Today is the 11th of November 2019.
I am Joseph Mifsud speaking, this is my voice.
I would like, first of all, to say
that I have absolutely no contact with friends and family
and have had no contact with friends and family
for a number of months now .
It's been almost two years to date that the whole issue -- blown-up issue --
has been presented to the world media and on the world stage,
as if I had something to do with issues concerning countries
or trying to infiltrate absolutely absurd programs, contacts
or any other institutions of the world.
I have been a networker all my life and this is what I'm good at.
I try to bring one group in contact with another.
Not -- not, I repeat and underline -- nobody in any service, secret service
intelligence service or anybody of this sort.
If I had any contact with these, I have not known that
this person or that person had any link with any institution.
So this is extremely important.
I have and I categorically refute -- as I did --
in tho only two interventions that I made, one, on the Italian La Repubblica
and the other one when I was called on the initial day,
I think it was the first day when all this broke out,
by the Daily Telegraph in London.
I have had nothing to do, I tried to do nothing else, except as I've always done,
put A in contact with B, B in contact with C,
for purely, for purely I would call academic purposes, OK?
The idea is to have networks.
I've always been involved in think tanks.
These think tanks were meant to bring one group to speak to the other
about a topical issue: that is all.
It was not my intent, never was my intent,
to try to obtain any information to pass from one side to the other.
I have never done so, because I was never, never
in possession of any information which could be useful to one or the other.
All I knew were people, people who came from think tanks.
And then, some of the institutions that I represented in the past.
I can assure you, both in the UK, in Italy and elsewhere,
I always tried to make sure that young people have the opportunity
of interacting with each other: that is all.
So, I've been reliably informed recently that Link Campus has been accused
of setting issues or being involved with services.
I categorically refute and refuse to accept any of this.
There has never been anything of the sort.
I have friends and acquaintances, obviously, from the university
but it is important to say that these were representing their own interests.
So it was not me trying to put them in touch with somebody else.
They never asked and I never, absolutely never, never, tried to do that.
Whenever I met somebody -- and this has been proven over and over again --
I tried to keep that person or that institution in mind,
if there was going to be a project or an event
in which that institution can actually play a part.
That is what I try to be.
I've always considered myself as also according to my Catholic creed,
to be a bridge builder, building between one and the other:
that is all that I wish to do.
Obviously, I have my own mind about certain things.
So, if somebody asks me how things are going to be,
what do I think will happen, I obviously have an opinion,
like every other human being in this world.
So it is very very clear, and I repeat, that there was no -- how would I call it?
pressure; there was only advice by my friends,
whom I consider to be my friends, and they will always be my friends
because they've shown me the hands of friendship
to actually, during the whole explosion of news all over the world,
2 years to date,
to actually keep a low profile and spend some time
thinking and reflecting about what the events were actually saying.
And that is what I have done.
I have kept out of the limelight, I have tried to keep myself busy
mentally, because this has been an extremely difficult period for myself.
I had no contact, as I mentioned before, with my family,
which is something which obviously somebody at my age
-- I'm going to be 60 in April -- needs to have contact with my ailing parents,
with my -- and the rest of my family.
And this has been extremely difficult for me.
I have been living a very lonely life with no social interaction,
something to which I have had no previous experience of.
So, to repeat: there has not been anybody who has, in any way or form pressurized me
except giving me advice on my well-being, #1, because when it happened 2 years ago,
I did not know where to turn, I was completely alone.
I had no advice outside that of my friends in which I was told it was better for me
to keep a low profile and to leave what I was doing for a period of time.
And that's what I did.
Unfortunately, this period of time has now been protracted for 2 years,
which is more than one can take.
I'm evidently at the end of my tether, I cannot take this anymore.
I have not worked, not done any mental work,
at times I have kept away from all the news,
I do not actually even read the news,
because I have tried to keep away from everything.
I have never, never: I repeat never -- in fact this is perhaps one of the issues --
I have never been paid by anybody
to commit any intrusion into the privacy of another
I have never been that and I am NOT a radical
in the term in the terms of trying to put somebody in touch
with somebody else without his or her permission-
I have always asked is there a wish is the request by A to be in contact with B
and I always ask A and B if they wish to do so,
that is all. It was of interest to me
to see that some of this networking actually had some fruit
so in a text which I am preparing
and I am preparing a full text of all my thinking
and of all the issues that I feel have actually taken place.
Not fake news but, real news and real events.
I again categorically emphasize with all my might and with all my mind
that, for example Link Campus has had no interest and has not put me to task
to try to get information or intelligence about any institution in the world.
There was never never that request.
The request was to try to find other institutions
which wish to network with the university in terms of its expertise,
student experience and of course something else,
creating new knowledge and research.
That was my underlying role and to that role I have tried to fulfill this.
until the very end. There was never never any request which goes
beyond these bounded boundaries.
It is also important to note that if somebody has an opinion about something
he should not be - if I may use the word, crucified, for his thinking.
If for example I think that this issue will happen
or that election will take place with this outcome,
it is with the adding up of A B C and D.
These might not be facts but this might be realizations advice
from friends and others. This has been always my rule-
I am really at the very end now. I cannot take this anymore unfortunately,
I apologize for all those that I've hurt or that I have caused any harm in any way
although this has been done in a very very very very indirect way
because I have never tried to do any harm to anybody.
This has been my whole issue.
So with this I am again underlying: I have tried to keep away
from any issue which might hinder or cause difficulty to any institution.
This has been the role... my role for these last two years
Before those two, yeah those two years
I tried and I agree and I confirmed that I tried to network.
network means trying to get one think tank to speak to another think-tank,
one group of thinking with another group of thinking
I have always done this all my life since I was a child
so the idea is that where I was I try to bring harmony
I try to bring one group with another.
So sometimes I succeeded, many times I have failed, but I have tried.
this comes and stems also from my upbringing.
so may underline again coming also -- this is something which is also important --
be coming from an area which has always tried to bring peace
and always try to bring one group with another.
This has been always my road.
I have not not been given any instructions by anybody,
I have not been forced to do something by anybody
I have not been paid to do anything by any group
or with one group against another group:
that was not my intent and I have never done that
I have of course have my own opinions
and I have always shown my opinions very very clearly.
so it is extremely I have always been super diplomatic in terms of what I do
and they always keep contact I have always kept contact
because for these last two years I have had no contact
with anybody important or particular
is that I've always tried to keep contact with people,
trying to bridge with them, trying to see how I can help
it was like an experience for me trying to see that I knew people
I they heard my voice they, held my advice I heard their advice
and then I made myself .
I showed for example to my students
what are the different thinking in front of them
it is up to the individuals to do that one last thing.
It is extremely important too.