The President of Malta

President Myriam Spiteri Debono

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The opening of an office in Malta by the Fondazione Falcone signals a new form of cooperation at people-to-people level between the two neighbour peoples of Sicily and Malta.

The Falcone Foundation seeks to instil in the young, in tomorrow’s generations, an appreciation of the imperative needs that society be founded, and organised on a culture, of legality based on respect for individual and collective human rights at both national and international levels.

At face value this may appear simplistic, a sine qua non.  However, time and again people of goodwill, peace loving, seeking to foster reciprocal respect, acceptance and mutual human support systems, ultimately leading to peace and serenity are being thwarted in their endeavours by greed, disregard of the rights naturally belonging to humanity itself, and the domination of minds by the abuse of power systems.

Free speech and expression is the concretisation of humankind’s freewill.

The right of free speech and expression, together with humankind’s interaction in the various concentric cells making up society, encapsulates all other rights.

The smooth functioning of all of society presupposes the existence of values, engrained in a population’s psyche, moralistic values founded on an appreciation of what constitutes correct behaviour and acceptable standards of behaviour at all societal levels.

Politics, and the corridors of power particularly, have to be clean of all traces of exercise of power devoid of the basic tenet of the common good and responsibility therefor. 

If structures to safeguard this are lacking, legislators, the representatives of the people, particularly those democratically entrusted with representation by universal suffrage, are duty bound to foster and incorporate regulations in the statute books to safeguard these standards of governance.

However, these standards have to be assiduously followed, perennially nurtured by continual practice and universally accepted as the foundation of all standards.   

Redemption can only come about, if in future, generations are exposed to a culture of legality and goodwill towards others as the one and only standard. 

This is why today’s event is a landmark in the development of a new level of co-operation between the two neighbouring peoples of Malta and Sicily; two peoples akin to each other in outlook, in emotions, I venture to say in primeval emotions and that is good and bad, but most often engrossed in their own familial situations, with a streak of meekness of character which keeps them subject to dominating influences impinging on their exercise of free will, at times impeding them from standing up to be counted.

This is the reason why our societies need a concerted effort from the bottom up to change attitudes, to consciously create future generations which are fierce for the dominance of basic human rights, the upholding of correct standards of behaviour and interaction.

Legal values are ineffective unless they are backed by the society which they are meant to regulate; it is only in this way that these values will not degenerate into hollow words devoid of vitality.

Societies the world over have witnessed and gone through, suffered and experienced at certain points in time, the depravity of human nature.

Unfortunately, at times, indifference born of tiredness and exhaustion is the order of the day – we have to rise above these attitudes. 

We must reach out to our children in schools, in parishes, in the various organisations fostering values of good ethical and moral standards in younger generations, acceptance of others, rights with correlated duties, strong traits of character which ensure that they militate for what is right.

Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino dedicated themselves to bringing about a new societal order where evil and the depravity of human nature do not have the upper hand. 

Towards the very end Daphne cried out ‘The situation is desperate; there are crooks everywhere.’  To me her cry says, ‘Come on, do something about it; Sbrigati, fate qualcosa! 

All three, Giovanni Falcone, Paolo Borsellino and Daphne Caruana Galizia paid a price.  The ultimate price.

To their names must be added the names of others.

Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan, Elmar Huseynov, founder and editor of the opposition weekly news magazine Monitor, was gunned down in his apartment building in Baku in 2005, following years of government harassment and lawsuits against his magazine, due to its critical reporting.

In 2021, Rafiq Tagi a freelance journalist known for his criticism of Azerbaijani authorities, died from stab wounds following an attack, having previously faced imprisonment and threats for his critical writings.

Belarus

In 2010, Aleh Byabenin, founder of the pro-opposition website Charter 97, was found hanged after years of harassment against his site by authorities for reporting on government abuses and corruption.

Georgia

In 2021, Alexander Lashkarava, a camera operator with the independent Georgian broadcaster TV Pirveli, was found dead six days after being beaten by anti-LGBT demonstrators, prompting accusations against the Georgian government of failing to protect journalists and potentially covering up its role in enabling anti-LGBT violence.

Serbia

In 2005, Bardhyl Ajeti, a reporter for the Albanian-language Bota Sot, died three weeks after being shot in Kosovo, allegedly because of his constant criticism of opposition party figures in his editorials.

Bulgaria

2010, Bobi Tsankov, an author and journalist known for exposing Bulgarian crime figures, was shot dead by two gunmen, just days after publishing articles alleging criminal activities, including a murder ordered by reputed crime bosses.

2018, Victoria Marionva, a Bulgarian TV presenter and director, was found raped and murdered, shortly after broadcasting interviews with Romanian journalist Attila Biro and his Bulgarian counterpart, Dimitar Stoyanov.  These two journalist were looking into involvement of fraud involving EU Funds for the global investigative reporting platform Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.

Croatia

October 2008 brought about the killing of Ivo Pukanic, owner and editorial director of the Zagreb-based political weekly Nacional, and Niko Fanjic, the marketing director, both of them killed when a bomb was placed under the journalist’s car outside the paper’s offices.  Nacional often criticised corruption, organized crime and human rights abuses.

