The spontaneous tribute of flowers and candles at the foot of the Great Siege Monument in Valletta, being placed there by the public and dedicated to Daphne Caruana Galizia, was not causing damage to the base of this important monument, Din l-Art Helwa told The Shift News.

Valletta 2018 chairman Jason Micallef said in a Facebook post that the memorial was causing damage to part of Malta’s cultural heritage and called on the organisation that safeguards the historic, artistic and natural heritage of Malta to take a stand. In response, Din l-Art Helwa deemed his assessment wrong.

“In the case of the spontaneous tribute of flowers and candles at the foot of the Great Siege Monument in Valletta, being placed there by the public and dedicated to Daphne Caruana Galizia, Din l-Art Helwa is of the opinion that no damage is being done to the base of this important monument, which the organisation had restored in 2010,” Din l-Art Helwa told The Shift News.

The organisation said that while it was always willing to speak out when it believed that part of Malta’s cultural heritage was being damaged, there was no damage being caused to the monument as a result of the public’s tribute to the journalist murdered in Malta in October 2017.

In a Facebook post, Mr Micallef said he would oppose a permanent memorial to Ms Caruana Galizia on Great Siege Square with every means possible, as V18 chairman and on a personal basis.

Caruana Galizia’s sister, Corinne Vella, accused Mr Micallef of spending hundreds of thousands in taxpayers’ money on “vanity projects cluttering up a public square”, but then objecting to flowers laid in memory of a woman who “held him and his corrupt patrons to account”.

The Civil Society Network announced plans to crowdfund a new memorial for Caruana Galizia in front of the law courts, after some Valletta local councillors complained that the current one was illegal.

“We are in the process of formally applying for a memorial in this square,” the CSN said. “The memorial will be a reminder and acknowledgement of Caruana Galizia to the present and future generations. A reminder of her work. And also a reminder that we are still awaiting justice. The memorial will be crowdfunded to remain truly of the people and for the people.”