Updated 7.40am, adds Jason Micallef statement

Occupy Justice activists placed placards in planters in front of the Parliament building in Valletta on Tuesday night, as they continued to protest “the extreme corruption that reigns in Malta and has infiltrated our institutions”.

Some of the slogans read Fil-Parlament ma jikbrux fjuri, imma ħdura hawn kemm trid (No flowers grow in parliament, but there is bile aplenty), Grazzi Sur Jason Micallef, ħloqtilna spazju biex inwaslu leħinna (Thank you Jason Micallef, you gave us a space to make our voice heard), Ministru Ian Borg, ħalli siġra mġiddma! (Minister Ian Borg, leave a tree standing) and It-tieni interconnector? Mela l-Electrogas x’nambuha? (A second interconnector? Then what do we need Electrogas for?)

Photo: OccupyJustice

In a statement, Occupy Justice thanked Valletta Cultural Agency chief Jason Micallef for providing civil society with a new space for its protests through the Valletta Green Festival planters, which have now become a permanent fixture at Micallef's initative.

It asked Micallef whether he was going to resign and stop using his political appointments and social media as a platform to attack civil society in line with another public request.
 
“Unwittingly, Mr Micallef has provided this same civil society with a canvas to extend its protests," it said adding it was confident that other activists and members of the public would also view this space as an opportunity to leave messages to all politicians who disrespected the electorate.

Photo: OccupyJustice

“On an island where Minister Ian Borg seems hell-bent on destroying anything which gives us a little beauty and respite, it is perhaps fitting that a symbol of this “uglification period” is represented on the main street in our capital city,” Occupyjustice said.

Photo: OccupyJustice

Activists said that the government was stealing from citizens "to pay exorbitant salaries to its persons of trust, by overcharging us on utilities, by selling public land at a fraction of its value, and by ensuring that contracts are created for the loyal few.  

“Our government is silencing its citizens by allowing its employees and media to target and harass independent journalists and civil society activists.
 
“Our government is suffocating its citizens by burying us in construction and roadworks, by decimating our natural environment, and by concreting over Malta’s ever-decreasing outdoor spaces.

Photo: OccupyJustice

"We’ve had enough. The mafia must be stopped. This is our nation, this is our home, and we are the people. We expect better. We deserve better. We demand better,” Occupy Justice said.

'An act of vandalism'

Micallef did not take the act of protest too well. 

In a statement on Facebook on Wednesday morning, he described the action as "an act of vandalism" on the planters and said he had ordered the placards to be removed and "thrown in a skip".

The VCA boss also said he would be filing a police report against Occupy Justice and fellow activist group Repubblika, describing them as "extremists".

OccupyJustice immediately replied in another Facebook post saying nobody in their right mind believed sticking posters in soil was an act of vandalism.