WATCH | ‘Neville Gafa has a right to express himself too’ - Andy Ellul

After Neville Gafa cleared again cleared the Great Siege monument of wreaths commemorating Daphne Caruana Galizia, Parliamentary Secretary Andy Ellul defended his acts as a right to self-expression.

In comments to MaltaToday, Ellul recognised that Daphne Caruana Galizia’s death was horrible, but said that Gafa reassured him that he cleared the monument not out of contempt for Daphne Caruana Galizia but because he believes a public monument should not be occupied in that way.

“In the same way that others have a right to use the monument for their own aims, I think Neville Gafa can also express himself in his own way. We can’t be expected to allow someone to occupy a public monument while condemning the person who cleans it up.”

Gafa, who was recently hired as a person of trust within Andy Ellul’s portfolio, last week cleared the Great Siege monument of wreaths commemorating Daphne Caruana Galizia. The wreaths were laid there on the eighth anniversary of her death.

Ellul said that Gafa did not clear the monument out of contempt towards Caruana Galizia. If it was done out of contempt, Ellul said he “would be the first to condemn” this behaviour.

He said he understands what it’s like for people to show contempt towards loved ones because, when his sister passed away earlier this year, it was Caruana Galizia’s own sister who attacked her on Facebook.