Updated at 4.10pm with IĠM statement

The government said on Tuesday that it is confident that everyone responsible for the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia will be brought to justice.

“Three people have been arrested and are being prosecuted for carrying out the murder, and the government is confident that anyone else responsible will be found and brought to justice,” it said in a statement released one year since the journalist was assassinated.

“The government is resolute in its determination to see justice served”.

Ms Caruana Galizia was murdered in a car bomb explosion one year ago today. Her family has called for a public inquiry into the circumstances leading up to her murder, but the government has rebuffed those calls, saying a criminal inquiry under way must be concluded before that request can be considered.

The government statement offered Ms Caruana Galizia’s family and friends its condolences and condemned the “senseless act of violence” that killed her.

“Malta is committed to upholding human rights, freedom of speech, the protection of journalists and the rule of law,” the statement said.

President Coleiro Preca opens the conference.

President holds minute’s silence

Earlier on Tuesday, President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca held a minute’s silence before opening a conference at the Verdala Palace, to mark the one-year anniversary of Ms Caruana Galizia’s murder.

“Such an occasion is a stark reminder that we have to continue to strive to safeguard freedom of thought and expression at all times,” the president said.

The Food Rights conference is being held by the President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society. Award-winning environmental activist and thinker Vandana Shiva is the keynote speaker.

'Threat to rule of law'

The Nationalist Party said the murder had scarred Malta's democracy and its international reputation, with dwindling faith in the country's Attorney General and police commissioner. 

"This murder was in itself a grave threat to citizens' freedom of expression, journalists' protection and the functioning of the rule of law," the PN said. 

It reiterated calls for a public inquiry into the murder. 

"Justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done," the PN said. 

EU: If journalists are silenced, so is democracy

The First Vice-President of the European Commission Franz Timmermans, Vice-President Ansip and Commissioners Jourová and Gabriel in a joint statement remembered Caruana Galizia, Slovak investigative journalist Jan Kuciak, and many other journalists who sacrificed everything they had to seek the truth.

"It is also an occasion, for Europe, to pause for a moment and think about what we hold dear: our right to speak freely," they said.

"The Commission stands firm on the protection of free speech and free media. Democracy cannot survive if journalists are no longer able to report freely, if they are subject to censorship, if they are prevented from reporting criticism of the powers that be and especially if they are intimidated, harassed, threatened and sometimes even killed just for doing their job. Theirs is a job democracy relies and depends upon.

"In this vein we must also consider whistleblowers, often sources of investigative journalism, who need protection as well. They rely on us to provide for their safety, we cannot let them down."

The commissioners said these murders should not be allowed to have a chilling effect on free media. Citizens should be able to form their own opinions based on unhampered investigation and independent reporting.

"That is why the persons responsible for these assassinations must be brought to justice. We want the full truth. We need to send a clear signal to all journalists: it is safe to work in Europe. If journalists are silenced, so is democracy. This will not happen in Europe. Not on our watch."

'Deliberate attack' 

The Democratic Party said that Ms Caruana Galizia's murder and the government's subsequent behaviour were a "deliberate attack on the delicate checks and balances of our democracy, notably the media". 

The PD accused the government of dragging its feet and interfering with institutions that were ostensibly independent. 

It also said Opposition leader Adrian Delia had to share a burden of responsibility for having created a political climate "that was instrumental to weaken and isolate Daphne Caruana Galizia". 

'Society deserves to know who killed Daphne and why' - IĠM

The Institute of Maltese Journalists said that it would be represented at a vigil scheduled for 7pm on Tuesday to mark Ms Caruana Galizia's murder, "to remember a colleague whose life was taken away because she exercised her right to free speech". 

"Above all, we will be there as a reminder of the pressing need for answers," the IĠM said in a statement which said that the failure to apprehend the crime's mastermind "cannot be accepted".  

"We cannot tolerate living in a society where someone can consider silencing a journalist and think they can get away with it," the IĠM said. 

Ms Caruana Galizia's murder shocked the nation. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli