‘Daphne was a leader who worked in loyalty to her country’: Repubblika President

From the quiet of her room, Daphne Caruana Galizia would turn the world upside down and bring to light truths that nobody suspected or could deny, Repubblika President Vickie Anne Cremona said on Wednesday evening.

“She wasn’t focused on her image, posing, showing herself, smiling and laughing in front of the cameras at the slightest opportunity to show how cool or how clever she was. That was not her style. Instead, whenever she lit her computer, alone and apart in a quiet room, and started writing, everyone would stop to see what she was saying, those who admired her as well as those who detested her,” Cremona said

Activists and people gathered at the make-shift Daphne Caruana Galizia memorial on Wednesday evening to commemorate the slain journalist in a vigil seven years on from her murder.

Addressing the crowd, before the vigil, activist Manuel Delia said the vigil would not be streamed live due to a court order over blanket ban on “writings, declarations or public discussions” on Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder and Yorgen Fenech outside what happens in court.

“Seven years have passed since she was torn to pieces. Seven years that we have been fighting for justice. In a fierce struggle, with the help of those who like you here, have the courage and will to accompany us, we have forced the government to hold a public inquiry, yet none of its results have been fulfilled, and justice still has not been done,” Cremona said.

(Photo: MaltaToday)

She said Daphne was a true leader who worked in silence in loyalty towards her country.

The Repubblika president said Malta’s public life has failed the country’s citizens.

“Malta’s public life has failed us, her citizens, because there is so much to show that capitalism, politics, and organised crime have created an atmosphere that leads to death, rather than generating life,” she said. “Let us not forget the numerous mafia crimes that took place before Daphne was killed: the bombs that exploded in front of houses and under cars; the lawyers and businessmen who were killed in suspicious circumstances. These deaths show that the rule of law in our country has weakened, to the extent that violence is being used instead of law to solve burning issues.”

Family members of Daphne Caruana Galizia (Photo: MaltaToday)

She went on to speak about how activists gather at the foot of the monument each month.

“We do not remember Daphne only as a capable journalist, but as the symbol of the fight against the failure of the Maltese state which exists to ensure the security and well-being of us all,” she said. “The state institutions, by the authority and resources they wield, should fight against situations and environments that threaten serenity and life in every sector. This is what Daphne fought for: her death means the victory of those who do not protect us, ordinary citizens, from the violence embodied in uncontrolled power.”

She said that what Daphne uncovered and condemned has fired a strong will to fight for a better Malta.

(Photo: MaltaToday)

“We can rid Malta of the evil that has overcome it, and we believe that our presence, like Daphne’s gaze in the poster, will take us beyond the immediate present, and foster within us the confidence that engagement and unity will win for us, the future,” she concluded.

Italian mafia victim addresses vigil

During the vigil, Italian shop owner Tiberio Bentivoglio, who resisted the mafia at his Italian home, delivered a to those present.

Bentivoglio, who refused to pay extortion money and reported 'Ndrangheta members, shared how his stand led to threats, the burning of his shop, and a life under police protection.

He recounted his struggle to secure a new business location after reporting the criminals, eventually obtaining a store confiscated from a convicted mafioso.

“This is a heavy slap in the face to criminals,” Bentivoglio said, emphasizing that despite the dangers, he chose to remain in his community and continue his fight against organised crime.

Bentivoglio expressed his honor in paying tribute to Caruana Galizia. “She died because she had the courage to write the truth,” he said, expressing admiration for her bravery.

“Reporting is democracy,” he concluded, urging people to always speak out against injustice.