LA VALLETTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The President of Malta George Vella urged the Maltese authorities to do what must be done so that the perpetrators of Daphne Caruana Galiziàs murder face justice.
In his final Republic Day address, President George Vella also urged the authorities to close this chapter and see justice served, with all those responsible “paying for their actions”.
“The human chapter and the pains of relatives and family members will never be closed. The only consolation for them will be that at least justice would have been done with all those who were responsible for this heinous murder,” Vella said.
President Vella referred to the negative media coverage that Malta received as no longer having people of integrity. “What use is it to celebrate that our country is a Republic, and boast that we have now taken control of our own future if we do not have people who are wise and smart enough to lead this country in the best interest of the Maltese and Gozitan people? Vella said, while adding “Corruption, both proven and alleged, gnaws at the very backbone of democracy and deters those who wish to participate in political and public life.”
In his speech, he referred to Maltàs rapid population growth, and said that the country must reflect properly on how to continue expanding the economy and come up with a plan that encompasses all of what the future can offer in the interest of moving forward.
“As long as foreigners are here, we must acknowledge that our population is now mixed, and therefore we must educate ourselves on how to live together in a multicultural society, with all the advantages and disadvantages that such situations bring about,” he said.
President Vella added, integrating foreign workers into Maltese society should be about teaching them the Maltese language and customs, and protecting them from exploitation. “We do this not only by encouraging them to learn the language, or by giving them venues in which to practise their religion, but above all by protecting them from exploiters, from those who deceive them, from those who leech as much money as they can out of their pockets, and accommodate them in places not fit for human residency.”
The President of Malta spoke about the country’s neutrality on armed conflicts described as an important tool in the quest for peace while mentioning Maltàs stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas. “Where there was a need to condemn, we condemned; where there was a need to defend, we defended; and where there was a need to impose sanctions, we imposed them; always within the parameters enshrined in our Constitution,” he said. He added that it is “a pity” that the United Nations Security Council has not been able to reach an agreement to call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
During his speech, President Vella made a special reference to various sectors that really matters the quality of life in Malta. “It is a pity that despite warnings from different sectors, construction still continues to take over large parts of the limited space we have left,” he said, while urging for more enforcement of the existing regulations.
He also referred to the traffic situation, declared that Malta lacks a plan on how to tackle traffic problems, despite infrastructural investment. “The problem is the number of vehicles on our roads, which continue to increase by regular amounts every day,” he said. “There is a need for a holistic plan that includes education about our travel habits, research on other individual as well as collective modes of transport that we can develop, times for certain heavy vehicles, and possibly controls over parking times in certain localities”.
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(ITALPRESS).
