Repubblika Press Release: The report by the Venice Commission, the advisory body of the Council of Europe, reflects Repubblika's concerns about the lack of strong democratic structures in Malta. Having elections every couple of years does not mean having a democracy. Constitutional structures which ensure separation of powers and a strong system of checks and [...]
Artist Joe Farrugia sent in a comment with an image of artwork of his in reaction to my earlier post on the passport scheme: I read with interest your article about the passport scheme. I am attaching a recent artwork I made about the subject: Indentikit Malta, which I feel captures in some way the [...]
There are times when I wonder if I’m the only one to be shocked. And then very quickly I stop caring anymore. Take Carmel Degabriele’s annual report tabled in Parliament this week. He is the regulator of the passport sales program and the law obliges him to report on a yearly basis on the workings [...]
How does one say this nicely? Let’s just say Lawrence Cutajar would not be the likely choice in a casting for a cop-show looking for a chief of police that inspires sobriety, confidence, balance and hard-nosed, indefatigable determination to fight and defeat crime. If Lawrence Cutajar played NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, binge watching [...]
This assessment of the implications of the Venice Commission report published today on the euObserver is probably as good as any you’ll read. It presents the problem of hesitation for those at the EU who could do something about this because Joseph Muscat argues that the weaknesses in Malta’s constitutional makeup are a problem handed [...]
The Appellate Court presided by Judge Anthony Ellul turned down an appeal by Labour apparatchik Aaron Farrugia who had been condemned by a lower court to pay Peter Caruana Galizia, Andrew Borg Cardona and the heirs of Daphne Caruana Galizia damages for libel. Aaron Farrugia posted on his Facebook and Twitter accounts a lie published [...]
https://youtu.be/aEHxe5A8U_0 For the past week this monument behind me has been the theatre where ultra-partisan pro-government supporters felt entitled and emboldened to harass and assault people daring to place flowers and candles for truth and justice. Contrary to the relentless propaganda pushed the government of Joseph Muscat and his fanatical supporters, this particular monument was [...]
https://youtu.be/-zkHIZXayeQ I am an 18-year-old student at University. On most days, I consider my generation to be fortunate enough to be able to get a free higher education of our choice. Yet, I never thought I’d be standing here having to defend our most basic fundamental human rights - starting with our right to freedom [...]
https://youtu.be/6_ZjgMdMNww Rosa Parks, b’att sempliċi, waħedha, b’dinjita’ u bit-tlett kelmiet ‘No, I’m not’, irrifjutat li tagħti postha lil persuna ta’ karneġġjon bajda fuq tal-linja. Kollha nafu x’ġara wara. Revoluzzjoni sħiħa, mibdija minn mara li kienet xebgħet tiġi meqjusa bħala ċittadina second class, bla moħħ, bi drittijiet inqas minn ħaddiehor. Hi stqarret li ‘No, the only [...]
https://youtu.be/hemM-4GlvmA The web, made of honey, With a goal and purpose that will leave you gasping. We advertise the country like it’s heaven on earth, We speculate without measure, the land of waste and excess. They come, they come looking for a better life, Thinking they’ll find wealth, maybe taste caviar; Little do they know [...]
The Venice Commission in its Malta report, says Malta is obliged to establish whether the government knew of the risks to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s life and did all it could to avoid those risks. In its report the Venice Commission said Malta has obligations to establish “that the authorities knew or ought to have known [...]
Antimafia Duemila, set up by the Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino memorial foundation, reported today last week's assault by government supporters on #occupyjustice activists laying flowers and candles in Valletta. The assault, during which my wife Clemence Dujardin, was physically assaulted by two persons in Great Siege square, was one of a series of incidents [...]
Here's a link to the full Venice Commission report in full. What no one seems to be acknowledging is that this report is another legacy of Daphne Caruana Galizia. It came about because the Council of Europe wanted to understand why a journalist was killed in Malta and appointed Pieter Omtzigt of the Netherlands as [...]
This is not a Chris Cardona went to Velbert story. Though of course, god knows where he’s been. He went to watch a football match. He went with his government colleague Chris Agius known to his friends as il-Wefi and some other mates. The mates include Silvan and Matthew Fenech, cousins of Yorgen Fenech of [...]
The Venice Commission report remarks about our proliferation of tribunals presided by quasi-judges that have the power to decide but are casual about the obligations of impartiality incumbent on judges. Here's one. Harold Walls presides over an Industrial Tribunal. And he stretches his mental faculties on Facebook. This wasn't some academic exercise. It is a [...]
Look at the candle in the foreground of this picture. It is one of the few that you can see that is not a classic votive red candles like most of the others flickering around it. It is a bit out of focus but you can figure out a picture of Martin Luther on the [...]
In Valletta yesterday.
Played at tonight's Vigil for Truth and Justice in Valletta: https://youtu.be/tGF6vUdq7rs
#occupyjustice statement: Nineteen women clad in black stood on the steps of Castille, the office of Malta’s Prime Minister, holding cards reading “Who Owns Macbridge?” to mark 14 months since the assassination of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The action, carried out by #occupyjustice activists, was in clear reference to the mystery client company which [...]
I looked up this piece I remembered writing, one of quite a few in the hours after Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed last year. I did that because the heading — her words, not mine — is always stuck in my mind when I look at the reality around me. Tomorrow the Venice Commission will [...]