Lassana Cisse’s Brutal Murder Result Of Systemic And Institutionalised Racism, Activists Warn Three Years On
Three years on since the murder of Lassana Cisse, the 42-year-old father of three who was gunned down on 6th April 2019, friends, loved ones and activists warned of the insidious creep of racism into the island’s institutions.
Scores of people gathered outside the Law Courts in Valletta today to demand justice in the wake of little movement on the murder case.
Though authorities quickly identified the two alleged murderers, they have been released on bail. Even more shocking is that Cisse’s body still has not been repatriated to his family in Ivory Coast.
“The Maltese community is standing together with the black community against any form of racism and acts of violence. This was a terrorist attack meant to instil terror in our own community. The two AFM soldiers who allegedly shot Lassana probably did so because they thought they could get away with it. Their self-confidence was fuelled by years of political rhetoric which suggests that foreigners may be treated as inferior people,” Moviment Graffitti said.
“It is of the utmost importance that we recognise Lassana’s brutal murder as the climax of the systemic and institutionalised racism which affects our society at every level.”
Saying racist tendencies had infiltrated the island’s “courts, the military, health care services, employment, housing, and education,” they urged for politicians to stop fanning “the flames of racial prejudice”.
“We urge Prime Minister Robert Abela to foster a nation where Maltese people and foreigners may live peacefully side by side, irrespective of religion, nationality and/or skin colour.”
Cisse was killed after being shot by two off-duty soldiers while walking home on a Ħal Far road after watching a football match with some friends.
The Maltese government had offered to pay the costs associated with repatriating Cisse’s body so that he could receive a proper burial in his home country, the Ivory Coast.
However, three years later and his body remains at the Mater Dei morgue. It is unclear when the repatriation will take place or what, if anything, is standing in the way of this happening.
Cisse’s body was released for burial by the courts in January 2020 and was set to make the long journey back home to Kuomassi, in the Ivory Coast’s south Abidjan region.
That year, the government had told Lovin Malta that it was committed to paying for Cisse’s body to be returned home, with Foreign Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo saying that the government would also pay for a person to accompany the body.
Plans for the repatriation hit a snag with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges that brought with it.
Sources suggested that the reason the repatriation had not taken place was that Malta was still awaiting a request from Cisse’s family or the embassy in order to set the process in motion. However, Ivory Coast’s status as a Dark Red country has made travel extremely difficult.
Lovin Malta travelled to Ivory Coast in the wake of Cisse’s murder to find out more – watch our full documentary below.
35 organisations endorsed today’s vigil:
1. aditus foundation
2. African Media Association Malta
3. Alleanza Kontra l-Faqar
4. Allied Rainbow Communities
5. Anti-Poverty Forum Malta
6. Association for Justice, Equality and Peace
7. Blue Door English
8. Caritas Malta
9. Dar Hosea
10. Department for Inclusion and Access to Education, UOM
11. Drachma LGBTI and Drachma Parents
12. Maltese Association of Social Workers
13. Men Against Violence
14. Fondazzjoni Sebħ
15. Humanists Malta
16. Integra Foundation
17. JRS
18. Kopin
19. LGBTI+ Gozo
20. Malta House of Prayer
21. Malta LGBTIQ Rights Movement (MGRM)
22. Marie Louise Coleiro Preca
23. Migrant Women Association Malta
24. Moviment Graffitti
25. Repubblika
26. Richmond Foundation
27. SOS Malta
28. St Jeanne Antide Foundation
29. Sudanese Community Malta
30. The Critical Institute
31. The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation
32. The ElHiblu3 campaign
33. The Good shepherd Sisters – Dar Merhba Bik Foundation
34. The Justice and Peace Commission
35. The Paulo Freire Institute Foundation
Photos: Moviment Graffitti
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