200th anniversary of rights declaration to be marked today

A commemorative event marking the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of the Rights of the Maltese is being held today at San Anton Palace - original venue of the 1802 presentation of the document.

The event has been organised by the National Festivities Committee, together with the University of Malta, under the patronage of President Guido de Marco.

On June 15, 1802, Maltese representatives presented the document on the Declaration of the Rights of the Maltese to the British government - an important event in Malta's political and social history.

The National Festivities Committee said that the idea to celebrate the event was spurred by the Speaker of the House of Representatives during his Sette Giugno speech last year, during which he highlighted the historical event and proposed the organisation of a "merited" commemorative ceremony to mark it.

On the initiative of Education Minister Louis Galea, the Malta Festivities Committee accepted the proposal and drew up a programme of activities, roping in the University of Malta.

Historian Henry Frendo, who is delivering the keynote speech, said efforts to obtain the original document, with the intervention of the Maltese and British High Commissioners, had proved futile and it was never found.

The Public Records Office in London had been "turned upside down" in an attempt to find the document, he said, adding that it was possible that the declaration was never acknowledged by the British government, although it has been quoted and mentioned on several occasions and in publications.

The declaration was made at a highly challenging moment in the history of the Maltese, Prof. Frendo pointed out.

In his speech he is to explain the significance of the declaration and compare it to that of other larger countries, such as America's Bill of Rights, while zooming in on the local context.

During the event, which is being celebrated for the first time since 1802, a translation of the declaration of the rights of the Maltese is being read out.

Prof. de Marco, Dr Galea and university rector Roger Ellul Micallef are also addressing the event, which is being punctuated by a predominantly Maltese music repertoire by the Vallette Clarinet Quartet, together with Maltese soprano Marita Bezzina, with works by Mro Carmelo Pace, Joseph Vella and Charles Camilleri.

A commemorative plaque is also being unveiled in the palace courtyard by the president.

The event, which starts at 8 p.m., is being televised on PBS in the coming days.

The National Festivities Committee, together with TV station Education 22, has also produced a documentary to commemorate the historical event.