Call for carnival to be postponed

The government is expected to take a decision in the near future on whether to postpone Carnival 2003, which this year ends just four days before the March 8 referendum and local council elections.

The issue was raised by those involved in making floats for the carnival, who sent a petition requesting the delay, explaining that the success of this year's event would be hampered by the fact that it was taking place at the peak of the electoral campaign, just a few days before the referendum.

Float leaders and helpers said they would prefer to leave their floats indoors if a satisfactory solution were not found, resulting in a mediocre event shorn of much of its colour and spectacle.

About 80 per cent of those involved in making the floats signed the petition, which was sent to the chairman of the organising committee, copied to the prime minister, the opposition leader, the Malta Council for Arts and Culture, the police commissioner and others, asking for carnival to be postponed until after Easter or another suitable date.

It added there was a precedent for this as carnival had been postponed twice before.

In the 1950s it was postponed following the death of the British monarch and in 1987 it was postponed because the general elections were being held.

The appeal gave a number of reasons why it would be best to postpone the event: primarily that they were afraid of acts of vandalism or provocation.

"They feel that at these important times, when people need to make a serious decision which will affect the future of the country, and bearing in mind that it is likely that mass meetings will also be organised during the carnival days, no-one will be in the right frame of mind to go to Valletta and celebrate carnival," they said in a statement, reflecting the sentiments of the petition.

Since the petition, talks have been held with the organising committee and with the political parties.

The chairman of the organising committee, Nazju Abela, explained that the decision would affect hundreds of people.

"There is a considerable amount of preparation work before the carnival. The scaffolding has already started going up in Freedom Square," he said.

"Apart from that, there is a full programme of events besides the floats which involves dance companies, the grotesque masks, three bands, other floats which do not take part in the competition, a float by students, and others. There is also a considerable amount of organisation liaised with the police, related to the route followed by the carnival, security, traffic arrangements and so on. There are also all the helpers of the carnival itself.

"My fear is that if it were postponed to after Easter, it might be affected by the general elections and then have to be postponed again. So what date could the government safely choose?"

"However, I have to add that the arguments made in the petition were logical and worthy of consideration."