Where injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty

Guest commentary by environmental activist Sasha Vella.

Malta is going through one of the darkest periods it’s ever seen. Corruption has spread like a disease and has plagued all the pillars of our society.

Joseph Muscat is so obviously and blatantly obstructing the law, and directly interfering with the investigation. Our Police Commissioner has stripped the force of any form of credibility, as we continue watching him cover up for these criminals.

Keith Schembri is a free man, released after being implicated in the assassination. Our Cabinet continues to disappoint us with their undying unanimous votes of confidence. And you want to tell us that this is how a democratic State operates?

A democratic State would have seen Muscat’s resignation when his Chief of Staff and his ‘bestie’ Konrad Mizzi were mentioned in the Panama Papers. His failure to act three years ago is precisely what killed Daphne Caruana Galizia and why Malta is in this mess. Had he cleaned up his government and chosen not to support and help criminals then we wouldn’t be in this situation today. And Caruana Galizia would still be with us.

Malta appears to be divided between those who saw the truth and those blinded by their political loyalties. How can political preference be so strong that it completely clouds one’s judgment? A woman, a mother, and without doubt one of the best investigative journalist that our country has ever seen, was assassinated.

It is the corruption that half the nation is blindly supporting, applauding and thanking that murdered her. It is the state of impunity and Muscat’s lack of political integrity that caused her death.

It is also this same corruption that, for the past five years, has been destroying our natural environment. Yes, it is all connected. As Caruana Galizia had said: “Where environmental damage is greatest, so is corruption.”

Our environment has been raped and degraded by these powerful businessmen guided solely by profit. They have shown us, time and time again, that they do not care about anything else except how they are going to benefit. Our country is not being run by politicians, but by businessmen whose greed led to the assassination of a journalist.

“Where injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.” It is our duty, as Maltese citizens, to fight against this injustice.

We need to continue fighting to show that what is happening in our country is absolutely unacceptable. I am calling on all environmental activists who think that what is happening now does not concern them. It does.

It is critical that we are all out there taking a stand.

The Shift is proud to endorse today’s protest in Valletta for truth, justice, accountability and the defence of press freedom and the public’s right to know.