Sant's opinions on InSite initiative

Last Monday on Bondì+, Alfred Sant said that it was obvious that the University debate was organised in a very partisan and biased way. As CEO of InSite, the organisation that worked hard to put up the debate, I take offence at the implications, intended or not, of this statement.

As we have been emphasising, InSite is an independent organisation, made up of over 50 active members coming from various political backgrounds. In fact the debate was very fairly organised.

For the first time we gave space to all the four political leaders, we allocated the same time to each one, we used alphabetical order whenever necessary and we allowed everyone to be part of the audience.

In no way could one say that, from the organisation's side, the debate was partisan or biased. Implying that InSite is somehow a Nationalist-run organisation does not reflect reality. In fact, this damages the reputation that we have built for so many years, and is offensive to all the Labourites, AD supporters or apolitical people in the team.

As one of the few people in Malta who can truly say they are part of an independent media organisation, I ask Dr Sant to be more careful when bringing the debate into his discussions, because by tarnishing InSite's name he is creating yet another conflict between himself and the independent media, not to mention another conflict with students.

Lawrence Gonzi, Harry Vassallo and Josie Muscat all thanked us for organising the debate regardless of whether they approved of the reactions of the audience or not. From the Labour Party's side, instead of replying to the e-mail we sent thanking Dr Sant for his participation and inviting him to take part in another activity, he took it out of context and turned it into his main headline, claiming that it was a letter of apology and an admission of guilt.

If this is how he plans to treat students and members of the independent media he cannot expect them to be on his side.

While wishing him the best of luck for the rest of the campaign I ask him to clarify his position and refrain from implying that InSite treated him unfairly during the deabte. Some form of appreciation, from his side, for our efforts as an organisation, would also be very well-received.