[WATCH] Updated | Peaceful protest outside police HQ, Briguglio says 'culture of fear' in Malta

Briguglio says 'culture of fear' in Malta

Peaceful protest under way, Briguglio says 'culture of fear' in Malta

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A peaceful protest, organised by the Civil Society Network and OccupyJustice, is currently being held outside the police headquarters in Floriana. 

Turnout appears to be significantly lower than in the previous protests

Attendance appears to be significantly less than it was for the protests held in the past weeks.

Activists including Michael Briguglio and Emmanuel Delia are sitting in front of the headquarters, in a request for Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar and Attorney General Peter Grech to resign, following Daphne Caruana Galizia's brutal assassination on October 16.

Former PN leader Simon Busuttil, PN MPs Jason Azzopardi and Karol Aquilina, PN executive president Ann Fenech and former university rector Juanito Camilleri were seen standing amongst the activists. A few attendees at the protest donned rabbit masks, however they were asked by the police to remove them and give their names. The police said that anyone wearing a rabbit mask at the protest would be arrested, which is in accordance with Maltese law that wearing a mask is illegal outside carnival.

The masks are a thinly veiled reference to the Police Commissioners infamous rabbit meal, which he had been attending as Pilatus Bank's owner and its risks manager were caught leaving the bank carrying bags.

Bands, including by Beangrowers, Vince Fabri and Beesqueeze, are scheduled to play live music.

Speaking at the protest, Michael Briguglio said he wouldn’t take part in constitutional reform before commissioner resigns, and that constitutional reform was being used to control the public, which couldn’t function after what happened, due to fear.

He said that there were people who wished to be at the protest but didn't attend because they were afraid, as he claimed that some government and civil service workers were threatened not to attend. There was a 'culture of fear' in Malta, he maintained.

Malta was being mentioned all around the world as a centre of money laundering, Briguglio added, lamenting that it is now described as a haven for the mafia and for tax avoidance. 

The current Police Commissioner hasn't resigned, he said, and the FIAU was left for months without a director when it really needed one.

A large portion of FIAU employees either left because they couldnt take it anymore or were forced to leave, Briguglio asserted. 

No action was taken in regards to the E-grant case, or the case of the Russian whistleblower, he continued. Despite the whistleblower laws, it was apparent that such whistleblowers were receiving threats.

Referring to Front Kontra C-Censura founder Mark Camilleri, Briguglio complained that the Front had censored him, by deleting his posts on its Facebook group and banning him from it.

In a Facebook post, Camilleri had said that he had banned Briguglio because his posts were going beyond the aims of discussion of the group, and since [Briguglio] is a politician, Camilleri thought the group was not an appropriate venue for his views to be spread.

Some of the people at the protest are flying paper planes towards the police headquarters, carrying messages related to the overarching theme of the protest.

Commenting about the lower turnout, one woman attendee said, “I am worried that the anger has started to subside and that’s why less people came today. We don't have a culture of going out in the streets [to protest], and this worries me.”

Also in regards to the decrease in attendance, a person at the protest said, "Today's protest was more symbolic in nature. There is also the issue of space, and not everyone is keen on leaving their family and coming here every Sunday. There is a laissez-faire attitude in the Maltese character – [the tendancy to] let people do the fight for you."

"We already are in a crisis, but people don't realise this," someone else said.

Another person at the protest said, “I knew Daphne personally, so [her murder] was a double shock for me, and such an event has really put into perspective what our country is going through at the moment.”

One more maintained that "when somebody is not fit to carry out their job, they should leave. The two people concerned [the Police Commissioner and the AG] – and it’s not just two of them – should do just that. I never thought we'd be back to such a difficult situation as we've experienced before. This time it's worse." However, she also added that, "there is still a way back. I believe it can change. How quickly it can change is a different matter."