Malta commemorates Sette Giugno riot victims

Malta is commemorating the victims of the 7 June 1919 bread riots today, known as Sette Giugno, one of five national days celebrated yearly.

The day marks an uprising by the Maltese, who were protesting against profiteering by major flour importers at the time. A mob ransacked several buildings in Valletta and British soldiers called in to bring order to the streets shot on protestors. Four Maltese men were killed.

The Sette Giugno riots are regarded as the first step in Malta’s long road to independence from Britain, which came about in 1964. The uprising led to the Amery-Milner Constitution of 1921 that provided for internal autonomy and a bicameral parliament.

On Friday morning, President Myriam Spiteri Debono laid a wreath at the foot of the Sette Giugno monument in St George’s Square Valletta, accompanied by the capital’s mayor Alfred Zammit.

Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia visits the tomb where the four victims of the Sette Giugno riots are buried (Photo: DOI)

Earlier, Speaker of the House Anġlu Farrugia commemorated the four victims by laying a wreath on the tomb where they are buried at the Addolorata Cemetery.

This year the Sette Giugno commemoration comes a day before Malta heads to the polls to vote in European and local council elections.