|
Matthew Vella
DJs whose “character or antecedents” are not to the police’s liking face a tough time landing gigs and playing at outside events, as 32-year-old Alan Ciantar knows.
The annual Tribu gathering on August 15 kicked off without the support of one of the DJs shortlisted for the evening, after police warned they would not issue permits for the outdoor event if DJ N’Heaven was kept on the bill.
The Justice and Home Affairs Ministry has defended the police force’s decision not to allow Ciantar play at the outdoor party, because according to the regulations for the Maintenance of Good Order at Places of Entertainment, the Commissioner of Police can refuse permits for events if he is not satisfied that the “character or antecedents” of a disc jockey do not give “sufficient guarantee that no drug or other abuses will take place during entertainment.”
The ministry said Ciantar was objected to by the police due to a conditional discharge in 1996 for possession of cannabis resin and cocaine.
“Except for Mr Alan Ciantar, the police did not find any objection in respect of these persons,” the ministry said about the list of 14 DJs the force had to vet before issuing a licence.
Clearly, such arbitrary powers have affected not only Ciantar but also other DJs by restricting their employment opportunities, with the dubious claim that their character or past are conducive to drug abuse in entertainment places.
But Ciantar complains about the unfairness of the law. “I was put on probation for a year so it has left no effect on my criminal record. I can’t see why a person who made a mistake in their life, as far back as nine years ago, has to be still held responsible. I can’t see this as permitting people to integrate back in the community. It is very unfair.”
Whilst the ministry has claimed the police is not being discriminatory but abiding by the law, the Commissioner’s powers effectively denies DJs from playing at one-off outdoor events by threatening to withdraw permits, at his discretion on the basis of their character or past. The same law applies for party organisers and proprietors as well.
Fr Mark Montebello, coordinator for prisoners support group Mid-Dlam Ghad-Dawl, agrees that this is one of those laws discriminating against people who have had a spot of trouble with the law.
“Despite government’s lip-service, urging the public to give these people employment, it is the government itself which does not employ anyone with a criminal record. A person should be judged on presentation of proof on what they are doing now, and not on their past.”
matthew@newsworksltd.com
|
