The rotten apples have to be removed from the barrel - anti-corruption prosecutor
Antonio Di Pietro addresses CSN demo in Valletta
An Italian anti-corruption prosecutor yesterday told demonstrators in Valletta that the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia was not a crime like any other, calling on people to become one voice against corruption. ‘Mani Pulite’ prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro, who exposed corruption and ‘tangentopoli’ in Italy, was speaking at a demonstration organised by the Civil Society Network.
“The first thing I wish to say is that you have to have the courage to know that if you want to, you can.”
Di Pietro said normality would be achieved “when people like [him], whose job it was to bring criminals to justice, no longer make the news. As a magistrate [he] applied the law equally to everyone,” he said.
He said politicians sometimes acted like thieves, adding that “normality is when jailing a thief does not make headlines.”
Daphne Caruana Galizia, he said, died because she was doing her job. “Her family is suffering today because of her struggle to seek the truth and inform her readers.”
“Malta has always been a bridge between civilisations. Be careful. I have heard people saying that Malta is a mafia state. Let us not make this mistake. When a country is called a mafia state, it means that everyone is put in the same basket so that no one is found guilty. The rotten apples have to be taken out of the barrel.”
Unidentified body recovered from the sea in Mellieħa
People like Daphne, he said, are fundamental to democracy. “Let us not believe that this was a murder like any other. In my country, we have witnessed this time and time again. The mafia controlled the institutions because the people running those institutions pretended that they did not see anything.”
“Do not make the mistake of thinking that the Mafiosi are the ones who go around with guns in their hands. You have to find out not who killed Daphne, but who sent them.”
Di Pietro told his audience that it was up to them now. “Everyone must make their voice heard. You have to become an ocean of voices. Daphne was killed because she was alone. You all have to do what she did, speak up about what is happening and seek the truth. If we remain silent, there might be another Daphne (murder) tomorrow, and we have to prevent this. You have to speak up and say that corruption is not OK.”
Writer Immanuel Mifsud said Malta had become an uncritical society, where the people belonged to the politicians instead of the politicians belonging to the people.
“Civil society means we have a responsibility that we haven’t yet assumed but that democracy requires,” he stated.
Mifsud said he dreamt of a civil society that truly governed the country, adding that he hoped the country would abandon its childish mentality, where the few in power hold the rest to ransom.
Young people in university and tertiary education should not be competing with each other based on political parties and party memberships, he said, adding that a pluralist society was essential.
Civil Society Network member Miriam Galea said Malta was a country where “the mediocre and corrupt get a pat on the back.”
“I am one of those who have lost their place in a country where the right way means nothing and evil is allowed instead; a country where the honest are pushed aside and those who steal, lie, deceive and threaten advance.”
She continued that Maltese MEPs who spoke up are not traitors, and neither was Daphne Caruana Galizia. The same was true for journalists seeking the truth and whistle-blowers who risk everything, she said.
“A traitor is one who sullies Malta’s name with corrupt banks, greedy politicians, and a dirty government. Traitors are those who remain silent before this desperate situation.”
Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi have retained their positions, even after the Panama scandal, Galea said, adding that the same has happened with the police commissioner and the attorney general, who have let everyone down.
She accused Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of having two faces: the solemn mask he An unidentified body was yesterday recovered from the water in Anchor Bay, Mellieħa.
The police said the corpse was spotted at around noon.
It was recovered by the Armed Forces of Malta, which dispatched a rescue launch and a helicopter.
Duty Magistrate Josette Demicoli has been informed and is leading an inquiry.
The police are also investigating.
wears for foreign journalists and the face of a bully who believes that the rule of the majority trumps the rule of the law.
“You hide behind the police commissioner and an incompetent attorney general. You attack anyone who dares voice the truth” she exclaimed, adding, “You portray yourself as European but you have Third World standards.”
Journalist and former Nationalist Party campaign manager Caroline Muscat urged the Maltese people to no longer remain neutral in such dark times, as they risked being complicit.
“Together we are a strong force. The truth is the biggest weapon we have,” Muscat explained.
The obligation to investigate, to be critical and to seek the truth is everyone’s, she said, adding that when the truth is found, we also have the right to share it.
“Don’t allow them to call you traitors. The traitors are those who pick their own personal interests over the common good,” she said.
Referring to the lack of action taken over leaked Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) reports, Muscat said: “They do what they want because they know they’ll get off lightly. The system is corrupt from the roots and cosmetic changes are not enough.”