Malta’s Culture Minister has reacted to repeated calls for the setting up of two permanent memorials in Malta – one dedicated to murdered Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, and one dedicated to the collective victims of L-Interdett, the Interdiction.

Both topics are deeply sensitive in Maltese society, with many Maltese people yet to find closure or solace on either painful issue.

A spokesperson for Jose Herrera told Lovin Malta that the minister is “following closely and with interest the public discussion taking place” on a potential permanent monument dedicated to L-Interdett victims.

This comes after former ONE Executive Chair Jason Micallef called for such a monument, and Labour Party President Daniel Micallef welcomed a discussion on it.

The Interdiction, as it was known, was one of the darkest periods in modern Maltese history, when the Church said that anyone that supported the Labour Party was committing a sin.

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Herrera’s office said the minister would now be “consulting the relevant stakeholders before any decisions are taken”.

When it comes to a permanent monument dedicated to Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Maltese journalist brutally killed in a car bomb over two years ago, Herrera had less to add.

“With respect to the makeshift memorial dedicated to Ms. Caruana Galizia, the Minister has no additional comments to make, following the already pronounced statement made by the Prime Minister in recent days,” the spokesperson said.

Shortly after becoming Prime Minister last week, Robert Abela had ordered a makeshift memorial dedicated to the late journalist in Valletta to be left alone.

This comes after it was regularly removed in the middle of the night by government workers, a move that was regularly criticised by civil society for years.