Greece

In 2010, Sokratis Giolias, Director of Thema Radio and founder of news site Troktiko, was shot dead by men in police uniforms, with a militant group claiming responsibility and a 2023 report indicating he had been threatened prior to his planned exposé on corruption.

2021, Giorgos Karaivaz, veteran crime reporter was shot and killed in Athens, by two men shortly after publishing articles on police corruption and misconduct.

Latvia

In 2021, Gundars Matiss crime reporter of the Kurzeme Vards, was attacked in his apartment building’s stairwell, with motives ranging from robbery to retaliation for his investigative journalism on the criminal world.

Netherlands

2021, Dutch crime reporter Peter R. De Vries was shot and killed in Amsterdam. The public prosecution services said the killing was related to role as an adviser to a main witness in the trial of an alleged drug kingpin, rather than with his journalism. This in spite of the fact that De Vries was known for his aggressive and confrontational reporting style and his uncovering of crucial information in a number of murder and organised crime cases throughout his career.

Poland

In 1992, journalist Jaroslaw Zietara disappeared after investigating corruption related to the privatization of state-owned companies and criminal activities.  Zietara also covered human trafficking and smuggling along the Polish borders. It is alleged that he was likely killed due to his reporting.

2015, Lukasz Masiak, founder of the independent news site Nasza Mlawa, died from a brain injury after being assaulted.  Masiak ‘s investigative reporting focused on crime, drug use, and environmental issues.

Slovakia

In 2018, investigative journalist Ján Kuciak was shot and killed together with his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, likely due to Kuciak’s reporting on government corruption and tax fraud.

Ireland

Way back in 1996, Veronica Guerin, crime reporter for the Sunday Independent, was murdered by assailants on a motorcycle in retaliation for her investigative reporting on Ireland’s criminal underworld.

United Kingdom

In 2019, freelance investigative journalist, Lyra McKee, editor for Mediagazer, a media aggregator with headquarters in Silicon Valley, in the U.S., was fatally shot during riots and a police operation in Northern Ireland. The shooting occurred at a time when her book on the murder of a member of Parliament during the troubles in Norther Ireland was due to be soon published.

2016, saw the murder of British Labour MP, Jo Cox by a far-right extremist who opposed her pro-European Union stance and advocacy for refugees.  Jurors were told that the assailant killed Cox ‘for political and ideological reasons.’

In 2021 British Conservative MP, Sir David Amess, was stabbed to death, during a constituency surgery.  The act was reportedly motivated by Islamist extremism and a desire to punish Amess for his support of airstrikes in the Middle East.

No country, not even Western democracies, not even the European Union member states seem to be free of this plague, and organised crime emerges as another issue which gives rise to gagging of those who seek to expose it.. 

Giovanni Falcone was right:  this plague transcends national borders; it pervades politics, it hits the media, it strikes at the very heart of criticism of those circles of influences in cahoots together to destroy and devastate the smooth workings of good governance principles; conspiracies of greed steeped in corruption eroding the tenets of public interest, justice and equality.

Daphne’s assassination hit Malta hard.  It was a clarion call for civilians to wake up.  The tools of democracy were set in motion.  However, if their recommendations are not implemented, they are a dead letter.

In a democracy with a western European set-up, political structures wanting power must heed the wishes and the aspirations of the populace they aspire to govern.  Wise and mature choices depend on the dissemination of information.  Hence our democracies must be made aware of the importance of acknowledging the status of journalists and affording protection to the journalistic profession in its duties – a duty which in its onerousness poses a heavy burden on its members.

In a speech given by Maria Falcone, President of the Falcone Foundation in October 2022, Maria Falcone recalled her brother’s, Giovanni Falcone, conviction that the young must be raised in a culture of legality.  Giovanni Falcone believed that this is the only way in which the dark forces of organised crime, and syndicates of organised greed embroiling in their dealings also persons in positions of public trust, can be overcome.

I think it is important to note in this respect that honest people in positions of public trust have to tangibly feel the support and goodwill of a morally upright population. This support cannot be underestimated especially when difficult decisions need to be taken.

The Falcone Foundation has made it its mission to target future generations, tomorrow’s citizens, in order to lay the foundations for a culture of legality and good governance.

It focuses on reaching out to youths and students in schools and youth associations which emphasise the importance of character formation and seek to instil in the young standards of justice, equality advocating remedies for their breach be incorporated into legal instruments.

The rights of a populace to representation based on a moral compass can only be reassured if the elected ruling class respects the same moral compass, by upholding the rules of good governance based on the natural rights of each and every individual and the common good. 

I sincerely hope that the opening of the office of the Falcone Foundation in Malta will provide added impetus for the nurturing in tomorrow’s citizens of a deep consciousness of one basic all pervading entitlement; the right to a just society based on the implementation and constant exercise of democratic and humanistic standards.

There is no short cut to this, the road is arduous, never ending with no final destination.  This is a constant struggle, requiring maintenance at every juncture.

Giovanni Falcone, Paolo Borsellino, Daphne Caruana Galizia, and all victims of organised crime deserve our commitment to keep their memory vibrant by working towards the enhancement of just principles for all – this is a more fitting commemoration of their ideals than any monument in bronze or stone.

Thank you all!

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