Fifteen days ago, this website publicly called upon prominent organisations within civil society to get back to organising the kind of mass protests that preceded the resignation of disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat.
Specifically, I reached out to a total of 16 groups, all of which were involved in organising the last major protest we saw this year.
As promised in the first article we published on this subject, we sent questions to each one of these groups to determine whether they are willing and able to organise such protests, to state their case as to why or why not they believe such protests should be organised, and to refer to any alternatives which they think would be a better option.
Each and every group was notified in the same manner. To begin with, the original public call published by this website was posted on Facebook. Every organisation was tagged in that post to enhance visibility.
A week after the post was uploaded, emails were sent directly to each organisation’s relevant address. Daily reminders were sent in the run-up to a clearly stated deadline, which was Friday 10am.
Given that the deadline elapsed, I am publishing the responses I’ve received so far. I will also be publishing any responses I receive after the deadline as long as they are sent within a reasonable time frame. I will publish my own personal assessment of this situation in a separate piece.
Out of a total of 16 groups, three sent in a finalised response while another two sent a request for an extension and promised to deliver a full response within a few days. The organisations that did not yet respond or as send an acknowledgement are Repubblika, aditus foundation, KSU, Vuċi Kollettiva, Kunsill Nazzjonali taż-Żgħażagħ, PEN Malta, UĦM, MKSA, MBSA, Moviment Graffitti, and SDM.
Of the four responses received to date, the one sent in by Fondazione Falcone was the most detailed. Alessandro de Lisi, curator-general of the foundation set up in memoriam of leading anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, stated that “writing articles, organising protests, and opposing the interests of Maltese mafiosi is a duty which must involve all democratic parties and the most responsible NGOs around, with the view of committing resources to Malta and ‘invading’ it with solidarity.”
Alessandro de Lisi speaking at the sixth annual commemoration of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder in 2022. Photo: Julian Delia
However, though de Lisi believes that “Maltese civil society is full of sensible, attentive, and generous people”, he lamented the lack of participation, describing it as “not enough”. De Lisi drew parallels between Malta and Palermo, the Sicilian city which holds the dubious honour of being home to the island’s native mafia, Cosa Nostra.
“Malta is free and independent, courageous and honourable, proudly sharing ties with the deepest roots of modern Catholicism and the right of democracy to reign supreme, but it is sick, it is as sick as Palermo was and still is: sick with mafia corruption,” de Lisi wrote in his answers to our questions.
Drawing inspiration from the Maxiprocesso – a lengthy criminal trial against hundreds of members of the Sicilian mafia in the late 1980s – de Lisi explained how that process had involved many different kinds of non-governmental organisations in the fight against the mafia, including foreign and international entities who were following the process and fighting corruption within the crime-ridden city of Palermo.
“For us, it wasn’t an ‘invasion’ or an act of interference, but an occasion for growth, working with other realities in the same direction with the same goals: defeating corruption and beating the mafia. We are not finished yet, and I hope that many Maltese people can come to Palermo and Italy to give their energy for our battle. We are ready to come to Malta, side by side with all those who are honest and available, without any inopportune ideologies,” de Lisi concluded.
Meanwhile, SOS Malta’s designate head of finance and operations Graziella Schiavone sent in a brief response which suggests that the organisation would be interested in playing a supporting role in the organisation of such protests.
“SOS Malta believes in upholding the rule of law and human rights, in accordance with its core principals and objectives. SOS Malta supports initiatives in this regard and, subject to the specificity of such initiatives may participate therewith, within the limits of its resources,” the statement read.
A University-based organisation that caters for Eurocentric studies and promotes related initiatives, JEF Malta, did not endorse the proposed mass protests asking for the resignation of prime minister Robert Abela. JEF Malta’s response did not provide an explanation for this decision and did not refer to any alternative solutions in spite of a follow-up request to that effect.
A representative for Occupy Justice Malta, an anti-corruption pressure group, requested an extension to the deadline and promised to provide a response within a few days. A representative for ICTSA – the students’ organisation which represents all ICT students at the University of Malta – also stated that a reply will be delivered shortly.
