Ir-Repubblika hi marida

Aħna u nsegwu l-ġbir tal-provi fil-Qrati dwar id-diversi każi li għadhom għaddejjin in konnessjoni mal-assassinju ta’ Daphne Caruana Galizia nistħajjilni qed nara dokumentarju dwar il-falliment tal-istituzzjonijiet f’Malta. Dokumentarju dwar il-falliment tal-istat Malti, dwar ir-Repubblika li għamlet lilha innifisha impotenti fil-konfront tal-kriminalità.  

L-assassinju ta’ Daphne hu ukoll falliment tal-korp tal-Pulizija li ma rnexxilux isib tarf tal-kriminalità organizzata.  

Kif jista’ l-korp tal-Pulizija jagħmel dmiru meta jkollu uffiċjali bħal Silvio Valletta li jkun fil-but tal-kriminali? Silvio Valletta għadu jiġri mas-saqajn: s’issa għad ma ħadux passi kontrieh minkejja l-ħsara enormi li għamel lill-kredibilità tal-korp tal-Pulizija u lill-pajjiż.

Illum nafu kemm Silvio Valletta tħaxken ma  Yorgen Fenech. Valletta ma kienx xi kuntistabbli  f’xi għassa tal-pulizija mwarrba. Prattikament kien imexxi l-Korp tal-Pulizija bħala Deputat Kummissarju. Kien jirrapresenta lill-Korp tal-Pulizja fuq il-Bord ta’ Tmexxija tal-Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU).

Il-fatt li wieħed mill-fizzjali tal-pulizija l-iktar anzjani jaġixxi b’dan il-mod jagħti indikazzjoni ċara ta’ kif kienu jaħsbuha sħabu fit-tmexxija tal-korp fil- Furjana. Rapport tal-Ombudsman irrappurtat iktar kmieni dan ix-xahar dwar investigazzjoni mitluba fuq ilment ta’ Supretendent tal-Pulizija fisser kif kienet tinħatar it-tmexxija tal-korp: il-lealtà lejn il-kummissarju qabel il-lejaltà lejn is-servizz, kienet kwalifika essenzjali.  Meta l-għażla tal-fizzjali tal-korp kienet issir b’dan il-mod xejn m’għandna nissorprendu ruħna li l-korp ilu ftit kompromess.

Iz-ziju Silvio kien investiment li jirrendi għal Yorgen Fenech. Għal żmien twil Silvio Valletta kien il-muftieħ li iffaċilita l-aċċess  ta’ Yorgen Fenech għal kull xorta ta’ informazzjoni li kien jeħtieġ.  Dan hu eżempju ċar ta’ x’nifhmu meta ngħidu li d-dinja kriminali qegħda bosta passi qabel il-korp tal-pulizija.   F’dan il-kaz, permezz ta’ Silvio Valletta d-dinja kriminali setgħet tinfluwenza l-korp bir-remote control.

Diffiċli biex nifhmu kif inhu possibli li jkollna kollass iktar gravi tal-istituzzjonijiet minn hekk.

Dan kollu ma ġarax mil-lum għal għada. Imma hu ċentrali biex nifhmu kif żviluppat l-għanqbuta tal-maniġġi tul is-snin liema maniġġi wasslu għall-assassinju ta’  Daphne Caruana Galizia u lil hinn.  

Meta saret emfasi dwar il-kunflitt ta’ interess ta’ Silvio Valletta minħabba li dakinnhar, martu, kienet membru tal-Kabinett, ir-resistenza biex iwarrab kienet enormi. Kella tkun kawża fil-Qrati, li ħadet iż-żmien, li wasslet biex jitwarrab mill-investigazzjoni.  

Issa ġie ippubblikat ir-rapport finali tal-inkjesta pubblika dwar l-assassinju ta’ Daphne. Ir-rapport ma jgħidilniex min qatilha, jew min ordna l-qtil tagħha: dak qatt ma kien l-iskop tar-rapport. Ir-rapport imma jeżamina l-klima ta’ impunità li nħolqot u li wasslet għall-assassinju tagħha.  Ir-rapport juri kif in-negozju u l-politika saru ħaġa waħda, tant li xi kultant mhux iktar faċli biex tgħid min hu min.

Il-konklużjoni ewlenija tar-rapport hija li Malta inħakmet minn mentalità mafjuża. L-istat Malti ntrikeb minn mentalità kulturali li tippermetti mentalità u attitudni mafjuża li jrabbu l-għeruq.

