Parliament has today voted down a motion by the Opposition to hold a public inquiry into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
An amendment had also been put forward by the Partit Demokratiku, to setup a Truth and Justice Commission that would conduct three separate public inquiries into the murders of Karin Grech, Raymond Caruana and Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The government voted against the PN's motion, and both PN and PL voted against PD's amendments. The government put forward an amendment to the motion themselves which they voted for, thus given the number of PL MPs passed. The government amendment called for the rejection of a public inquiry while the magisterial investigation into the motion is ongoing.
The PN, in a statement, had said that it could not vote for PD's ammendment as it amendment removes two points from the PN's motion. The first is the request for the Attorney General and Police Commissioner to resign, the second for the Prime Minister to be ordered to appoint an inquiry board regarding the murder of Caruana Galizia.
PD Leader Godfrey Farrugia, and MP Marlene Farrugia said, following the vote: "We have made our proposal following calls for the establishment of a board of inquiry to conduct a public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. We support a board of inquiry in principle - we have always said so. However we thought changes were needed to the original motion to ensure such public inquiry is established on sound legal footing. We wanted the progressive standard of Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC and Fiona Murphy, two recognised human rights experts, to be used as a foundation for such inquiry."
"We also wanted to extend the benefit of such inquiry to Karin Grech and Raymond Caruana. Their murders happened in different historical contexts but raise the same question: Could the state have done more to protect their lives? We set out to achieve all these objectives by means of comprehensive amendments to the Inquiries Act."
"We have made various public appeals for politicians to work together to bring truth, justice and change since 29 November 2018, the date when notice was given that the House was going to debate the motion. We note with deep regret that our appeal fell on deaf ears."
"Therefore we express our great disappointment that MPs from both major parties voted against a Commission tasked with the objective of bringing truth, justice and lasting change for the victims, their families and Malta. This evening's vote sends a clear message: Joseph Muscat and Adrian Delia stand together against a renewed Malta."
"Today's vote is a loss for Karin, Raymond and Daphne. It is a loss for each and every one of us. It is a loss for our Republic. Our politics remains bound to tribalism, unable and unwilling to bring truth, justice and lasting change."