MSS senator Mario Michele Giarruso, who said on Wednesday he will be in Malta with the Italian anti-Mafia committee, 'to shed light' on journalist Daphne Caruana Galiazia's murder, told Italian media today he had been requested by the Maltese government not to form part of the delegation.

The senator said in a statement earlier last week that this murder had a lot of sinister shades.

He said the Maltese government should resign and allow a proper independent investigation led by independent third parties to take place

It was not tolerable that a state like Malta became prosperous by favouring mafias and organised crime, he said.

"If we allow this to pass, we will become accomplices to what has happened. So far, neither the European Union nor Italy has made any reaction of note."

Mr Giarrusso said the Maltese government had a lot to answer for on the assassination of the journalist and the investigations that followed, which were being conducted in a superficial manner.

"The government should resign not because it was accused of corruption and was under a magisterial investigation but because of its indirect complicity by not taking action to prevent this homicide," he said.

Speaking on Radio 101, PN leader Adrian Delia was asked about this latest development. It was clear he had not heard of this before the start of the interview. However, he was quick to respond. If this report is true, he said, it means that the freedom of expression has begun to be threatened in Malta. Whoever criticises the government will find himself under pressure. This is very dangerous: it is the beginning of totalitarianism, Dr Delia said.

In a statement this morning, which has not reached gthis newsroom, the Maltese government denied Senator Giarruso's claims and said Malta's ambassador in Rome has already requested an exoplanation about this'invention'.

The Foreign Affairs Minister has also asked for an explanation from Italy's ambassador in Malta.

The government said both confirmed that the Maltese government had never been consulted or e4xpressed itself, formally or informally, on any members of the delegation.

In his interview on Radio 101, Dr Delia said that even before last Monday, he and his party had been saying that Malta is no longer a normal country. While the economy is better, the institutions were being hollowed out. Monday's murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia has shown that freedom of speech is under threat.

Mrs Caruana Galizia was given the most extreme measure: a death sentence. The Opposition is not saying this murder was organised by politicians but the institutions have long been weakened and now they are collapsing.

People have seen the Commissioner of Police and this has added to the uncertainty that has enveloped the Maltese nation. On Monday, everything changed. Now children are asking (Dr Delia did not specify if they were his children) if it was safe for them to enter their father's car. There was a low attendance at an event held at the university: was this because people are afraid?

This was a political murder and politicians must shoulder their responsibility. The Opposition had said that the Commissioner of Police is not up to what is required. Seeing him at the Crime Conference people were aghast: they were askingthemselves: Is this who we have to defend us? He does not exactly guarantee protection but rather more fear and uncertainty. It was the prime minister who was res;ponsible for the choice of this commissioner..

In Parliament last week, he asked Minister Michael Farrugia is he trusts the Commissioner. Dr Farrugia replied he trusts theprime minister but he did not say he fully trusts the Commissioner.

The same goes for the Attorney General: he has been put in a position where he cannot do anything. He should be defending the rule of law and the separation of powers but instead the government is now in a position to decide upon anything. The Opposition is not saying it wants to appoint the Police Commissioner of the Attorney General but that these posts be filled with people who get the support of two-thirds of Parliament.

The governent is now offering €1 million for information about the murder of Mrs Caruana Galizia. It would have been beter if this sum was spent to defend her from attacks. The government was obliged to protect her even if she refused to be protected.

Dr Delia added that in his first reaction to the murder, he had asked if the borders of Malta had been secured so as to trap any eventual murders from escaping abroad. This has not happened.

The decisions that Malta needs to be taken are not those that can be compressed in a four-year term of office. Who is the Police Commissioner and who is the Attornety General are the concerns of all Maltese, not jjust of the government of the day. The same holds gtrue with regards to FIAU, MFSA and other institutions.

Over the past week, he has been interviewed by The Financial Times, the BBC and other world media who all asked him if Malta is a mafia state. Are the people of Malta safe in their homes? Can people still invest in Malta? Can people still visit Malta? What happened last Monday has changed the country. 

The Opposition will not be cowed, it will always defend the country and its people. It will bring back the rule of law.