11. ‘Daphne’ should not be a controversy

The civic growth of this community depends on how it deals with its own history. The anti-mafia effort in places like Italy relies on the collective memory of its victims. This is not a process of beatification or lionization as opponents to the cause of justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia falsely suggest. This is a process of dissemination of truth, without which there can be no justice, no reconciliation and no national growth.

Some of the witnesses giving evidence before the Inquiry gave their ‘reasons’ for disliking Daphne Caruana Galizia or her work. This was irrelevant and it was counterproductive by design. The simple fact of the matter is that Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed because she held power to account and worked against all odds to expose wrongdoing.

By any objective account, that is a sacrifice no functioning democracy should require of any of its citizens. And yet it happened. The least we can do as a community now is to learn from Daphne’s killing, to fix what we know is broken. And to show Daphne’s example to younger generations such that they may grow to imitate her civic commitment, her courage and her determination selflessly to give everything for the cause of truth.

At the heart of the values we aspire to as a democracy, there should be the service of independent and critical journalism. Children should be taught to appreciate it, expect it and contribute to it as a key component of their formal education. The State must be reminded by a demanding citizenry that it must protect the independence of this democratic pillar from the intrusion, censorship, even violence of those among us who are better served by the suppression of these freedoms.

It is saddening to see that the holders of the highest political and institutional offices in the country stay away from recalling Daphne Caruana Galizia’s great sacrifice and to give voice to the cry for justice in her case. It is saddening to see that the holders of the highest political and institutional offices prefer to allow, as a result of their absence, their ambivalence and in some case their outright and persistent hostility, the false impression that Daphne belongs to some elitist, entitled or partisan caste instead of belonging to the country as a whole.

We hope that your findings can go some way to reversing this unjust reality.

We respectfully inform the Board that in the spirit of open testimony so jealously protected by the Inquiry that these submissions will be made public.

We thank you, madam, gentlemen of the Board for the opportunity to make these submissions and remain at your disposal.

Submitted with respect,