Most of us will remember what we were doing on October 16, 2017. I was working with then European Parliament president Antonio Tajani as the news emerged of a bomb in Bidnija. The thought of the bomb being close to Daphne Caruana Galiza’s home crossed my mind immediately.
As it became clear that Daphne was indeed the target, incredulity kicked in. How can anyone in his right mind think of attacking such a pillar of our democracy? They did. They killed her to silence her, to bury the truth that she alone was capable and brave enough to dig out.
The months that followed changed our lives, Malta’s democracy and the agenda of the European Parliament. With Tajani, a lot of my work turned to focus on the fundamental value of press freedom, budging the European Commission into action on several fronts, from a proposed SLAPP law to specific funding and support for investigative journalism, not to mention several events held to honour Daphne’s fight.
But as Europe drew lessons from Daphne’s barbaric assassination, followed by that of Jan Kuciak, tragically her beloved birthplace remained idle. Not only that but we also witnessed the idiocy of candles being swept away and revered symbolic places barricaded. Five years on and with a change in prime minister, are we any better?
We are not better at all. The rotten state of affairs which led to Daphne’s killing and the obstruction of justice from Castille have remained unchanged.
The exchange last week between the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, Prime Minister Robert Abela and the Institute of Maltese Journalists shows that the present Labour government hardly behaves any differently to when Joseph Muscat and Keith Schembri were in control.
We can see no genuine attachment to freedom of information, to the fundamental value of protecting those who dig out the truth. On the contrary, we see a prime minister who seems to be alert to the need to appear on the side of freedom but who is ready to take us for a ride by doing nothing to bring it forward.
Europe will not save us from ourselves. This is on us- Peter Agius
That is the only way to read Abela’s reaction to the public inquiry conducted by three judges which was published last year. Back then, he vouched to follow up the inquiry’s recommendations with concrete change. Back then, he gave the impression of remorse at the inquiry’s finding that the cabinet held a collective responsibility for the assassination of Caruana Galizia.
More than a year after the public inquiry was published, Abela’s government did not budge an inch into delivering the concrete changes called for by the inquiry.
The constant struggle of journalists to get information about public affairs indicates that Labour is not truly committed to media freedom. The pompous statements by Abela that he presented innovative and ‘first-in-Europe’ media law proposals were shot down by the journalists themselves who exposed his delusions, citing, in contradiction to Abela, that their main proposals were disregarded or watered down. Five years on, very little has changed.
Change requires new thinking and new protagonists. Europe will not save us from ourselves. This is on us. We must upgrade the fight from the values platform to the nitty gritty, to the fine print, starting from the new media law proposals now on the European negotiating table.
We will not stop seeking the truth and justice. Daphne’s stories will not be buried. We owe this to Daphne and her family. I am ready to continue this fight with all people of goodwill.
Peter Agius is a prospective Nationalist Party MEP candidate.