Italy's president on Monday defended his decision to open a book fair in Turin honoring Israeli writers, despite calls for a boycott by some Arab and Italian intellectuals angered by the event.
President Giorgio Napolitano's planned appearance at Thursday's inauguration of the fair is in line with his participation in many cultural events, his office said in a statement. [....]
Italy's presidency was reacting mainly to the Italian media quoting Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan as saying Monday that Napolitano's plan to open the Turin fair is a mistake.
"His presence shows that this is a political event, and not only a cultural event," the ANSA news agency quoted Ramadan as saying at a news conference in Turin.
