It should have happened four years ago. But the visit made by the President of the Republic to the site where Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed on October 16, 2017 is still significant.
Had such a visit been made then, it would have transmitted a clear message in favour of solidarity, freedom of expression and investigative journalism. One can only speculate whether George Vella’s gesture on Monday was intended to do that and more, for he is the head of a state that, as the public inquiry into the murder concluded, must shoulder responsibility for the assassination.
His office issued a statement saying he laid flowers as a sign of condolence and to show condemnation of the murder, as well as to reconcile with the Caruana Galizia family as part of the national healing recommended by the inquiry report. Journalists were not invited to cover the event. Had they been present, Vella might have been able to spell out in detail what else his office is doing to nurture the national healing he desires to see.
He could also have able to pay public tribute to their work for democracy and promising them his strong backing for the public inquiry’s recommendations on the protection of journalism. If not constitutionally, he should consider it his moral duty to keep the public informed about these matters.
At his inauguration in April 2019, Vella declared: “My duty is to preserve the constitution and see that it is respected. The same applies to our constitutional structures that are so necessary for the fulfilment of democracy and rule of law. These are tools that we need to protect in a modern, democratic, progressive and economically dynamic society. It is only through the proper use of these instruments that we can pre-empt and counter the deterioration of democracy.” Journalism is one of those instruments.
Two years after the murder, Vella dedicated most of his official speech on Republic Day to the “very particular circumstances that deserve our full attention”. Calling for a joint effort to mend what was broken and reconstruct what had collapsed, he declared: “We need to build our country anew.”
The recommendations made by the public inquiry are a good place to start that healing process. The president should play a pivotal role in it. His visit to Bidnija was another small step in that direction, also important because it was welcomed by the family.
His next move should be to lay a wreath at the makeshift memorial to Caruana Galizia in Valletta. That would be a powerful statement in favour of freedom of expression, more so because his former cabinet colleague, Owen Bonnici, had violated that very human right by repeatedly ordering the removal of the memorial’s flowers and candles.
Those familiar with the way politics work in this country may conclude that Vella’s Bidnija visit had the prime minister’s nod. It also preceded, by a few days, a similar visit by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who even paid tribute to the slain journalist during her State of the Union speech the previous day.
Having been a member of the Joseph Muscat cabinet – which the public inquiry blamed for the culture of impunity that facilitated the murder – Vella has a heavy burden to shoulder. He must make sure he lives up to the pledge he made on taking office, which was to serve “as a moral guide towards the attainment of our country’s national unity”.
We are now waiting for Prime Minister Robert Abela to take the cue, pay tribute to the slain journalist and thus do his part in helping the reconciliation needed to close this dark chapter for our country.