiple cases of theft one cannot but wonder whether the sensationalism behind what in many other nations would be a village freak crime is over-hyped – and consequently whether too many resources are being dedicated to the matter. I googled “cat killer” and “serial cat killer” – because that is the thing you do these days – and was surprised to discover several cases reported in the UK and US. Admittedly there is not the Dan Brown addition of gory crucifixes linked to statues of saints but there was a sense of relief to be had in the idea that cat murderers are not confined to the isle of milk and honey.

Having said that the fascination with the whole idea of having Malta’s own serial killer (albeit of the feline and canine victim kind) persists and as the 16th of the month approaches (although I am told by Cat Killer aficionados it won’t be the 16th because it’s February – go figure) the hype is destined to build up again. Is this another case of the obscene voyeurism that the 21st century has thrown in our collective faces? Elsewhere Raphael Vassallo has concluded that the Danish Zoo’s putting down of perfectly healthy giraffe Marius was made public in order to take advantage of the gory fancies the general public might have. This was no “mercy killing”, it was “panem et circenses” all over again.

The moral vagaries of such issues are hard to catch up with. On the one hand there is a huge gap between this society and the one I grew up in – aiding my grandma to skin a rabbit that she had just killed not so mercifully with a deft chop to the neck. The empathy for the dead cats and dogs in the Mosta Killer case must surely be put into perspective. As far as I know nobody has walked up to the police in tears claiming that their pet cat or dog has been killed. These are “wild” cats and dogs. Which does not make killing them any nicer but does point out to some kind of conscientious choice by the perpetrator. Let’s face it, he could be kidnapping and killing your moggies and pooches but he is not. He is just intent on making whatever twisted point he has to make to society in general.

In the UK they often license the culling of squirrels – the overpopulation is harmful to the greater balance in nature. In Malta we now have quotas for hunting – whether they are respected is another story – but wild cats and dogs run freely and dangerously in villages and the countryside. Is this Mosta Killer Malta’s weird and unorthodox way of coping with this overabundance of stray cats and dogs? Of course not. Forgive me for thinking so though, especially since when last I checked the public reaction to the problems with dog shelters and cat shelters was not half as enthusiastic as the ogling and curiosity that surrounds the Mosta Cat Killer.

“Some werewolves are hairy on the inside” – Stephen King.

 

Categories
Arts

Tous à poils (the naked truth)

nude_akkuza

Jean-François Copé, president of France’s UMP party, is currently in the news for his attack on a book that he claims is being suggested for the official primary school reading list. Entitled “Tous à poil” (Everybody naked), this book reminds me of another great bestseller among young kids nowadays (Everyone poops). Part of a wider range of books entitled “For the equality between boys and girls: 100 youth albums”, the books’ aim is to break down the stereotype of differences between boys and girls and stresses the normality of nudity.

The baby-sitter is naked, the teacher is naked, the president is naked… Copé showed his indignation and asked whether it was not time for Paris (read the establishment) to stand up and notice what was going on. Unfortunately for the wider debate, the book is not really on the recommended list for primary school teaching. What happened was that Copé got to the book via a link on the page to l’Atelier des Merveilles which is the association promoting the above series.

In 2014, western liberal democracy still has huge difficulties dealing with nudity. In another book review this morning, a chronicler of FEMEN’s exploits in France told the interviewer how it was hard for her to explain to a Ukrainian FEMEN activist that attacking a church with nudity (for the uninitiated, FEMEN tend to protest topless) in la France laique would not have the same effect. THE Ukrainian activist retorted that laiceté had nothing to do with it – if the church was active in social affairs (notably on same-sex marriage) then it should expect that protests turn up on its doorstep too.

Which brings me to the Jiena Inhobb business. From what I gather the play is a raving success. I have been unable to watch it due to problems of distance. Having said that it has been interesting watching the play’s interaction with the public – before the performance started and now that we have the first reviews. Interviewed in MaltaToday early on Simon Bartolo was irked that the “controversy” surrounding the play before it started might have stolen a bit of the limelight.

Once the play began it was only a matter of hours before we could gauge the first reactions. My worry (and probably that of people like Simon Bartolo) was that any possible nudity would eclipse any other message the play might be passing on. As it happens there WAS definitely a short term effect of having tits and dicks on stage but the general message of the play seems to have survived the early onslaught. Yes, I have seen more than one comment from patrons of the show about the ridiculous reactions (and childish giggles) upon first seeing a pair of breasts or a penis on stage but it would seem that the actual subject matter of the play trumped the nudity – as it should be.

