WATCH: Jason Micallef Voices Concern At ‘Public Indifference’ To Daphne Caruana Galizia’s Assassination
ONE TV chairman Jason Micallef has said he is bothered by the way so many people are “indifferent” to the 2017 assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
“I don’t think [it’s right] that someone was assassinated in such a barbaric manner and most people were practically indifferent to it,” Micallef said in an interview with Fabian Demicoli on MaltaDaily. “It bothers me. Why should it be that someone is assassinated in such a cruel manner and a huge majority remains indifferent? You must ask yourself why.”
Micallef postulated that the reason behind this indifference is that Caruana Galizia had built up a reputation as a “village gossip” who targeted people because they supported Labour.
“We need to talk both about how Daphne Caruana Galizia became popular and about her obscene assassination,” he said. “She used to butcher hundreds of people simply because we supported PL. She called people ugly, stupid, fat, insulted them over their physical defects, celebrated Dom Mintoff’s death and gave a running commentary during his state funeral.”
“We cannot glorify her obscene assassination, I am glad that people have been charged and I hope justice will be served, but selectively quoting history will be a huge disservice to the people of Malta.”
“It was hate speech at its best. She wasn’t known back then for investigative journalism but for village gossip. You couldn’t even go out or have a drink with a friend because she would claim that you were cheating on your wife or husband.”
In 2018, Micallef – who back then chaired a foundation which oversaw Valletta’s status as EU Capital of Culture – caused controversy after he mocked Caruana Galizia’s final blog words “The situation is desperate” when pointing out how many people had attended St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
This prompted the Dutch city of Leeuwarden-Friesland, which held the Capital of Culture of title along with Valletta, to cancel a trip to Malta in protest and screen a film about Caruana Galizia’s assassination.
A ONE TV programme depicting Daphne Caruana Galizia a a witch
ONE TV, the Labour Party’s TV station which Micallef chairs, had also regularly targeted Caruana Galizia during her lifetime, with a TV programme hosted by now PL MP Glenn Bedingfield and TV host Luke Dalli infamously depicting her as a witch.
When Demicoli pointed out that Caruana Galizia was heavily criticised in the media too, Micallef countered that “if you’re going to war and fire bullets, you cannot expect the other side not to shoot back”.
What do you make of Jason Micallef’s comments?
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