Opposition leader pays tribute to late cousin Karin Grech, murdered 43 years ago

Nationalist leader Bernard Grech has paid tribute to his late cousin Karin Grech, who was killed with a parcel bomb on this day in 1977.

Karin Grech was 15 when she opened a parcel addressed to her father Edwin Grech while at the family home. The parcel, wrapped in Christmas paper, was a bomb that exploded, killing Karin and injuring her brother.​

At the time, Edwin Grech, who was a doctor based in the UK, was roped in by the Labour government to head the State hospital's gynaecology department after Maltese doctors went on strike, following a protracted dispute with the government.

The parcel bomb is believed to have been retribution for Grech's strike-breaking action.

Paying tribute, the Opposition leader called for the case to be resolved, in order for the whole truth to emerge.

“This ugly chapter in Malta’s history can only be closed when this murder, and all other political killings, is solved,” he said.

Bernard Grech called on the police commissioner to do everything possible in order to get to the bottom of the case, despite the passage of time.

He expressed his determination in “cleaning” the local political scene.

“We need to continue working towards a mature style of politics, which doesn’t allow individuals to use murder as a way of attacking one party or the other,” he said.

He also insisted that no one should be killed over politics, whatever the circumstances might be, and irrespective of who the victims are.

On Sunday, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo posted a controversial photo on his Facebook profile, referring to the Karin Grech murder as the “only political murder in Malta”.

While many agreed with his statement, others took to the comments section to call out the tourism minister, reminding him that both the Daphne Caruana Galizia and Raymond Caruana assassinations were politically motivated. He later amended his post.

Caruana Galizia was killed in a car bomb outside her Bidnija home on 16 October 2017, while Raymond Caruana was gunned down at the Gudja PN club in December 1986 after Labour thugs drove by and sprayed the facade with machine gun fire.

ADPD statement

Karen Grech died because those who had power instigated and demonised those who didn’t agree with them, ADPD said.

The party said Grech’s death should serve as a collective reminder of what tribalistic politics can lead to.

“Her death must be a reflection of collective responsibility, or else her memory will remain as just a ceremony. Or else, Karin Grech continues to be murdered every day,” ADPD deputy chairperson Mario Mallia said.