Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1188424
MASSIMO COSTA THOUSANDS of protestors yesterday poured out their anger outside Malta's House of Repre- sentatives. They were unprecedented scenes. In a fourth wave of pro- test since the arrest of Yorgen Fenech, the Tumas magnate, in connection with the assassina- tion of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, masses of peo- ple were out in droves – heck- ling, hissing, booing, shouting, calling names, grabbing the bar- ricades set up by police officers outside Parliament and throwing them to the ground forcefully. They arrived early in the after- noon, at 4pm, as Joseph Muscat's Cabinet meeting came to end, and with it the resignation of two ministers, Konrad Mizzi and Chris Cardona. Protestors spent three hours outside the House of Repre- sentatives. They shouted 'killers', 'mafia', 'prison'… they pelted MPs and ministers' ministerial vehicles with eggs. Police strug- gled to keep the crowd in control as they forcefully threw down the barricades. At one point, the demonstra- tors sung the Maltese national anthem, in what appeared their firm message that the country, not corrupt politicians, comes first. The crowd then moved to Cas- tille, with activists from Repubb- lika and Occupy Justice paying tribute to murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. "Two years ago, the unthink- able happened. A journalist was assassinated, and our gut reac- tion was that she was killed for what she had written or was about to write," activist Pia Zam- mit said. "Today we are here because our gut reaction was right. Daphne was right, and she should be here… We must never let a cul- ture of fear reign again, we must never allow ourselves to be hi- jacked in this way again." Organisations for journalism and writers, among them Re- porters Without Borders, PEN International and Transpar- ency International, yesterday expressed concern at what they termed the "appearance of po- litical interference into the in- vestigation of the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia". "We are concerned that the Prime Minister, by placing him- self at the centre of the investiga- tion, raises the spectre of undue executive interference in the in- vestigation. This is particularly so given the vested financial in- terests between Fenech and the Prime Minister's current chief of staff Keith Schembri and cabinet minister Konrad Mizzi relating to the company, 17 Black who both resigned on Tuesday 26 November…" "The whole truth concerning the circumstances and account- ability for the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia must emerge. There must be transpar- ency from the Police Commis- sioner and the Attorney General. The investigation must be inde- pendent, impartial and free of all political influence." The human rights NGO Aditus also weighed in, saying the integ- rity of the Office of the Prime Minister had been damaged and called for Joseph Muscat to re- sign with immediate effect. "Malta's governance institu- tions are largely failing to fulfil their roles of preventing and addressing abuses of political and administrative power. It is shameful that the entities en- trusted by the nation to ensure justice, fairness, efficiency and democratic process – the public service, the judiciary, adminis- trative tribunals, the police and armed forces, and state agencies – are consistently used as exten- sions of political party clubs or recruitment agencies," Aditus director Neil Falzon said. "Our statement of more than two years ago reverberates loudly today, following a long string of institutional failures directly connected to the Prime Minister. It is time for the en- tire nation to reclaim Malta's democratic values. To insist that fundamental human rights, rule of law and good governance are repositioned at the heart of Gov- ernment. "To embark on a healing pro- cess that will require a revision of our Constitution, a challeng- ing of the omnipotence of politi- cal parties and a strengthening of those institutions mandated to respect, protect and fulfil our fundamental human rights. The nation can only start healing with the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Joseph Mus- cat." 5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 27 NOVEMBER 2019 NEWS Applicants must: • Have the ability to read and write in the Maltese and English language • Produce a School Leaving Certificate • Produce a recent clean Police Conduct • Be in possession of a valid and clean driving licence. Experience related to Local Enforcement will be considered an asset. Interested candidates have to submit a Curriculum Vitae together with the requested credentials through hr.lesa@gov.mt. or presented by hand at LESA Administration Building, Human Resources Office, 246, Mater Boni Consilii Street, Fgura, by not later than Tuesday 10 th December 2019 at noon. All applications are acknowledged and treated in the strictest confidence. Jobsplus Permit No. 860/2019 Call for applications: Community Officer 'Killers, out! Prison!' Thousands demand Joseph Muscat's resignation Former Opposition leader Simon Busuttil