Statement by Repubblika, #occupyjustice and manueldelia.com:
On the 16th of every month we organise a vigil to remember Daphne Caruana Galizia and to call for truth and justice for her and for her journalism. We will continue to do this until truth is known and justice is served.
But with all that is happening in our country, we want to clearly tell the government they should not think this is a memorial that has nothing to do with them.
On Saturday 16 November, apart from the monthly vigil we are holding a protest march. We call upon civil society organisations and the entire community to join us in a protest that aspires to clear and explicit aims.
It is all very well for Keith Schembri to plead his personal rights to avoid testifying in Court. But Keith Schembri is also a public official. Keith Schembri should immediately resign or the prime minister should dismiss him.
The fact is that immediately after the election that brought him to power, Keith Schembri set up a Panama company. We know this company drew up “business plans” with 17 Black. We know 17 Black belongs to Yorgen Fenech. We know Yorgen Fenech profitted from the Electrogas public contract.
Everyone now is dodging the consequences. Keith Schembri ran away from the Court. Yorgen Fenech ran away from the country. Konrad Mizzi – who also agreed to be secretly paid by Yorgen Fenech – is dodging every inquiry into his conduct.
Add to these two Chris Cardona and Edward Scicluna subjects of a criminal inquiry into how they profitted selling public hospitals to private interests.
These people are dismantling social protection to make their buyers richer. Everyone pays higher electricity bills so that someone in Azerbaijan gets richer at our expense. We are paying millions more to someone we do not know so that Gozitans and patients at St Luke’s and Karin Grech hospitals gain absolutely nothing in any improvement to the health service.
The situation we have today is compounded by a lack of trust in the judiciary appointed for its partisan loyalty. This weakens personal and community wellbeing. Citizens must join forces to stop those who are taking away their future.
Daphne Caruana Galizia fought for justice. The best way to honour her memory is to convert sorrow into protest.
The crooks must pay for what they’ve done.
The protest for truth and justice starts near Pjazza Teatru Rjal at 19:00 on Saturday, 16 November 2019 and arrives at Great Siege Square, Valletta where at 19:30 a protest vigil will be held.
