PN MP Edwin Vassallo spoke about freedom of expression and the memory of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was assassinated just over a year ago, during the adjournment speech this evening.

He said that he still cannot understand how in Malta, there are people who feel that they have the power to silence or kill a person, more so if this person is a journalist, to silence a voice that might have been revealing truths that annoy the said person.

“I cannot understand how in our country there are those who decide who lives, and who dies, who is silenced.”

“We have people who became gods in this country, who decide who should live and be killed. I cannot understand how there are people who celebrated with her death. There are people who say that her writings divided the people, and I understand some who say her pen was filled with hate.”

He said he does not think anyone’s words bring unanimous agreement. He said, however, that nobody has the right to decide to kill someone. “That is what happened to Daphne Caruana Galizia, someone decided to silence her voice.”

He said that he wanted to make some recommendations to government, and said he still believes that there is true justice, that journalists have value and have a right to express their opinions freely.

Vassallo said that government should not try and continue doing their all to kill the memory of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination. “To try and kill the memory of this criminal act, of a political killing, is worse than the physical murder itself. When you are seen to try to be killing the memory of this criminal act, it means you are taking responsibility to try and bring this memory into nothing, trying to delete it.”

He also told the government to stop trying to find every reason to stop those trying to remember the loss of Daphne Caruana Galizia and her courage.

He said the Great Siege Monument is based on many Maltese who lost their lives courageously, trying to defend what they believed in. “If we truly want to live in equality means that we can respect those who we do not agree with.”

“Even if you have reservations on what this person said, trying to stop people from trying to remember who she was and what she died for, and covering the monument to impede and stop those who place flowers and turn it into a monument of love for this person, then it seems that you are trying to interfere in how our people can express themselves.”

Be careful, he said, as this could seem that government would have a particular interest for this not to occur.

He said that there is a deficit in Malta, where many of Malta’s citizens are not seeing justice being done, and have doubts as to whether justice will be done. He said that the crowd yesterday were right to say “we deserve better, we accept better.” He said he was addressing this to the whole political class.