“Memory, Peace, and the Liberty of the Mediterranean”
Speech by Renato Camilleri, Vice President of Repubblika
11 June 2025 – Siege Bell, Valletta
Good afternoon,
We gather here today beneath the Siege Bell — a solemn monument, a symbol of sacrifice, and a call to remembrance. Eighty-five years ago today, Malta entered World War II.
Not by choice, not through provocation — but as the target of a violent and deliberate act of fascist aggression.
The first bombs dropped on our country on 11 June 1940 did not fall solely on military installations. They struck our towns and villages — homes, streets, markets, places of work and worship.
Yes, soldiers died too, and we honour their memory and their service.
But today, we turn our focus to the civilians — those who were not in uniform, those who did not sign up to fight, those who were simply living their lives.
Among them were:
- Carmel Galea, 40, of Birkirkara.
- Joseph Ancilleri, from Cospicua.
- Doris Galea, only five months old, also from Cospicua.
- Michael Camenzuli, 39, of Gżira.
- Mary and Lilian Doublet, mother and daughter, aged 46 and 7, of Gżira.
- Julian Micallef, 65.
- John Trapani, Rosina Vassallo, and Joseph Ellul — civilians, not soldiers. Neighbours, not combatants.
They did not live long enough to see fascism defeated.
They died at the beginning, when victory was far from certain — when all that existed was terror, confusion, and loss.
Today, we remember them — not as distant names in a history book, but as symbols of what is still at stake in our world. Because memory is not just about the past. It is a political act — and a moral duty.
To remember the victims of fascism is to resist its return — in whatever form it may take.
To honour the dead of war is to commit ourselves to peace — not just peace as the absence of conflict, but peace rooted in dignity, justice, and law.
And in today’s world, where violence and authoritarianism persist, memory demands that we take a stand. At Repubblika, we have long said: the fight against fascism and the fight against organised crime are the same fight. Both are built on fear. Both seek power without accountability. Both destroy the rule of law — and treat human lives as disposable.
That is why we believe that remembering the victims of state violence and remembering the victims of criminal violence are two sides of the same coin. That calling for peace and defending justice are part of the same moral responsibility.
And that is why we are here today — not just to remember, but to speak.
This event is part of a broader appeal — an initiative launched by our friends in the Comunità di Sant’Egidio. This community has worked tirelessly for peace in some of the world’s most challenging regions.
The Appeal for Peace we are about to read is being launched in several cities across the Mediterranean — not all at once, but in separate moments, in different places, over the coming months, city by city. From Palermo to Beirut, from Marseille to Tripoli, from Athens to Valletta — a collective voice is growing.
A voice that says: Enough. Enough of war. Enough of hatred. Enough of indifference.
The appeal sets out a simple yet powerful vision:
- To replace violence with negotiation.
- To guarantee dignity and safety to every individual, every community, and every faith.
- To promote dialogue and intercultural understanding.
- To protect our shared sea and environment.
- To open legal and humane routes for those fleeing persecution and war.
- To commit to education as a foundation of freedom.
These are not luxuries. They are necessities — the minimum for any society that claims to value human life. And as we speak of peace today, we must also speak of the world as it is now.
We think of the civilians in Ukraine, whose lives are being destroyed by invasion and siege. We think of the families in Gaza, who live under fire, in fear, with no shelter from the storm. We think of all those suffering under terrorism, tyranny, occupation, and military aggression. And we say clearly:
We condemn all aggression, regardless of who commits it. We call for an immediate halt to hostilities — in Ukraine, in Gaza, and wherever war has stolen the future. We call for a recommitment to peace — a real peace, not built on the silence of fear, but on the strength of justice.
Now, with a full awareness of our history and responsibilities, we turn to the future.
We read together the “Appeal from the Cities of the Mediterranean for Peace and a Future of Hope” — a document that expresses what our hearts already know: That our sea must be a bridge, not a barrier. That our cities must be places of refuge, not rejection. And that our duty — to those who died, and to those who still live — is to make peace not a dream, but a reality.
Thank you.
Appeal from the cities of the Mediterranean for peace and a future of hope
To the people of the Mediterranean, to the peoples and cultures that overlook this sea that unites us, we we present our appeal for peace.
Our cities have always been symbols of encounter, exchange and peaceful coexistence. Our history, our traditions, our languages and our values have been intertwined for centuries. They have made our faces similar, our culture plural and our citizens brothers and sisters. They have made the sea a bridge that unites, rather than a border that divides, a place to cross and to build a common future, possible for all. Today, as conflicts and tensions grow stronger, we, the cities of the Mediterranean, affirm that war cannot be excused and that we must work for peace. War makes the world worse, leaving a legacy of pain, hatred and destruction. With war, everyone loses, even the winners.
How many of us have been painfully wounded by war! This is also why we cannot remain silent in the face of the suffering of those forced to live under the weight of conflict, injustice or corruption. We cannot let our cities, lights in the darkness of so many human quests for freedom and peace, become places of destruction and pain. We cannot accept the closure of our ports and that they are places of rejection of those fleeing war when they should offer a a safe haven.
Our appeal:
- The initiation of negotiations that can lead to fair and lasting solutions where there is conflict.
- Respect for every individual, for every community and for every faith, so that they can live in freedom,dignity and safety.
- The commitment to promote intercultural and inter religious dialogue, to strengthen bonds of brotherhoodand mutual understanding.
- Attention and care for the environment and the sea, which binds us all and which constitutes a commongood to be preserved.
- The opening of humanitarian corridors or, in any case, legal entry routes and the simplification of theprocedures necessary to request asylum and to find refuge from conflict and persecution.
- The fight against illiteracy with the promotion of school and public and free education, which is a premiseof freedom.
As men and women of the Mediterranean, we are ready to deploy our culture and all our resources to contribute to the achievement of these goals, especially for the reconstruction of a world at peace. A world that recognises dialogue, mediation and co-operation as the way to address global challenges, from climate change to social inequalities and from poverty to sustainable economic growth.
We appeal to every leader, institution and citizen of the Mediterranean: let us not allow violence and hatred to prevail. War is a monster, a diabolical mechanism, which, sooner or later, makes you a murderer or a victim and nevertheless a hostage of its apparatus. War is our Enemy.
We, citizens of the Mediterranean, ask that the will of the people be heard and that the choice of war be banned from history. Only in this way will this sea and this environment, so beautiful and full of variety and yet transformed by war into hell, return to being that corner of Paradise that was given to us by God and our fathers to practice the art of living together in peace as free men
