Another Black Monday

Joseph Muscat has a political responsibility to shoulder. Morally and politically speaking, his position is untenable. He lost the moral ground.

After a weekend full of events, Mondays are usually blue for some, and hard to settle down to a week of commitments.

However Monday, October 16, was not a blue but a black Monday for many. Sadly, ‘honest’ Malta had to relive another Black Monday from its past political scrapbook. The dreadful event was a throwback to 1979, when on Monday, October 15, 1979, the Times of Malta building was burned down and the home of then Opposition leader, Eddie Fenech Adami was ransacked by Labour thugs.

How could this ever happen in quiet Malta? Who were the responsible culprits? Why were the police so conspicuously absent? These were and still are legitimate, unanswered questions. The reaction of people then was not only one of shock and anger but one of firm determination and resolute. Not in my name, not in my country.

That was then.

The brutal assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia has shocked and angered all those who cherish our democratic values. The various silent protests being held have one bold message; no one should go this way, let alone a journalist who was doing her job.

The attack has been rightfully interpreted by many as one to break Daphne’s pen and to suppress the pursuit for truth, good governance and freedom of expression. It was a direct attack on our own foundations of democracy and our way of living. After last Black Monday, democracy is not what it used to be. It was a severe blow for us all.

I am sure that only those with possible dirt (or should I say, blood?) on their hands and others wearing thick partisan blinkers, smirked at and/or were relieved by this carnage. But then, they must live a very miserable, hollow life, crippled by a heavy, murky conscience.

They can evade human justice but they will have a hard time facing the final analysis, which will eventually arrive, sooner or later. One can run away but cannot hide forever.

Malta not only viciously lost one of its daughters, a mother of three, but it lost the most inquisitive and investigative journalist on the island. Although one may have possibly disagreed at times with her style, subject matter and choice of terms, her overall journalistic investigations uncovered systematic sleaze, corruption and scandals that others, in particular a number of so called ‘politicians’ and people lured by money, were unwilling to disclose.

The Panama revelations saga was just one feather in her cap. Unfortunately, such revelations were not properly followed up by serious non-political investigations. This led to an environment/culture of impunity, where those allegedly involved felt they are untouchable.

Ironically, some even felt irritated when criticised. This is a dark blot on various constitutional bodies, in particular the Commissioner of Police, the Financial Analysis Intelligence Unit and the Attorney General, who all seemed to be in hibernation. I really do not envy their conscience.

On his part, Joseph Muscat, as Prime Minister, has a political responsibility to shoulder. Morally and politically speaking, his position is untenable. He lost the moral ground. If this happened in other ‘normal’ countries, he would have offered his resignation, even if temporarily. Only in countries that do not uphold democratic standards are political critics murdered and life goes on as usual. Daphne’s assassination was not a ‘run of the mill’ murder as in the other five similar car bomb incidents.

This was a political murder of a renowned political commentator. The speech by the Prime Minster in Parliament may be technically correct but lacked credibility. Here was a leader and his party, who not only dehumanised Daphne for over a decade, but also a Prime Minister responsible for the meltdown of our institutions, which are meant to safeguard our democratic credentials. The rule of law must be enforced without distinction. This was the wake-up call from the Chief Justice. How can investigations be freely held and be beyond doubt of any conflict of interest, when they are directed by the same people/administration that Daphne had previously systematically criticised and successfully exposed their inappropriateness?

Crocodile tears may impress the blinkered few, but many are wise enough to see through them. Hollow words are only hollow sounds if they are not followed by concrete actions. The bereaved Matthew Caruana Galizia is without doubt justified when he calls for the resignation of the Prime Minister.

This is a very trying time for our democratic credentials, even more so after the ongoing revelation of Panama and Azerbaijan scandal connections. We might be registering an economic surplus but sadly we are experiencing a moral deficit.

It is also of little comfort that the foreign press – free from petty partisan mentality – has lambasted our island as a ‘Mafia state’. This is a remark which will surely further harm our interests/reputation as a law-abiding nation.

Where do we go from here? In the face of this unprecedented scenario we must come together as one. It is through unity that we have strength. As we emerged stronger back in 1979, let us once more stand up together to be counted. This is not a time to choose silence. Silence breeds apathy and apathy leads to more suppression of voices that seek the truth.

Although we have a right and a duty to be angry, let our anger be channelled into mobilising ourselves to work harder in promoting and safeguarding the values of honesty, good governance, public integrity, rule of law, solidarity, social justice, equality and freedom of expression. We cannot afford to let Malta experience, once more, another Black Monday. Let us then not be taken over by fear or omertà but choose to be the light in this hour of darkness.

Let us all be a force of peace and justice. Daphne, rest in peace.

(This article was published on Times of Malta – 25 October, 2017)