Arnold Cassola's newly formed Momentum party is urging “all honest Maltese, who have true democracy at heart”, to attend Sunday's protest against the "rushed2 magisterial inquiry reform in Valletta, at 4pm.

In a statement on Friday, Momentum general secretary Mark Camilleri Gambin said “the only positive element” about the proposed amendments is the enforcement of the right of the victims to be regularly updated on the progress of magisterial inquiries and the automatic right for them to get a copy of the concluded inquiry.

“For the rest, these proposed amendments are text-book examples of how authoritarian regimes try to curtail the natural rights of their people,” he continued.

“Robert Abela and Jonathan Attard simply cannot ignore the will of the people and trample over our rights.”

Announcing the bill to reform magisterial inquiries last month, Prime Minister Robert Abela has said the reform would cut down on inquiries “as a tool for persecution” by updating Malta’s “obscene” and “archaic” legal framework on inquiries.

However, the proposed reforms have been met by widespread criticism, including former chief justice Silvio Camilleri who warned the reform would “only serve to shield politicians and their persons of trust from investigation”.

 The government is fast-tracking the bill with the parliamentary debate already underway this week, effectively ignoring civil society calls for the plan to be opened up to public consultation.

Camilleri Gambin added Momentum “expects PL parliamentarians to speak up against this obscenity. We do not want to see a repeat of the instances where you collectively voted to cover up for Konrad Mizzi and again voted blindly against a public inquiry on the Jean Paul Sofia tragedy.”

“If you have a minimum of decency and love for your country, you have to vote against such repressive proposals. You simply cannot afford to be on the wrong side of history once more," he said.