It has been two years since investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was brutally assassinated next to her home. It will be two years since our country became unrecognisable to those who believe in the fight against corruption, abuse of power and the depletion of standards in public life.
Daphne stood out among her colleagues. She exposed corruption and wrongdoing wherever she found it. She did so at great personal risk. Often she stood alone with little thought to the consequences to her safety. She was a patriot who fought for a better Malta for us all.
Daphne represented the fourth pillar of Maltese democracy and as a result of her murder, those who are betraying Maltese citizens to further their personal interests and ambitions can live easier than before.
A continuous coordinated hate campaign against Daphne lasted for the better part of a decade. She was vilified and dehumanised. It is telling that this campaign continues even today. It is partly because her investigative work is as important now as it was two years ago.
Many of the revelations she published have yet to be properly investigated by the authorities and those she exposed have yet to face justice.
We all remember Daphne’s investigative work on the citizenship scheme, the Panama Papers and Pilatus Bank. And now we also know about the work she had undertaken on 17 Black and Electrogas that she was unable to finish herself.
The revelations she reported impact our daily lives. Yet, wrongdoing and impunity continue unabated today.
Journalists will remain at risk while they stand alone in between the rule of law and those that seek to undermine it
Justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia is a national imperative.
It does not stop at identifying the mastermind and having him face the law. It must also include action against those who she exposed through her work. And it must include the restoration of the integrity of our institutions.
Journalists will remain at risk while they stand alone in between the rule of law and those that seek to undermine it.
It is this struggle between good and evil that Daphne represents. It is why we must keep her memory alive. It is why the corrupt are doing everything in their power to prevent us from doing so.
But they are failing. The memorial in Valletta is put back up every time it is cleared. Tributes to Daphne adorned the European Parliament as events are taking place in her memory.
An exhibition I organised conveying the ongoing calls for justice is prominently located at the European Parliament’s entrance. Vigils are taking place in European cities including Brussels, London, Berlin and Vienna and tomorrow evening a protest will take place in Valletta.
Crucially, her voice lives on through the courageous journalists who have continued her work. The world-renowned journalists of the Daphne Project got to the bottom of the 17 Black scandal and exposed Yorgen Fenech as the man who would funnel millions to corrupt politicians at the expense of each and every one of us. At home, there are others who are filling the massive void left behind.
Activists and nascent investigative media houses are increasingly putting themselves on the line for the common good. And the search for truth continues with unrelenting vigour.
That Muscat’s government wishes to suppress the truth has been clear for some time now. One need only look at the reluctance to set up an independent public inquiry into the assassination. At the time of writing the proposed inquiry is neither independent nor properly public. But no one can escape the truth forever.
It is not the politician’s role to investigate and prosecute wrongdoing. But it is our job to make sure that our institutions are functioning and that investigative journalists can do their job free from harassment and intimidation. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. It is through this work that we also keep Daphne’s memory alive.
David Casa is a Member and Quaestor of the European Parliament.