A-Infos (en) Italy, Pordenone, Responding to xenophobic violence with anti-fascist, anti-racist direct action (it)

[Worker <a-infos-en@ainfos.ca>]

 ________________________________________________
      A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
            http://www.ainfos.ca/
        http://ainfos.ca/index24.html
 ________________________________________________

On Saturday 12th July, about 15 comrades from the Circolo Libertario "E.
Zapata" organized an anti-racist and anti-fascist protest in Piazza
Risorgimento, Pordenone in reply to Alleanza Nazionale's anti-immigrant
demonstration. More and more people joined the anti-racist demonstration,
both immigrants and others. AN's demo is the fruit of a disgraceful
campaign against migrants which came to a head in the round-up of 30th
June when about 40 carabinieri in around 15 vans literally laid siege
to Piazza Risorgimento and proceeded to search and check the identities
of anyone who seemed to be foreign. As a response to this blitz, on
Saturday 5th July, the anti-racist forces in Pordenone all came together
to organize a multicoloured festival with music, dancing and ethnic food,
where around a hundred people, Italians and immigrants, were able to
socialize, representing the anti-racist, multi-ethnic part of the town
and showing solidarity with the migrants.

The success of that event showed a different side of Pordenone other
than that of intolerance and exclusion - one of sharing and solidarity.

But the result did not please Alleanza Nazionale who responded with a
protest marked by racism in solidarity with the "forces of order" in
the same piazza on 12th July.

However, the reply of anti-racists was immediate. Slogans were chanted
against the Bossi-Fini Law and against the "centres of temporary
permanence" (lagers for immigrants). There was also a banner solidarizing
with the immigrants which read "Our fatherland is the whole world ... we
are all clandestine".

The day was not without its moments of tension and the post-fascists of
AN reminded us of their squadrista past, despite their democratic
appearance. Towards the end of the protest, a group of AN heavies attacked
two comrades, kicking the hell out of them. The anti-racist response was
immediate and the two double-breasted aggressors were isolated. The leader
of the aggressors was none other than the provincial secretary of AN,
Alessandro Ciriani, who participated directly by kicking a comrade from
the Circolo Libertario Zapata who had to be taken to hospital for
treatment of multiple contusions to his right wrist and left knee.

The AN demonstration following the carabinieri's blitz would seem to be
purely instrumental, given the fact that after the hiding they took in
the last regional elections they are desperate to regain political
visibility by attacking migrants, the usual handy scapegoats who are
victims of the Bossi-Fini Law and are already considered to be
delinquents.

As libertarians, we stand with our migrant brothers and sisters without
divisions or conditions, so that together we can build inter-ethnic
relations and break down borders and laws, so that we can conquer those
rights and freedoms which belong to all and which constitute the basis
of any society without exploitation or racism. We will respond to racist,
xenophobic violence with anti-racist, class-struggle solidarity.



The comrades of the Circolo Libertario "Emiliano Zapata"

http://www.zapatapn.org/


[trad.- nmcn/ainfos]
[translator's note: Alleanza Nazionale ("National Alliance") are the
modern successors of the MSI - Movimento Sociale Italiana, the direct
descendants of Mussolini's fascists. They are today partners in
government with Berlusconi.]


*******
                       ********
       ****** The A-Infos News Service ******
      News about and of interest to anarchists
                       ******
  COMMANDS: lists@ainfos.ca
  REPLIES: a-infos-d@ainfos.ca
  HELP: a-infos-org@ainfos.ca
  WWW: http://www.ainfos.ca/
  INFO: http://www.ainfos.ca/org

-To receive a-infos in one language only mail lists@ainfos.ca the message:
                unsubscribe a-infos
                subscribe a-infos-X
 where X = en, ca, de, fr, etc. (i.e. the language code)