Italian government to demand ban on fascist movements in country after night of chaos in Rome

Italy discusses the need to ban neo-fascist movements, who are currently feeding off the malaise of the pandemic, after the chaos unleashed last night in Rome with the capture of a union and a hospital.

The first to launch the proposal was the general secretary of the country’s largest union, CGIL, Maurizio Landini, whose national headquarters were attacked amid violent demonstrations called, in theory, to protest against the obligation of the sanitary passport. coronavirus. . “All these formations that identify with fascism must be dissolved. It is time to say it clearly,” said the union leader in front of hundreds of people who gathered at the gates of the headquarters chanting the partisan hymn “Bella ciao “.

A NIGHT OF CHAOS IN ROME

Saturday was a hot day due to the call for demonstrations in several cities against government measures to deal with the health crisis. But the omens were fulfilled especially in Rome, which ended in chaos.

Some 10,000 demonstrators, including many members of the neo-fascist Forza Nuova movement, marched through the center of the capital, shouting insults at Mario Draghi’s government of national unity and also against the press.

Tension inevitably mounted when they threw firecrackers and smoke bombs at the Executive headquarters, prompting the riot police to react, with pressurized water hoses and charges to stop the riot. Mark.

During the tour, they also broke into the national headquarters of the CGIL union, destroying its ground floor.

The clash ended with 38 wounded police officers, 600 demonstrators identified and twelve detainees, including the national leader of Forza Nuova, Giuliano Castellino, and the Roman leader, Roberto Fiore, as well as another former member of the extinct revolutionary armed nuclei (NAR).

In addition, during the night around thirty demonstrators besieged the emergency services of the Umberto I hospital and injured four people: two nurses, one with a bottle on his head, and two security guards.

ILLEGALIZE NEOFASCIST MOVEMENTS?

These actions have sparked outrage and condemnation in Italian politics because, as many experts have pointed out, they are a reminder of the past.

Italy witnessed the founding of fascism under Benito Mussolini a century ago, in 1919, a movement which took its first steps with the harassment of trade unionists and which, after coming to power in 1922, led the country to the disaster of World War II.

Landini, supported by hundreds of fellow believers, assured that last night was “an attack on democracy” and “an offense against the Republican Constitution” which arose after the fall of the regime and which in fact prohibits in its final provisions the reorganization “in any form whatsoever” of the Fascist Party.

This is why he called next Saturday a national demonstration under the slogan “Mai più Fascismo” (Never again fascism).

His proposal to ban such organizations, which are now sowing discontent with the pandemic, as they then did because of the unrest of World War I, was supported by several politicians on the Italian left.

The Minister of Labor and Social Policies, Andrea Orlando, considered that Landini’s proposal “has important fundamental elements” because, according to him, they must “build instruments to defend the Republic and democracy more effectively”.

Democratic Party (PD) deputy Emanuele Fiano, often the target of attacks for his Jewish ancestry, said he would present an urgent motion in the Chamber of Deputies on Monday to call for the dissolution of fascist movements.

“FASCISM IS NOT AN OPINION, BUT A CRIME”

The same request came from the National Association of Partisans of Italy (ANPI) who, like many other politicians, paraphrased former President Sandro Pertini, an emblem of anti-fascism: “Fascism is not an opinion, but a crime.”

Solidarity has come from all fronts: the leader of the Five Star Movement, Giuseppe Conte, called for swift legal action, and the conservative Silvio Berlusconi telephoned Landini to express his solidarity.

The condemnation also came from the extreme right, which nevertheless expressed its agreement with those who demonstrated peacefully against the health passport.

League leader Matteo Salvini, a partner like those mentioned in Draghi’s coalition government, criticized the attack but supported “workers who peacefully defend their rights and freedoms”, since he disagrees with the attack. obligation of the certificate.

While Giorgia Meloni, president of the far-right Brothers of Italy, the only opposition to the government, described as “criminals” those who sowed chaos in Rome.

“Solidarity also with the thousands of demonstrators to protest legitimately against the measures of the government and which no one will speak about because of the criminals who use all the pretexts to exert serious and unacceptable violence”, he concluded.

(with information from the EFE)

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