Prime Minister Robert Abela has condemned threats made against Manuel Delia and said that he was in contact Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa to ensure the activist’s safety.
The statement came in reply to questions sent by Times of Malta on Thursday, after Delia said he would be leaving Malta after being threatened by people accused of complicity in Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder.
A spokesperson for the office of the Prime Minister said that Abela “not only condemns any form of threats but is also actively working and consulting on changes that will give more protection to journalists”.
The spokesperson added that contact had been made with the office of the police commissioner on Thursday morning “to ensure that the necessary measures relative to Mr Delia and his family's safety are taken”.
“The Office of the Prime Minister was informed that the Malta Police was already in contact with Mr Delia and that necessary investigations and actions had already been initiated prior to the most recent assertions.”
'Indoctrinated by campaigns of harassment'
Speaking to Times of Malta, journalist Matthew Caruana Galizia expressed solidarity for Delia and his family and said more needed to be done to reverse the effects of indoctrination.
"I feel as though our country still has a long way to go and that Manuel and his family are paying a price for our progress towards a more democratic and free society that they shouldn’t have to pay,” he said.
“It is an experience I lived in my own childhood and it’s a hard one. People like Manuel and his family make Malta proud - normal people like you and me who do extraordinary things. But we have to take care of them and protect them,” he continues.
“That means making sure they’re not harassed to the point that they have to leave, not because they’re corrupt or neo-Nazis, but because they’re pushing for positive change.”
Caruana Galizia believes an attitude change towards the media is needed, and that there should be outreach to those who have been indoctrinated by harassment campaigns.
“I believe there is realisation in the more intelligent parts of government that something has to be done. The difficulty for our leaders and us is that when you take the genie of party propaganda out of the bottle, you can’t put it back in,” he said.
“The people that have been indoctrinated by the campaigns of harassment and intimidation mentioned in the public inquiry report will not be un-indoctrinated without a campaign to reverse the damage done to their minds. There are 100,000 people plus who are like a ghost army of the governing party, still fighting a war in the jungle long after their general has declared a truce.”
Earlier on Thursday, the Institute of Maltese Journalists, Nationalist leader Bernard Grech and ADPD condemned the threats and urged the police to investigate the matter.