[WATCH] Circumstances which brought on Sette Giugno riots could resurface today, Archbishop warns

The economic and social situations which brought about the Sette Giugno riots a hundered years ago could resurface today, and this time, the Maltese would have only themselves to blame now, the Archbishop has warned.

Charles Scicluna today celebrated a mass in remembrance the victims who lost their lives in the riots which took place on 7 and 8 June 1919.

He said in his homily that people had the duty to commemorate the people who had died on Sette Giugno, and should also remember that certain conditions which led to the events in Valletta in 1919 could repeat themselves.

Scicluna highlighted that, a hundred years ago, the Maltese faced problems related to a high cost of living, expensive rental costs, and food scarcity. Moreover, there was also a large distinction on the island between the wealthy and the poor, he underscored.

He said that, at the time, the people had blamed the British for the situation, but that "today we have nobody but ourselves to blame if a situation of social tensions resurfaces."

The Archbishop spoke about Malta's progress for a constitutional point of view, underlining that if the dignity and human rigths of people weren't respected, the Constitution would lose all its significance.

He also referred to the four victims who lost their lives on Sette Giugno, and asked why it was always the poor who paid the highest price.

"We need to work for truth, social justice and solidarity," he said.

Scicluna also mentioned the murder of Ivorian migrant Lassana Cisse, appealing to the Maltese to not create victims through injustice and hatred.