Maria Falcone, head of the Fondazione Giovanni Falcone set up in the aftermath of the assassination of her brother the Sicilian anti-mafia judge 30 years ago, has accepted the recognition of honorary membership of NGO Repubblika.
The honorary membership was conferred on Maria Falcone yesterday by Repubblika’s President Robert Aquilina.
In a letter conferring the honorary membership, Robert Aquilina recalled how Maria Falcone’s brother Giovanni “is recognised across the world as a symbol of the fight against the mafia, and as an outstanding model for all those in public institutions desirous of fulfilling their duty with integrity. He is also renowned for the courage and determination he showed while fulfilling his responsibilities, as well as for the wisdom he showed in advancing the fight against organised crime.”
“Today, more than ever, we understand your brother’s heroic efforts and appreciate the courage and determination with which you, dear Professor Falcone, had to muster in order to carry forward this very important commitment to civil society following his death, that is, the commitment to keep alive and spread across the world his memory and the fight that he and his colleagues undertook for the common good of society.”
Referring to the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia five years ago which inspired the foundation of Repubblika, Robert Aquilina said that “we have understood, this time through our own experience, what it means for a person to be isolated and defamed, and then assassinated. We have understood this because we have seen with our own eyes how certain figures of the state can be seized by criminal elements to then be mobilised against those who work – at great risk and sacrifice – for the common good. We have seen what consequences can result from all this.”
Robert Aquilina recalled the strong ties between Repubblika and the Fondazione Falcone. “Last May, in Palermo, my colleagues and I were delighted to note the huge respect that your brother Giovanni enjoys among the Italian population, even with the words of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella. But it is that extraordinary vision of bringing together different generations – the younger ones and those who had to go through the darkest times – through contemporary art, through the beauty and poetic power of works of art in the cities, that has taught us a new model of promoting memory beyond anniversaries.”
Maria Falcone will today be participating in the events organised by Repubblika, #occupyjustice and this website to mark the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. She will also be speaking at tonight’s vigil in Valletta that starts with a march from Parliament House starting at 18:30.