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‘Daphne Caruana Galizia Monument Was Cleared To Avoid Trouble,’ Owen Bonnici Says

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Education Minister Owen Bonnici has admitted that he ordered the clearing of the Daphne Caruana Galizia memorial site to “avoid trouble”.

Bonnici had received much flak and clashed with activists often throughout his tenure over the makeshift Daphne Caruana Galizia memorial beneath the Great Siege Monument in Valletta.

Speaking in the public inquiry connected to Caruana Galizia’s assassination, Bonnici insisted that he initially ordered that the memorial not be cleaned up. However, once arguments began to erupt, some of which turned violent, he was left with no other option but to send workers from the government’s cleansing department to remove the memorial.

“I was trying to do my utmost to prevent trouble. Besides, it’s a historic monument by Antonio Sciortino. In fact, the court imposed limitations on the memorial,” Times of Malta quoted the Minister to have said in today’s sitting.

Bonnici also took the opportunity to clarify that the discussion was not put before Cabinet, however, several ministers were privy to the discussion, and it was ultimately him who gave the final order.

The former Justice Minister had famously lost the constitutional case filed by Manuel Delia against Joseph Muscat’s government after being found guilty of breaching freedom of expression rights of an activist by removing the memorial to Daphne Caruana Galizia.

In one of his first actions as Prime Minister, Robert Abela decided that the government would not be appealing the controversial ruling and issued a decree stating that the memorial should not be tampered with any longer.

Nevertheless, he defended Bonnici arguing that a court’s decision shouldn’t automatically lead to his resignation.

What do you make of Bonnici’s comments in court today ?

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