At the latest monthly vigil commemorating the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Repubblika official Manuel Delia declared that Malta cannot speak of a future without confronting the injustices of its past.
Held every 16th of the month to mark the date of Caruana Galizia’s murder on 16th October 2017, this month’s gathering took place on the eve of Repubblika’s launch of Democratic Vision 2050 – a civil society blueprint meant as a counterbalance to the government’s Malta Vision 2050 strategy.
Speaking at the event in Valletta, Delia said the vigil was not a coincidence of timing, but a deliberate reminder of the foundations any real national vision must include.
“This vigil is not about tomorrow’s inauguration,” he said. “The opposite is true – tomorrow’s inauguration is about this evening’s vigil.”
He explained that Democratic Vision 2050 was born out of a refusal to remain silent, arguing that Malta cannot map a future based solely on GDP growth, infrastructure and investment while ignoring the institutional failures that enabled the assassination of a journalist.
“We cannot accept a vision for Malta that does not include justice, truth and accountability,” he said. “Daphne’s murder was not a tragic anomaly. It was the outcome of a system that values loyalty over integrity, silence over resistance, and impunity over responsibility.”
According to Delia, this system has not been dismantled but merely adapted.
“It has changed its methods, buried the evidence and bought time. But its essence remains intact,” he warned. “New scandals arise, old ones remain unresolved, and justice for Daphne is still elusive.”
He insisted that true democracy is rooted in memory, transparency and the rule of law – not merely in five-year election cycles and grand speeches. “Malta is not a real democracy,” he said. “The mask of fake democracy cannot hide us forever.”
Delia warned that the erosion of democratic substance – where institutions still exist but no longer serve the people – threatens to hollow out the republic.
“There are two ways to destroy a republic: remove its laws, or strip them of meaning while keeping the symbols.”
The vigil also featured a speech by Occupy Justice activist Paula Fleri Soler, who reflected on one of Caruana Galizia’s final blog posts from August 2017. In it, the journalist criticised the golden passport scheme and its impact on Malta’s rental market.
“But her message was deeper,” Fleri Soler said. “She was pointing to a country selling itself to the highest bidder. What was presented as ‘progress’ was displacing ordinary families and tilting the scales in favour of the ultra-wealthy.”
Quoting Caruana Galizia’s concerns about inequality and belonging, Fleri Soler said her words feel even more urgent today.
“As housing becomes unaffordable and trust in our institutions declines, her warning hits harder than ever. Memory is not enough – vigilance demands action.”
Newsroom
Leave a Reply