'No discussions to build Daphne Caruana Galizia monument' - Robert Abela
PN MP Graziella Attard Previ says the journalist should be honoured
There are no discussions to build a monument in honour of slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Prime Minister said on Tuesday.
Robert Abela was answering a parliamentary question on the matter raised by PN MP Graziella Attard Previ, days after Malta marked eight years since journalist Caruana Galizia was assassinated by a car bomb.
Attard Previ asked if the government had ever approached family members of the journalist to discuss a monument dedicated to her.
In a two-sentence reply, Abela said: “There are no discussions taking place on the matter."
“The government l lead has always shown respect towards the memory of Caruana Galizia and her family, not only on the anniversary of her death but throughout the whole year,” Abela added.
Contacted for comment, Attard Previ said Malta should honour Caruana Galizia with a national monument.
She said that during her time as Sliema mayor, the local council had honoured Caruana Galizia with a plaque and the planting of a tree at Fond Għadir.
“But considering what she means for Malta, what she did and what she passed through, we should honour her,” she said.
During a vigil honouring Caruana Galizia on Thursday, Pieter Omtzigt compared the “minor visible memory” for the slain journalist in Malta with the way she is regarded in Europe.
A former Dutch MP, Omtzigt was the Council of Europe rapporteur tasked with ensuring justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia and bolstering the rule of law in Malta.
“This visible memory in Malta is minor in comparison to Europe. Few people have a room in the European Parliament, a prestigious prize and European legislation named in honour of them,” Omtzigt said.
Shortly after the vigil, Office of the Prime Minister employee Neville Gafà cleared tributes for Caruana Galizia set at the Great Siege Monument which has doubled up as a memorial for the journalist.
OPM distanced itself from the action, saying Gafa was acting in his "personal capacity," but the prime minister's spokesperson also said that Gafa's actions were not a sign of disrespect for Caruana Galizia.