NGO coalition wants political and institutional responsibility to be shouldered over inquiry findings

A growing coalition of 16 organisations, led by Repubblika, has called for a national protest demonstration in Valletta on Thursday.

The NGOs are demanding political and institutional responsibility to be borne in the wake of the Vitals inquiry and the incitement against the courts, journalists and wider civil society by both disgraced former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and the current Prime Minister Robert Abela.

Speaking outside the courts on Tuesday morning, Repubblika’s former president Robert Aquilina said that Malta was at a crucial moment in its history.

“Around this time, five years ago - in May 2019, we Repubblika, had requested that the Court begin a magisterial inquiry into possible fraud in the sale of the people’s hospitals. There had been great political resistance, which we had indicated in our court applications. But, after a long legal battle, the courts upheld our request and the inquiry was held,” he said.

Aquilina reminded that the magistrate who conducted the inquiry found that diverted money that was supposed to have been spent on public medical care, had been fraudulently diverted into the pockets of corrupt politicians and people close to them.

“In the past two weeks, we discovered through court testimony that the inquiry had been concluded. The public also found out that on the basis of the inquiry’s conclusions, a large number of people will be facing criminal charges, amongst them an ex-prime minister, his chief of staff, his ministers, and ex-deputy prime minister, the present Governor of the Central Bank and several permanent secretaries,” Aquilina said, adding that this fact, alone, made this a grave moment in our nation’s history.

“It is just as grave that Joseph Muscat has attacked the magistrate who carried out this inquiry. But it is far more grave that the Prime Minister of our country launched an obscene attack on the Courts, journalists and civil society.”

Because of this, Repubblika said, it had brought together a national movement representing a wide swathe of Maltese society to confront what it described as “this national challenge.”

The coalition of sixteen NGOs had agreed on a common position and to collaborate.

They condemned the incitement against the judiciary, in particular the inquiring magistrate, and journalists, which the coalition said was endangering their safety. “We treat this as a very serious and anti-democratic action. The fact that this attack was carried out by none other than the Prime Minister and the Justice Minister of our nation, continues to add to its gravity.”

The coalition is insisting that both political and institutional responsibility had to be borne for everything emerging from the magisterial inquiry. “It was not in the national interest or in the common interest to have individuals facing serious criminal charges continuing to occupy public positions.”

One example, Aquilina said, was Edward Scicluna’s continued occupation of the post of Central Bank Governor, which he said was unacceptable and damaging to Malta’s reputation, which was costing Maltese people their jobs. “If these people do not have the basic decency to resign of their own accord, it should be the Prime Minister to relieve them of their posts immediately.”

Saluting the public officials who are carrying out their duties with integrity, “at great cost and personal risk”, the coalition promised that it would be their shield. “We heard the Prime Minister say, sounding for all the world as if he was the emperor of these islands and not a prime minister, that the conclusions of the inquiry mean nothing to him. This alone is an act of sabotage on an inquiry that cost the Maltese people €10 million.”

“We warn our politicians that we are not going to accept having a Prime Minister, Government and other State officials who…work for or give the appearance of working in favour of the interests of criminals,” they said. “We are certainly not going to allow that the Commissioner of Police and the Attorney General carry on in this case in the same way they did with Pilatus Bank, where they conspired to undermine the magisterial inquiry which had ordered five people be charged, with only one eventually being arraigned.”

Aquilina made an appeal to all NGOs and similar bodies to join the movement by contacting the organisers. “Everyone is called to defend our country at such an important moment in time.”