Outrage and Irony: The British High Commissioner’s Dubious Stance on Freedom of Expression in Malta

The audacity is almost palpable!

Next week, The British High Commission in Malta will be organizing a lecture and Q&A panel dedicated to none other than Daphne Caruana Galizia, under the grandiose theme, “Keeping the Light Shining: Bringing on the Next Generation of Investigative Journalists.” But wait, this spectacle is orchestrated in cozy collaboration with the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, naturally.

Leading the event will be H.E. Ms. Katherine Ward, the British High Commissioner, parading her supposed commitment to freedom of expression—a premise so ironic that it leaves you breathless. After all, it wasn’t long ago that she stood solemnly at the site of Caruana Galizia’s murder in Bidnija, pontificating about the virtues of freedom of expression and democracy at a vigil on the Great Siege Monument in Valletta.

Now, let’s pause and address the elephant in the room: the British High Commissioner’s unabashed hypocrisy. In a recent year, the UK, a crumbling bastion of so-called free speech, managed to arrest a staggering 3,300 individuals simply for their social media posts. Compare this to Russia’s 411, and the absurdity becomes more than clear.

But the statistics don’t end there. Russia’s tally for Facebook-post arrests hovers around 600, while the UK boasts an astonishing 12,000. Their crime? Daring to express opinions that dare drift from the politically sanitized status quo. Not inciting violence or plotting nefarious acts, mind you, but merely stepping outside the confining lines of political correctness on digital platforms.

And the absurdity continues: a mere Telegram group founded by someone with Eurosceptic leanings, mirroring political parties gaining traction across Europe, was enough to land its creator in legal hot water. So much for the cherished principles of free political discourse and the exchange of ideas.

What was once a proud nation has now devolved into a shadow of authoritarian rule, stripping away rights that date back to the Magna Carta and the foundational Bill of Rights of 1689. Expressions on social media—unless they credibly threaten violence—shouldn’t lead to criminal charges. Yet here we are, faced with a UK that stifles debate on pivotal policy issues affecting its citizens’ lives, a government obtusely deaf to the cries for Brexit and reduced migration.

Outrage and unrest simmer as citizens confront a government seemingly indifferent to their plight. Instead of addressing these issues, the regime opts for increased censorship, plunging the nation into a dystopia where dissenting words are criminalized, while violent acts find bizarre justifications.

Those who dare critique governmental decisions, challenge prevailing LGBT narratives, pray for unborn lives, or simply share misinformation can find themselves languishing behind bars in this supposed cradle of freedom.

So, I reiterate: the British High Commissioner is in no position to lecture Malta—or anyone, for that matter—about the virtues of freedom of expression.