[WATCH] Updated | Dutch Capital of Culture officially shuns Valletta 2018 over Jason Micallef comments

Leeuwarden-Friesland, Valletta's 2018 European Capital of Culture twin, says it won’t send any official representatives to Valletta

Valletta 2018 Chairman Jason Micallef
Valletta 2018 Chairman Jason Micallef
Dutch Capital of Culture officially shuns Valletta 2018 over Jason Micallef comments

Updated to include the comments of Culture Minister Owen Bonnici.

The Dutch city of Leeuwarden-Friesland, which along with Valletta holds the title of 2018 European Capital of Culture, has announced its decision not to send any official representatives to Malta’ capital in light of V18 Chairman Jason Micallef’s comments on murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

In a post on the Leeuwarden-Friesland website, the LF2018 foundation said it would also not send any more official invitations to Valletta 2018, unless this distanced itself from the offensive tone used with regards to Caruana Galizia’s family.

Micallef had in February come out against plans to turn the makeshift memorial to Caruana Galizia, in front of the Great Siege Monument in Valletta, into something more permanent.

He caused more controversy last month, when he wroteSt Patrick's Day in Malta. The situation is desperate. There is happy people everywhere you look." - an altered version of what the journalist had written in her last blog post - beneath a photo showing a large crowd of revellers in St Julian's for the feast’s annual celebration.

“LF2018 believes that V18 representatives have put the values of a European Capital of Culture under pressure as a result of the way in which the V18 organisation has presented itself in the (social) media regarding the journalist,” the Dutch foundation said.

The boycott comes after more than a 100 local artists yesterday signed a petition asking for Micallef to resign his V18 position for the “irreperable damage” he was causing to the year-long event.

Earlier this month, a group of 72 MEPs said they shared the outrage expressed by PEN International, in which a group of some 250 authors said they had profound concerns with Micallef's behaviour.

Owen Bonnici to meet Dutch regional counterpart

Culture Minister Owen Bonnici appealed for prudence by those occupying public posts but refrained from censuring Micallef.

"I have always campaigned against censorship and my conscience does not allow me to censure anybody," Bonnici said, adding Micallef had a right to express his views.

The minister said he was in touch with his counterpart from the Dutch region and offered to meet up so that “any misunderstandings” could be clarified.

Bonnici said he respected the more than 100 Maltese artists who have asked for Micallef’s resignation, insisting freedom of expression was a two-way process.

Bonnici was answering questions by journalists after the investiture ceremony of the new chief justice this afternoon.