We have a situation where we cannot be too sure whether Jiena Inhobb would have passed the censors in the “pre-liberal” era. Somehow (but I stand to be corrected) I do not think that this is the first play in the last decade to have full nudity on stage. It is intriguing that some reports still linger on the nudity issue itself (for a great review, if you have access to it, check out the facebook note by Mario Vella see note below by Mario Vella reproduced with kind permission – who puts the nudity issue very much into its place and concentrates on the more important elements – such as whether or not the play’s message is passé).

Our relationship with nudity – topless sunbathing, strip clubs, nudity on stage, sexual education – is still very conservative and poses quite a stumbling block to our collective maturity. Copé’s outburst is a reminder that conservative elements remain everywhere, not Only in Malta, but we still have a long introspective study to make before we can claim to have been liberated from the shackles of collective prudery. Randomly inspired legislation that only serves to silence some vote-getting lobby will not work on the real issue here. Without a real social discussion on the issue we can never move on.

That, I’m afraid, might be the naked truth.

 

MARIO VELLA’S NOTE/REVIEW.

OPINIONS EXPRESSED BELOW ARE EXCLUSIVELY THOSE OF MARIO VELLA. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT MARIO VELLA ENDORSES ANY PART OF THE J’ACCUSE POST.

Kelmtejn fuq ‘Jiena Nhobb, Inti Thobb’ li qieghdha tintwera l-Manoel bhalissa. Ser nipprova nharbex xi haga ghax naf fic-cert li bhall ma jigri ghal ezebizzjonijiet teatrali l-ohra kollha li kelli x-xorti (kultant anke l-isfortuna) li nattendi ghalihom, l-oggettivita ser tisfa mormija fiz-zibel frott dawn l-obbligi socjali li bhala Maltin inhossu fil-konfront ta’ kollegi, hbieb u mhumiex li wiehed inevitabbilment ser jispicca jhabbat wiccu maghhom illum jew ghada. ‘Jiena Nhobb, Inti Thobb’ hija tassew play relevanti ghal gurnata tal-llum u inutli wiehed jipprova jimminaha billi jattribwila aggettivi negattivi bhal ‘passe’ , ‘goffa’ jew sahansitra ‘retrograda’. Xoghol li jirrifletti il-battalji politici/socjali tal-gurnata ma jixraqlux ikun imxekkel minn tali kritika – kif nistenna ser tkun minn certu kwartieri, ghalkemm qatt pubblikament ghax nghiduha kif inhi, il-viljakkerija taghna tizboq kwalunkwe talent li qatt nistghu inhaddnu. Xoghol li pubblikament iqanqal l-ghadab ta’ bosta moralisti li ghadom ihossuhom intitolati li jiimmonopolizzaw u jissabutaggjaw patrimonjii umani (u fuq kollox Kristjani) bhal ‘moghodrija’, ‘imhabba’ u ‘salvazzjoni’ ma jista qatt ikun ‘skontat’. Mil-banda l-ohra wisq nibza li l-agendi perversi ta dawn it-talin li accennajt ghalihom kultant jispiccaw iwelldu ohrajn li flok jibbilancjaw il-mizien ikomplu jrewwhu id-dhahen fl’ghajnejn bir-rizultat li kulhadd jispicca sulu jhares lejn ix-xemx minn go gharbiel.

L-affarijiet li ghogbuni f’Jien Nhobb, Inti Thobb’ kienu bosta. Ghogobni ferm l-ensemble karizmatiku tieghu, u nittama ma nkunx qieghed nonqos lil-bqija tal-kast jekk niddistingwi lil- Ray Calleja ghan naturalezza u intelligenza interpretativa tieghu – kwalita li sfortunatament mhix daqstnat komuni fuq il-palk Malti. Ghogobni hafna l-uzu tal-ispazju, ghogbitni l-kitba li fl-ewwel att offriet bilanc dinjituz bejn ‘screwball comedy’ klassika u kummentarju socjali hieles minn tqanzih u tmiegh zejjed bl-imgharfa. Laqtitni wkoll il-facilita li biha d-diretturSean Buhagiar (debuttant f’dan ir-rwol) irnexxielu jalterna bejn id-diversi karattru f’dawn l-ewwel battuti tal-play minghajr ma qatt jitlef ir-riedni tad-diversi possibiltajiet offruti mill-iskript ta Simon Bartolo. Sfortunatament mhux l-istess jista jinghadd ghat tieni att ta dan ix-xoghol teatrali li jiftah b’xena domestika ferm imgebbda.

