Update 1.20pm

Moviment Graffitti’s freshers’ week stand was dismantled overnight by members of KSU, the students’ council, for displaying flyers that touched on the abortion debate.

KSU president Luke Bonanno said the council believed that the University of Malta’s freshers' week was not “the right place to discuss such controversial and sensitive subjects". He insisted that "this is not censorship". Pro-life activists had also been stopped from bringing up the matter, he said.

The issue was flagged in a Facebook post in which Graffitti, an NGO, shared an image of the empty stand and said: “KSU dismantled our stand because they wanted to decide what type of material we displayed inside it. It is unbelievable but they told us that the material linked to women’s reproductive rights had to be removed. We did not accept to remove it so, last night, they went under the cover of night and dismantled our stand and confiscated the material.”

When contacted Andre Callus, from Graffitti, said the stand contained material linked to several campaigns led by Graffitti that included campaigns about the environment, migration, LGBTIQ and reproductive rights.

On Tuesday morning Graffitti activists were told to remove flyers linked to the Voice for Choice campaign – but they refused. When they went to university on Wednesday early morning, they found that the stand had been dismantled.

Following discussions with KSU the material was given back to them on condition that they did not display anything linked with abortion. They abided by the rules – sort of.

“For now, until we see how the situation develops, we'll not have abortion material physically on the stand, but our activists will still distribute it,” Callus said.

'Absurd' decision

He said it was “absurd” that the students’ council, which represented students, was dictating what students could discuss. “The university should be the place where all subjects, no matter how controversial, are discussed and talked about,” he said.

Bonanno explained that the student council believed freshers’ week was not the place to discuss such “controversial and sensitive” matters. KSU had not allowed the pro-life organisations to set up a stand for this reason.

Once they were alerted that Graffitti were circulating pro-choice material they had to step in, he said. When Graffitti refused to remove the material, the KSU removed “a chair, a table, and some posters” which were back up and running by 9am, when the students arrived.

He added that the KSU was all for having this debate and would be organising one in future, “however we have to make sure that it is fair and both sides are present.”

This is the second time in two days that the KSU is under fire over freshers' week. For the third consecutive year, the student council, as organisers of the event, has been criticised for 'commercialising' campus activities that are meant to help new students familiarise themselves with the University of Malta.

Miriam Sciberras, from the pro-life Life Network Foundation, said she appreciated the KSU’s decision that they don’t want freshers' week to be an abortion debate forum – but their participation was never about advocacy.

 “We are disappointed because what Life Network Foundation presents during freshers’ week is not anti-abortion advocacy but the services of support we provide to students who find themselves pregnant with support," she said.

Our pregnancy support services have been part of freshers’ week for 10 years. Pregnant On Campus has helped many students throughout their pregnancies and after, enabling them to carry on with their studies. This service has unjustly been denied to students at the university freshers week this year,” she said.

On the other hand, the Malta Women’s Lobby condemned the KSU's actions, describing it as an "unacceptable act of censorship".

"The University is meant to be a space for free thought and open discussion. Yet, KSU’s actions are reminiscent of authoritarian censorship, limiting the freedom to discuss critical issues like reproductive rights. This raises alarming questions about the future of academic freedom and student expression at our institutions," the lobby said. 

It called on the University of Malta to reaffirm its role as a hub for diverse discussions and not allow anybody, including the student council, to dictate or suppress conversations that matter to the students and the wider community.

‘Censorship has no place’: PL youth group

In a statement Żgħażagħ Laburisti expressed solidarity with Graffitti, saying what took place at the university was "alarming".

It said censorship had “no place” and freedom of expression must be respected. 

“As a youth branch, we are deeply concerned about behaviour that censors topics which, despite their sensitivity, should never be removed from the table of discussion,” the statement read.

“Beyond the subject at hand, freedom of expression - when managed with respect - must not be suppressed.”

Educational institutions should serve as “laboratories of ideas and thoughts” and such places should promote an environment for critical and free thought, and not have groups of individuals deciding which subjects should be discussed or not, Żgħażagħ Laburisti said.

“In recent years, laws were enacted to strengthen the fight against censorship, and we feel it is a disgrace to take decisions that roll back progress.”

Separately, Pulse said KSU's decision was an infringement on the principles of free speech.

"Regardless of one’s stance on the matter, it is unacceptable for any organization - especially one claiming to represent students - to stifle the voice of another.

"This act not only silences Moviment Graffitti but also serves as an act of intimidation against any student who intends to express an opinion at the University of Malta. Universities are meant to be spaces for open dialogue, where diverse perspectives can be discussed respectfully and thoughtfully. Censorship, in whatever form it takes, undermines this very foundation."

Pulse said the incident set a "troubling precedent" for the future of meaningful debate at the university.

Free speech and the right to express one's difference of opinion were as basic as democratic values went, and this right should be observed universally, it added.

"The attempt to silence discourse on such an important issue would be an affront to intellectual freedom, which students and organizations at the university should be freely allowed to exercise."