Many would agree with divorce ... if it's 'consensual'

Addressing the media, movement spokesman Arthur Galea Salomone said that Moviment Zwieg bla Divorzju is against divorce because “it would be imposed on the party that does not want it”.

Asked point blank by journalists whether the movement was against divorce as a principle, Galea Salomone said the movement is “against the divorce as it is being proposed.”

However, he added that he met with several people who said that “a consensual divorce would be acceptable”, or "it would be acceptable in the case a woman is abused".

But Galea Salomone reiterated that the movement was against the "divorce the Maltese are facing and we are going to say no on the basis of the question we have in front of us."

He reiterated “why should a person who does not want to get divorced have it imposed on him or her?” and said that divorce would be imposed and granted “without reason”. 

Asked to comment on the fact that there are children who are in a worse situation because their parents are constantly fighting and they are caught in between the conflict, Galea Salomone reiterated that divorce is not the solution.

“I recognise there are cases where children might benefit, however divorce will only bring more problems.”

On the movement’s claim that divorce will be “imposed”, Galea Salomone was asked how does it differentiate from separation and annulment cases, where it only takes one party to start the procedure.

“Annulments are given on specific reasons and the Ecclesiastic Tribunal looks into theses reasons,” Galea Salomone answered.

“But separation is different from divorce because in separation one is forced to pass through the mediation phase before separating.” According to Galea Salomone this will not happen if a person – who is is not legally separated – divorces.

But Moviment Iva ghad-Divorzju has more than once said that if a person who is not legally separated applies for divorce, the couple must go through both separation and divorce.

He added that if the husband then remarries, he will cease from fulfilling his obligations towards his first wife “to maintain his partner”.

During the rest of the press conference, Galea Salomone pointed out a number of “reasons” why the “referendum question is misleading and deceitful”.

He said that the first part of the question was deceiving to those who agree with divorce if the couple is already legally separated. “But it is enough to have abandoned your husband or wife and children for four years to get divorced and there is no need for a legal separation.”

The Moviment Iva ghad-Divorzju has more than once said that if a person is not legally separated, the separation case will be done together with the divorce.

Galea Salomone said the question does not show “the reality of a divorce without reason” and the person who is at fault will impose the divorce on the party that “wanted to keep the promised made”.

He said the referendum question does not show “that there is  anything which will stop a person from divorcing two, three times and more”.

He stressed that the question gives “the false impression that alimony is guaranteed – something which divorce cannot guarantee.” He said that this can be clearly understood from the fact this already happens in separation cases.

Galea Salomone said it is “deceitful when they say divorce will safeguard children. According to a Misco survey we commissioned, three out of every four Maltese say divorce will hurt the children and only 8% say divorce will have a positive impact.”

“Children hurt because there are problems in the family. When these problems lead to family breakdowns, the children hurt more.  When a new person enters the picture, it is natural that the suffering increases.

“Divorce will scar children for life. The referendum question ignores the reality that children suffer because of divorce and cannot guarantee they will be safeguarded.”

Galea Salomone concluded that “notwithstanding the deceitful question, the Maltese public is intelligent enough to recognise this deceit and next Saturday he will vote NO against the divorce without reason.”