Racism needs no protection from the state

The IĠM would like to express its solidarity with Andrew Azzopardi and RTK103 after being served another fine by the Broadcasting Authority for refusing to invite far-right politicians from Imperium Europa onto its radio station.

Moreover, the IĠM cannot agree with the BA’s nonsensical decision on the matter.

Media houses and programme presenters have every right to determine their editorial policy and should be allowed to practice their policy freely. The BA has no right to force a media house to air views it is completely against, with the subsequent risk of being fined for the content of those views.

It must also be noted that the secretary of the Authority’s board, Dr. Adriano Spiteri, refused to recuse himself from the proceedings, despite serving as Imperium Europa’s secretary-general until 2022. This casts doubt on the impartiality of the board and undermines the functions of the authority.

One must also remark on the moral obligation of the media to avoid fanning hate speech. Norman Lowell, who leads Imperium Europa, was convicted on racial hate crimes. Other members of the party have defended Nazism and Hitler.

Racism is not a political view and needs no protection from a state authority.

IĠM President Matthew Xuereb recused himself from the drawing up of this statement since he is editor of Newsbook Malta and RTK103