WATCH: Police Union Chief Says Maltese Cops ‘The Envy Of The World’
The president of the police officers’ union has issued a rallying cry to the Maltese police force – saying they were subjected to extremely unfair criticism in the wake of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination and describing them as “the envy of the world”.
Inspector Sandro Camilleri told Inews that this week’s arrests and arraignments of three men suspected of killing Caruana Galizia’s critics effectively shut up the police force’s critics.
“We have seen three types of reactions – there are people who had criticised and insulted us and who now had to swallow their words, there are people who had the decency to praise us, and there are others – including ex police officers – who still have the bare-faced cheek to critics and insult us. I ask them, what cases did they solve in the past?”
Camilleri praised the police officers who were assigned to the Caruana Galizia case – from the investigators and the forensic team to the police officers who had been stationed at the Bidnija crime scene.
“Police officers had complained to us about how they had been stationed in a field in the middle of the night while soaking in dew,” he said. “Don’t these people deserve a well done?”
However, he notably failed to congratulate police commissioner Laurence Cutajar – who has been on the receiving end of a large chunk of criticism from the Opposition and civil society activists.
“The Institute of Maltese Journalists recently said journalists need more protection…granted, but the protection of police officers should be prioritised,” he said. “Should we forget how people had insulted us, spat at us and thrown tomatoes at us?”
This was a reference to a protest outside the police headquarters in which people threw tomatoes at a poster of Cutajar’s face.
“Yes, we are angry…dont you think we can see how people insult and offend us? Some people tell us to work in silence and not to speak out, but I say that those who don’t speak out are spineless cowards.”
Camilleri said the image of Malta’s police force has been tarnished in recent months, so much so that foreign counterparts from other police unions have privately portrayed Malta as a third world county where murders are the order of the day.
“Why are they saying this? Everyone wants to speak empty words nowadays. True, no country is heaven on earth but compared to other countries, Malta is heaven on earth and the Maltese police deserve a big well done,” he said. “Let us now think about improving the miserable salaries and work conditions of police officers so that we can have a truly state-of-the-art police force. The Maltese police force is the envy of the world, and I am proud to be part of it as all police officers should be.”
What do you make of Sandro Camilleri’s rant?
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