SPOILERS

Nifhem il-htiega li wiehed jiffoka fuq il-mizerji domestici tal-karattru interpretat minn Roderick Vassallo u nifhem ukoll li din kellha twitti t-triq (inevitabbli?) ghal konfessjoni imqanqla tieghu izjed tard pero xorta hassejt li din ix-xena kienet nieqsa mir-ritmu mehtieg. Nghaddi issa ghal istess konfessjoni li kellha tipprovdi wahda mil-bosta qcacet emozzjonali tal-play. Hawn hassejt li Bartolo tilef kollox ghaliex naqas li jkun kuraggjuz bizzejjed sal-punt li jipprezentalna dan il-karattru ghal dak li hu – Cioe gay li kien qieghed jghix gidba devastanti ghalih u ghal dawk kollha ta madwaru. Hawnhekk il-kittieb hass il-htiega ezagerata li jaghsar l-ahhar qtar ta’ empatija mil-udjenza billi jghabbi lil-martu bit-‘tort’ tal-infedelta u ghaldaqstant jiskongra kompletament lil-dan il-karattru mil-konsegwenzi ta ghemilu. Nuqqas kbir iehor hassejt li sar fil-konfront tal-karattru ta Devon (nittama li gibt ismu tajjeb) li minn predatur sesswali b’potenzjal kbir drammatiku jigi relegat ghal semplici kondiment li jqanqal il-fantaziji sesswali elementari tal-persunaggi tal-play u forsi…sa certu punt…tal-udjenza wkoll. Anke t-tragedja kbira li ssehh f’dawn il-battuti tinhass kemmxejn grotteska u sa certu punt titradixxi dak li b’tant hila kien stabbilit fl-ewwel att. Hawnhekk il-kuntest tal-play jintesa u kull attenzjon ghal ‘kejl’ tisfa abbandunat sabiex jigu sodisfatti htigijiet drammatici kemmxejn artificjali. Idejjaqni hafna dan in-nuqqas ta fidi fl-intuwizzjoni naturali tal-udjenza……izjed u izjed f’xoghol li min-natura innifisha tieghu kellu l-obbligu li jkun provokattiv. Tghiduli x’fidi jista jifdallek fl-udjenzi meta fl-2014 ghadek tisma bosta patruni jfaqqaw id-dahk barra minn loku jew aghar minn hekk jistghagbu bid-dehra ta zobb (ghalkemm wiehed il-gmiel tieghu) fuq il-Palk Nazzjonali Malti? Dahri mal-hajt hekk x’nista nghid hlief li minghajr il-fidi m’hemmx tama?

Nittama li din ir-ricensjoni tittiehed fl-ispirtu ta djalogu li fih inkitbet. Jekk le, wiehed dejjem jista jsib farag fl-imhaded kritici ta xi hadd bhal Dr. Pawlu Xuereb li ilu ‘jirraporta’ it-teatru daqs kemm Ruth Amaira ilha taqra l-ahbarijiet.

QABEL INHALLIKOM NIXTIEQ MIL-GDID NAWGURA IL-GID KOLLU TAD-DINJA LIL-KULL MINN KELLU X’JAQSAM MA DIN IL-PLAY U FUQ KOLLOX INHEGGEG LIL-MIN JINSAB BEJN HALLTEJN JEKK JATTENDIX JEW LE SABIEX JAQBAD U JMUR IL-MANOEL. BIR-RISERVI KOLLHA LI INTHOM INDUBBJAMENT INTITOLATI GHALIHOM XORTA HEMM CANS TAJJEB LI TIEHDU GOST U TKUNU MQANQLA FUQ XI LIVELL JEW IEHOR.

