A sad day for a country that deserves better

Monday’s events shake us to our core. As a social partner and an organisation whose mission is built on social dialogue which is essentially the right to speak freely and express oneself in order to improve the county we live and work in, we are at a loss for words, GRTU said.

Similar horrible incidents, unlawfully threatening or claiming the lives of individuals, have been raising our concern over the years but this particular barbaric murder is not something anyone can turn a blind eye to. When something like this happens we all wake up the next morning feeling changed. We all think differently and act differently. This is the cost we all carry for the unforgivable events of Monday.

On Monday, a serious threat was made to our democracy and freedom of speech. The impact of this is being felt beyond Malta’s shores but the biggest harm was done within our country and within each and every one of us.

The feeling of safety is what Malta has been priding itself with for a long number of years and this has instilled inside all of us a sense of comfort and the feeling of being protected. The world today is different. We feel exposed and nobody should be allowed to take the sense of security away from our country. The harm has now been done and strong corrective measures are required to reverse the state of things for a country that deserves better.

As an official representative of a main strata in society we feel obliged to protect our social and economic segments. We do not just unreservedly condemn the abomination of Monday but call on our institutions, the government, the opposition, the social partners and each and every one of us ultimately to work together to rebuild our social fabric.