Orsetta Spinola, a member of CHANCE (Civil Hub Against Organised Crime), said on Friday that the true assassins of Daphne Caruan Galizia are still at large.
Working with Repubblika, Libera, CHANCE and the European Network of Civil Society Organisations have come forward to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia and promote the message against organised crime in Malta.
Speaking outside the Parliament building in Valletta, where an exhibition has been set up by Repubblika, Spinola remarked that “Daphne had the unpleasant and lonely task of exposing the mafia’s grip on the Maltese government. Denying the existence of this threat would allow it to permeate within the state while blatantly allowing shady business, embezzlement of public funds, hindrance of people’s rights and pollution of the people’s conscience.”
Spinola then called for change to happen both at a political level and also at a legislative one as she said that a country which does not provide the requirements to stop organised crime, certain individuals would abuse this and commit offences to gain economic power.
“The attack on organised crime has no borders,” Spinola said.
She then drew attention to European Directive number 42 which was introduced in 2014, which encourages member states to confiscate and freeze assets belonging to criminals. Spinola said that “I cherish the idea of having a confiscated property here in Malta to be changed into a Daphne Caruana Galizia centre for civil liberties.”
Photos: Miguela Xuereb/Newsbook
“Daphne was killed by organised crime and not by the individuals indicted during the ongoing court investigation. The state has to recognise its responsibility in all this in order to learn a lesson, move forward and only then can Malta’s wound start to heal.”
Spinola said that democracy and freedom are not to be taken for granted.
Repubblika President Robert Aquilina said that “Daphne was assassinated simply because she put pressure on certain individuals who took over our country in order to promote their own egoistic self interests.”
Aquilina then called out the Police Commissioner and the Attorney General for failure of action four years after Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination. “Four years later, no one was brought to court on the corruption that Daphne was revealing.”
Aquilina then took aim at Prime Minister Robert Abela and stated that it was a disgrace that two and a half months after the publication of the recommendations listed in the public inquiry something was still yet to be done.
“We are disappointed in Robert Abela who is skiving the duty and responsibilities his office holds towards the people and their future. He is only hoping that this issue is forgotten but if history has told us anything, those who forget the past are bound to relive it,” Aquilina said.
He then stressed the importance of not having a future where journalists would be killed because of their investigative work. “We have to send the message to the Prime Minister that it is not possible in a democratic country that no action is taken against those responsible for Daphne’s assassination.”
On behalf of Repubblika, Aquilina then called the Labour government once again to dismiss all those mentioned in the public inquiry from the Labour Party as well as banning them from ever occupying a role in the public sector.
“Not only has the Labour Party and Robert Abela not heeded this advice but they continue to defend former Labour Party leader and ex-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. They also recently defended their associate Konrad Mizzi in Parliament.”
Aquilina urged the government to take a better route politically or else the Malta we are going to leave for our children would be worse than what we have today.
Repubblika will be commemorating the fourth anniversary of Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination with a series of events at Bidnija on Saturday afternoon and Valletta in the evening.