This is a translation of the speech:
On the 18th November, the Times’ front page bore this headline:
Daphne murder mastermind suspects identified – investigators
It would seem, however, that these masterminds have disappeared into thin air because they were never mentioned again, and have never been caught. Is this yet another lie by the police and the government? Or are the people behind this murder so protected that they are trying to make people forget that these instigators exist?
It so happens that a few days before, the same newspaper had announced that the identity of the holder of the account 17 Black had been discovered, Mr. Jurgen Fenech. Suddenly, we discovered that the FIAU had already mentioned this name long before. On the 17th November, that is, a day before the announcement of the phantom mastermind suspects, Minister Owen Bonnici tried to calm the anger of those Maltese who use their brains to think, by telling them that they had nothing to worry about because the police is investigating. If we are to go by the success the police have had up to now, we might as well give up – not because our police force is incompetent, but because it would seem that someone above is controlling it and impeding it from doing its work. Proof of this may be seen in the fact that on the same day, the Prime Minister of all of us (tagħna lkoll) told us that he has no right to interfere in his Chief of Staff’s business. In other words, if Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi practically steal and corrupt under the Prime Minister’s very nose, this has nothing to do with him. It does not even occur to him that at least, for decency’s sake, he should suspend them until things become clearer. When somebody who uses his brains sees this kind of behaviour, it is obvious that s/he will end up by saying: so why is it in the Prime Minister’s interest to act like the three monkeys: not to see, not to hear, and not to open his mouth? Is he perhaps involved with these two rogues, and cannot get out of the corner they have put him into? Does he perchance have anything to do with the famous Egrant account?
It is important to speak of the lies and the silence in this country. It is important also to speak of the money that certain persons are earning. We have learnt that between the company 17 Black and Macbridge (whose owners are still unknown) the sum of 5000 euros a day was to be paid into Mizzi and Schembri’s accounts. Do you know what 5000 euros a day mean? They mean that in one week you can buy a car worth €35,000. If you wait two months you can buy a two-bedroomed flat, and if you wait six months you can buy a flat on the Sliema Front! And this, when at the same time, there are families who live on €1000 a month, young people who cannot get married or move on their own because they cannot even afford to buy a room!
It is important to understand how these €5000 are being made. So, let us go back to the 2013 elections, where we were told that Malta needed gas for our new power station. The Labour Party at the time was claiming that Malta needed a new power station, while Enemalta and the Government were arguing that the existing power station should be kept and powered by natural gas (LNG). When I was ambassador, I was marginally involved in discussions regarding the Trans Mediterranean Pipeline that goes from Algeria to Tunisia and Sicily and there were discussions about the feasibility of these pipelines being extended to Malta. At the time, this was seen as the best solution. But these rogues made the people believe that we needed a ship to store LNG. This ship was purchased from the Chinese and paid for from Maltese taxpayers’ money, and it continues to uglify the once-beautiful bay of Marsaxlokk. We were told that we could not survive without it. Today we understand that only a handful of Maltese really needed this ship, because it served as a pretext for them to continue to increase their already considerable fortune, by taking kickbacks at the expense of the Maltese. But let us not forget that amassing this fortune was considered necessary for reasons that should move us, because as Mr. Mizzi keeps reminding us, he created his Panama account for his family. Mr. Mizzi, why don’t you explain this to those who are sleeping in cars, or who are making their children sleep in garages. Why don’t you try to earn something for them too, while you are at it, given that you, and your wife, Sai Mizzi, who has lapped up €13,000 a month for a very long time – in fact, it is not certain whether she is still getting this salary – have long been taking money from the Maltese. You sicken us!
However, as we have recently discovered, this money business does not only affect ministers or Chiefs of Staff. It seems it has become a sickness or a habit of many high officials. What about all those who pretend they are earning a pittance, and who are getting so many kickbacks underhandedly, that their pay has become their pocket money? The latest case that emerged this week is that of Mrs Fenech Farrugia, who it would seem, is going to join the bevy of those who have no compunction in putting all us Maltese to shame. I fear that if what she is being accused of proves to be true, she is going to be yet another of those cases that we have been hearing of, and which, in the end, get off scot-free. And, unbelievably, these people are always suspended on full pay, which means they stay at home and still receive their money, while if you or I are caught doing something wrong, which is nothing in comparison to this filth we are witnessing, we would either be suspended on half pay if we are lucky, or on no pay at all – which is as things should be.
Let us not forget that our government and our opposition are currently in discussions to change the constitution. In normal circumstances, this is a good thing, but today, circumstances are not normal. Before she was killed, Daphne Caruana Galizia warned us all: ‘There are crooks everywhere’ and what is happening in our country shows how right she was. Personally, I do not believe that certain persons in our main parties are doing something for the good of our country and not for their pockets. It is for this reason that I cannot fight alone, but that we must continue to fight together, not under the flag of our political parties, but guided by a sense of justice. The time has come to see justice separated from power. Certain sentences have clearly shown this necessity, they have shocked those who use their brains to think. This is why I decided to join the NGO Repubblika. Repubblika is not, and does not aim to become, a political party. In fact, anyone involved in Maltese politics cannot have voting rights in this NGO. Repubblika wishes to represent civil society with regard to the rule of law and justice. I and many like myself, are determined to fight in order that true democracy can one day reign over this country torn by corrupt and obscene governance and we will no longer need to gather here in order to make our cry heard.