Categories
Constitutional Development

Crossing the threshold of faith

believe_akkuzaCriticising the workings of a government or an opposition is what this blog has done with consistent regularity. No matter who was in “power” the line taken from these pages has always been consistent. Also, very consistently, this blog has always managed to ruffle some feathers in some quarters. More often than not it would be the partisans of a faction that is being criticised who would vociferously disapproved of the contents of J’accuse’s latest missive. More often than not it would be the messenger and not the message that would be shot at.

In these halcyon Tagħna Lkoll days I often find myself in a quandary as to how often I could put finger to keyboard and criticise yet another mind-boggling move by the people who purport to manage this country. The fear (or self-censorship) is really unjustified. The worry is that repetitive ‘assaults’ on the same tribe gets you quickly labelled as a member of the “other”. Having said that what really gets at me is the way Joe Public is prepared to gloss over the inconsistencies of the PL brigade much quicker than when the Gonzi team was in government.

No matter how shallow, how inconsistent and how potentially corrupt the Labour programme is seeming to turn out, Joe Public is still thinking in terms of the perceived evil that was. I particularly liked a comment on facebook by the man who goes by the moniker “Ze Heckler” – not for reasons that he would appreciate. Here’s his status update:

Min bi Snowden, min bil-Pussy Riot, min b’Grillo, min b’Wikileaks u ahna b’Daphne. You get the rebel you deserve, too.

Admittedly the class of “rebels” is not exactly your average Che Guevara, nor is it your Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi. Heckler’s list is a list of non-conformists (Grillo might be verging on the breakdown though) but I am not here to create a scale of “rebelliousness”. I just found it weird that Daphne would fall in the rebel category. Is it the anti-government streak? The brazen nature of her posts that openly target the above-mentioned inconsistencies? Does that a “rebel” make?

The way I see it, to be a “rebel” in Malta you cannot operate within the system’s parameters. Daphne, like anybody else operating in the system is guilty of accepting the general wider parameters and rules by which our system is run. Throughout the Gonzi years the “rebelliousness” was nowhere to be found. On the contrary, much like the prominent “journalists” of the time (now either retired, MEP candidates or playing to the Labour fiddle) Caruana Galizia would selectively pick out the “interesting news” in order to help preserve the status quo. That kind of blogs must have been grateful for the fact that Malta was kept in election mode for long periods thanks to the antics of that other fake rebel – Franco Debono.

The (quite predictable and understandable) position of Caruana Galizia’s blog is not among rebels but among anti-Labour blogs whose aim is to simply get Labour back out of the driving seat. Nothing wrong there. What is missing is the realisation that the framework within which the alternation takes place is only destined to produce the same. Or worse. “Rebels” are those who are pushing for a paradigm shift that moves the whole framework into a new dimension. A real second republic if you like (not the marketing one that Muscat smartly nabbed).

A failure to acknowledge that the system (the framework if you like) is faulty and will produce more and more of the same means that you are a willing participant in the system. That’s not rebelling. That is opposition. Thankfully, there are signs of early realisation, even in the quarters such as Caruana Galizia’s blog, that much more must be done than simply playing along. Whether such elements would be willing participants in a discussion about (let alone action) the possibilities of a paradigm shift is another question. Old habits die hard – and more messengers will be shot.

As things stand we are moving further and further into a system built of two parallel worlds in which the value scales are very very different. Which is why all Labour’s moves will continue to be accepted by a large chunk of the Maltese population. Their value scale is different from that of those who might have shared a value scale with the PN in the near past. The same applies vice-versa. The dynamics of democratic representation should have allowances for such possibilities. In our case though, the inertia caused by the PLPN system is gradually moving the very tenets of representative democracy towards a breaking point. This too is what is meant by the race to the bottom.

Our parties have created two faith systems within which it will become less obvious why and how people will cross the threshold to the other side. A re-calibration of the value scales of one party might serve to trigger the beginning of a change.

* One final note. This blog post is not meant as some kind of competition in comparing the size of “light sabers”. Consider it an observation – as we always have done – of the current situation on the ground. The interesting thing of inhabiting a system with multiple value scales is that suddenly there is not one “right or wrong” but a multiplicity. Take the following simple example: “Selling citizenship without residency requirements rakes in millions”. Value scale one cannot agree more – Malta gains. Value scale two is appalled – Malta is sold cheap. Value scale three examines a European dimension. On each of their scales they are “right”. Not the “it’s my opinion so it is true” kind of right (which is irritating) but right in the sense that in each case the policy position is feasible – the consequences are different.