VALLETTA, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Maltese President George Vella on Tuesday appealed for calm and for the tense situation on the island to return to normality before more irreparable harm is done to its reputation.
In a televised message to the nation, Vella said he had spoken to many about the current situation, including employers and trade unions who expressed their concern on the repercussions the tension is having on Malta's reputation, business and jobs.
"I appeal to everyone for calm and to be aware of their responsibilities and the consequences of their actions. We should let the institutions work and deliver justice," said the president.
"We need to go back to normality before the damage, including on an international level, becomes irreparable. Malta deserves better," he said.
Vella's message came as tension mounted on the Mediterranean island, with daily protests and constant calls for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to resign over his handling of the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation.
On Sunday, Muscat announced that he will resign after Jan. 12, when a new Labour Party leader is elected.
Calls intensified when his chief of staff, Keith Schembri, was arrested for questioning over his potential involvement and released without charge. One of his most trusted ministers, Konrad Mizzi, resigned following claims that he was the beneficiary of funds from an offshore company owned by the man who has been charged in court with being the murder's mastermind.
Investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed in October 2017 when a car bomb was placed underneath her car.
Three men have been charged with being the executioners while a businessman, Yorgen Fenech, was charged with complicity in the murder and financing a criminal organisation that committed the murder.
