Wreaths were laid at the foot of the Great Siege Monument in front of the law courts in Valletta between Friday and Sunday, on the occasion of Victory Day.
This national holiday marks three significant victories that the Maltese people have had during the course of history. The first victory was the Great Siege, the second in 1800, when the French troops were driven out of Malta and the third marks the ending of World War II for Malta in 1943.
The laying of wreaths at the foot of the Great Siege monument is a yearly event. On Friday, wreaths were also laid by Prime Minister Robert Abela, Leader of the Opposition Bernard Grech, and Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia to mark the occasion. On Sunday, a wreath was laid by President Myriam Spiteri Debono.
However, the Nationalist Party and OccupyJustice have criticised the government. The Great Siege monument also serves as a memorial to journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was assassinated by a car bomb in 2017.
On Saturday, OccupyJustice published a post on social media: "As usual, our protest for justice for Daphne was cleared in case it offends the eyes of the politicians visiting the Great Siege Monument. We ask, why can't there be a commemoration without obliterating the memory of a murdered journalist, whose family are still waiting for justice? Plus, isn't it so symptomatic of this government that they uproot established and cultivated flora to lay down a red carpet? Naturally, Daphne's photo is now back where it belongs."
In a statement on Sunday, the Nationalist Party condemned the removal of photos, flowers, and candles in remembrance of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia by authorities from in front of the Great Siege monument, which it said were placed after the annual ceremony.
The PN said that photos, flowers and candles placed again in front of the monument, after the annual ceremony that occurs each year before the Great Siege Monument on the occasion of Victory Day came to an end as happens each year, "were again removed by the authorities."
"The Labour government continues to show contempt for the right to freedom of expression," the statement, signed by PN MP Karol Aquilina, read.
The statement said that the Nationalist Party condemns the removal of the shrine from in front of the Great Siege monument, through which activists continue to commemorate her memory and protest for truth and justice.
"This action shows the contempt the Labour government has for the right to freedom of expression and confirms that it wants to erase the memory and investigations of Daphne Caruana Galizia," it read.
It said that the PN expects government to fully and without exception respect the judgment of the Constitutional Court (Emanuel Delia vs Minister for Justice et al.), issued on 30 January, 2020, from which the government did not appeal.
"In this judgment, government was found guilty of violating freedom of expression, spite, and division after for years, and repeatedly, it removed flowers and candles placed in front of the Great Siege monument in Valletta to commemorate the assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia," the statement read.3.
It added that in its judgment, the Court stated that Minister Owen Bonnici "continued to sow division, when he ordered the workers of the Public Cleansing Department to remove the flowers, candles, and photos of Caruana Galizia for months."
It said that the Court also said that the cleaning was not done to clean the monument, but to censor those who had every right to express themselves.