The fight for truth, justice and freedom is timeless, the Shift News journalist Caroline Muscat told La Repubblica before she is awarded the Pimentel Fonseca 2018 journalism prize this evening.
Muscat recognised the support of Italian journalists “who have stood shoulder to shoulder with us” since Caruana Galizia’s assassination on 16 October 2017.
Muscat spoke of the collapse of the rule of law in Malta. “More and more, Malta is resembling Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” she said.
Muscat today visited the tomb of Eleonora Pimentel Fonseca – the tragic heroine of the short-lived Neapolitan Republic, which overthrew the Bourbon monarchy in 1799 – at the church of Carmine Maggiore, with Naples Culture Councillor Nino Daniele. Daniele was himself a journalist under police escort for his reports on the mafia.
Muscat will this evening be awarded the Pimentel Fonseca 2018 journalism prize “for her tireless struggle for liberty, truth and democracy”.
“I am honoured to have the opportunity to pay tribute to a revolutionary woman. Eleonora Pimentel Fonseca dedicated her life to opposing oppression and raising awareness on people’s rights and freedoms when she was the director of Monitore Napoletano the biweekly newspaper of the Republic,” she said.
Addressing the Italian press, Muscat referred to Caruana Galizia “another revolutionary woman who dedicated her life to fighting organised crime and corruption at the highest level of government”.
This year, the Pimental Fonseca award pays tribute to Caruana Galizia. The ceremony starts off the fourth edition of the International Journalism Festival called Imbavagliati (Gagged).
Muscat told La Repubblica that the fight for liberty, truth and democracy is timeless. “At a time when truth is not a given, and crime transcends national borders, journalists need to network and build bridges across borders to find the truth”.
There are at least four Neapolitan journalists who live under constant police protection because of threats from the mafia clan known as Camorra.
Every single person and journalist who continues to tell Caruana Galizia’s story “ensures her name is never forgotten,” Muscat said.
She also expressed her anger at the constant efforts to clear the memorial dedicated to Caruana Galizia at the Great Siege Monument. In fact, the latest took place on Monday night as people walking into Valletta found everything – including the banner, candles and flowers – removed after a weekend of activists fighting to express their right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.
“We will never stop – we want justice for Daphne and we want democracy restored in our country,” she said.
Caruana Galizia’s investigations were revealing the truth and that is why she was killed. We will keep her legacy alive, Muscat said.