Ftit hemm proposti fir-rapport tal-inkjesta li huma ġodda għad-dibattitu politiku lokali. Bosta mill-proposti ilhom fl-aġenda pubblika numru ta’ snin. Uħud ġew imbiċċra, mdgħajfa inkella gvernijiet differenti għamlu snin sħaħ iparlaw dwarhom u jagħmlu ftit li xejn.   Il-ħarsien ta’ min ikun lest li jikxef il-ħmieġ (whistleblowing) għadu soġġett għall-ispag politiku kif rajna b’għajnejna għal numru ta’ snin. Ir-regolamentazzjoni tal-lobbying hi soġġetta għal ħafna paroli, imma s’issa ma sar xejn. Ir-regolamentazzjoni tal-imġieba etika saret farsa, minkejja l-isforzi ta’ George Hyzler, il-Kummissarju dwar l-iStandards fil-Ħajja Pubblika.

Huwa essenzjali li l-kuntatti kollha bejn kull negozju u l-friegħi kollha tal-istat ikunu ċari u trasparenti. Kollox, mingħajr eċċezzjoni. Ilu jsir paroli dwar dan imma ftit wisq sar dwaru.

L-istat Malti ġie mdgħajjef minn dawk li fittxew li jsiru sinjuri malajr, a kwalunkwe kost. Jiddependi minna jekk inwaqqfuhomx l-iktar kmieni possibli. Ir-Repubblika marida.

Ippubblikat fuq Illum : il-Ħadd 1 t’Awwissu 2021

The Republic is sick

Following the compilation of evidence in our law courts relative to the multiple cases dealing with the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia is in itself a detailed continuously developing documentary of the failure of our institutions, the failure of the state.

Daphne’s assassination is also a failure of the police corps to keep a tag on criminal activity.

How could the police corps carry out its duties with officers like Silvio Valletta hibernating deep inside criminal pockets? Silvio Valletta has to date not been prosecuted for his criminal activity which has been the cause of considerable reputational damage and to the effectiveness of the police corps.

Today we know of Valletta’s cavorting with Yorgen Fenech. Valletta was not an ordinary simple cop languishing in some out of the way police station. He practically ran the Police Corps as Deputy Commissioner of Police and represented it on the governing board of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU).

The fact that this top policeman acted in such a manner is a clear indication of the forma mentis of the contemporary top brass at Floriana Police HQ. An Ombudsman report made public earlier this month on the investigation relative to the complaint of a Police Superintendent has dwelt at some length as to how police officials were selected: loyalty to the boss before loyalty to service was a basic requirement. With police officer selection being carried out on the basis of such a “qualification” it is no surprise that that the Police Corps was compromised for such a long time.

Uncle Silvio was the perfect investment for Yorgen Fenech. For a long time, Silvio Valletta was the key that facilitated access to Yorgen Fenech to all sorts of intelligence. A perfect example which illustrates what it means when we emphasise that the criminal world is many steps ahead of the police force.  In this specific case, for quite a time, the criminal world had the police force on a remote control, through Silvio Valletta.

It is difficult to comprehend how we could ever have an institutional failure of larger proportions.

This did not happen overnight. It is however central to the web of intrigue which developed over the years and leading up the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia and beyond.

When Valletta’s conflict of interest as the then husband of a cabinet minister was spotlighted, the resistance to let got was enormous. It had to be a laborious court case which at the end of the day had him removed from coordinating the assassination investigation.

The final report of the public inquiry into Daphne’s assassination has now been published. It does not identify who signed Daphne’s death warrant: that was not its purpose. It does however examine how a state of impunity has developed over time such that her assassination was the direct consequence. It points out how business and politics became intertwined until you could not tell which was which.

The main takeaway from the inquiry report is that the state has been taken over by a Mafia mentality. The state has been hijacked by a cultural mindset that allows and encourages a Mafia attitude to take root and prosper.

Few of the proposals of the inquiry are new to the political debate. Most have been put forward over the years but they were shot down, diluted or had the breaks applied by different governments. Effective whistleblowing is still subject to political strings as has been evidenced over the years. Lobbying regulation is still talked of but not implemented.  The regulation of ethical behaviour has developed into a farce, notwithstanding the efforts of George Hyzler, the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life.

It is about time that the links between business and all branches of the state are transparent. Everything, without any exception, must be above board. This has been on the books for years, yet continuously ignored.

The Maltese state has been severely weakened by those who sought their fast-track enrichment at all costs. It is up to all of us, to stop them in their tracks. The soonest. The state has failed us. The Republic is sick.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 1 August 2021