In 1995, the South African government, led by Nelson Mandela, set up the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC). It was a bold and controversial proposal. The country needed to turn a new page following years of deep racial hatred, physical abuse and human rights violations.
The aim of the TRC was not to hunt down, prosecute and hang guilty parties as happened in Nuremberg. Mandela reasoned that if he went after the proverbial pound of flesh, he would end up tearing the whole country apart.
So, he set up the TRC and tasked it with gathering evidence from victims and perpetrators to establish the truth. Mandela viewed the establishment of truth as a healing process. He saw truth as vital to reconciliation and moving the country forward.
Robert Abela seems to have devised his version of a Truth and Reconciliation Committee, but in his version of the TRC, truth is unimportant. He is offering the ostracised members of Joseph Muscat’s government a return to frontline politics. All they have to do is apologise, and everything will be forgotten. This is a travesty of good governance and an insult to the people Abela pledged to serve.
The people have a right to know what happened between 2013 and 2018. The people have a right to know the truth.
The Muscat years were characterised by transgressions of the highest order.
These crimes included corruption in the award of public sector contracts, insider trading, nepotism, illegal disbursement of public funds to curry political favour, the dismantling of the separation of powers, and a blatant attempt to turn the judiciary into an extension of the Labour Party.
These abuses culminated in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, a vociferous opponent of Muscat and his cronies. It was thanks to her, to civil society, the truly independent media with their tireless journalists and the opposition, that some dark truths were uncovered.
Truth is a powerful weapon. When the emergence of links between the Office of the Prime Minister and commissioned killers surfaced, Muscat and his assistant, Keith Schembri, had to resign.
Muscat did everything within his power to keep that truth hidden. He weakened public institutions which are duty-bound to investigate all transgressors without fear or favour. The police force became a mockery, with one police commissioner after another resigning.
High-ranking police officers, rather than prosecuting criminals, became their friends. The Office of the Public Prosecutor repeatedly failed to take action, as it is empowered to do, against those who abused their office.
Abela must understand that he is the prime minister first and the leader of the Labour Party second
Because of inaction by the police and the public prosecutor’s office, the whole truth of what happened in the Muscat years remains uncovered.
We did get a taste of the extent of corruption in the Vitals case, which labelled the government as a perpetrator, not a victim, in a case that defrauded the public. To date, no charges have been brought against any government official for their part in defrauding the public of hundreds of millions of euros.
Incidentally, the Vitals case was instituted by Adrian Delia, then leader of the opposition, with the government, including the public prosecutor’s office, doing their best to stop the case from moving forward.
One would have expected Abela to distance himself from his predecessor. He is doing the very opposite. His latest offer to launder the Muscat-era politicians proves that Abela is a continuation of Muscat’s legacy. After all, on the day of his election as party leader, he promised the party faithful more of the same.
Abela must understand that he is the prime minister first and the leader of the Labour Party second. His first duty is to the country. His duty is to ensure that the crimes committed during the Muscat years are uncovered and those responsible are brought to justice.
Unfortunately, all indications are that he is heading in the opposite direction. Putting party considerations above his duties, he is electing to bury the truth and reward the transgressors.
Malta is a young democracy. We have much to learn, even if we have punched above our weight in the past 60 years.
Our country has gained independence, became a republic, joined the European Union, and built a strong and diversified economy – a seemingly impossible task to many who lived through the years leading up to independence.
But our success was overshadowed in the latter years by our track record on governance issues. In 2021, Malta was put on the financial grey list. In 2019, Muscat was named Man of the Year for corruption.
If we continue to launder money and politicians, hide the truth and put money as the only value worth pursuing, there will be consequences. It is not a coincidence that the World Happiness Report for 2024 shows that Maltese youth are the unhappiest in Europe.
Mario de MarcoMario de Marco is the Nationalist Party’s spokesperson on tourism.