 | This articlerelies largely or entirely on asingle source. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please helpimprove this article byintroducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Black Monday" Malta – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2020) |
Black Monday inMalta refers to 15 October 1979 when the Progress Press (publisher ofThe Times) and the home ofEddie Fenech Adami, then Leader of the Opposition, were ransacked following a rally by theLabour Party.
A political rally was held byLabour supporters in the aftermath of an alleged attempt on Prime MinisterDom Mintoff's life in his offices at theAuberge de Castille,Valletta.
That evening a large crowd gathered outside the Prime Minister's office and from there marched toward the Progress Press offices on St. Paul Street,Valletta. The building was ransacked and set on fire. Many historical archives were burnt during the fire. Although the printing press was destroyed,The Times was still published as usual the following day (though in a reduced format) from the printing press of theNationalist Party. The newspaper holds the record of never having missed an issue from its founding day.[1]
Also on this day, someMalta Labour Party supporters invaded the private residence of Dr.Edward Fenech Adami, leader of theNationalist Party, ransacking his home and assaulting his wife, Mary, his five children and his elderly mother.
TheEuropean Parliament and several European governments expressed deep concern regarding these incidents. Three days after Black Monday, Mintoff expressed his personal regret in writing toMabel Strickland, proprietor of Progress Press. He explicitly condemned the violence in an interview published by theItalian newsmagazinePanorama on 11 November.
The perpetrators were not brought to justice.
  | ThisEuropean history–related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
