Italian Regime tries to link Disobedient Movement and International Terrorism in runup to F 15

national | miscellaneous | news report Tuesday February 11, 2003 15:08 by Eamonn Crudden

This is noteable in an Irish Context due to the Terrorism Legislation making the rounds here now

'Diffuse Political Illegality' The Extension of Terror In Italy by Agnese Trocchi + Disobedienti Statement + Radio Sherwood Statement

This week, in anticipation of imminent conflict in Iraq, the Italian Minister of Internal Affairs Giuseppe Pisanu has decided that the moment is right to deal a blow against voices in disagreement with the war.

In a document entitled 'Internal and International Terrorism', presented to the Italian Parliament's Commission of Defence and Constitutional Affairs on the 27th of January 2003, Pisanu outlines some disturbing new strategies intended to counter the perceived danger of terrorism from internal and external quarters. He points to the threat of what he calls 'international Islamic terrorism', and highlights the relationship between this 'terrorism' and the so-called 'subversive groups of the extreme left' in Italy - for example, certain insurrectionary anarchist groups and the Red Brigade, which purportedly murdered politician Marco Biagi last year . Such groups, Pisanu argues, are part of a 'diffuse political illegality' - and amongst them, he says, the 'Disobedienti movement' is particularly culpable.

biagi

The Disobedienti began as the 'White Overalls' (Tutte Bianche), driven by the aim of resistance to the forces of neo-liberalism, transforming itself some months before the days of Genoa 2001 in order to become a wider movement able to involve more people. Much of their inspiration is drawn from the Zapatistas (www.ezln.org). The practice of the Disobedienti during demonstrations is distinctive: to simulate the war scenario by dressing as warriors but with harmless weapons made of soft materials.

white overalls

In his report, the Minister ignores this history of non-violence amongst the Disobedienti, speaking of them amongst other 'individuals and organized groups' that have 'been choosing violence, even if of a minor sort, as a method of political struggle'. Pisanu lists a series of actions led by the Disobedienti as an example of such 'diffuse political illegality', a 'transversal phenomenon' which, he writes, 'could prepare the way for more dangerous forms of violence.' The minister dedicates an entire chapter of his report to this strange phenomenon, even placing it alongside terrorism as the principal object of parliament's attention.

Amongst the list of examples of diffuse political illegality in which the Disobedienti are implicated, the minister cites:

- the action against the racist laws and the 'dismantling' of detention centre for immigrants in Via Mattei, in Bologna, which took place the 25th of January 2002,

- the action against war and the symbolic occupation of the 'Honorarium Consulate' of Great Britain in Venice. Pisanu says that this action was organized by the social centre 'Rivolta' in Marghera and 'Pedro -Radio Sherwood' in Padova.

Pisanu openly articulates a 'relationship' between this area of 'diffuse political illegality' and 'subversive terrorism' - as happened in the past, he argues, 'when the most extreme elements of Autonomia Operaio created the phenomenon known as “diffuse terrorism”, in a dialectical relation to the "selective terrorism" of the Red Brigades.'

All of which, Pisanu says, means that 'it's necessary to be alert.'

The Social Movements Answer

'We will be alert,' answer the people of Radio Sherwood in a press release, 'because it's clear that we are the target of the same criminals who managed the public order in Genova 2001 and who were responsible of the massacre at the Diaz School and of the killing of Carlo Giuliani.'

The document of the minister Pisanu, the Disobedienti say, is 'a criminalization of everyone who has shared and supported the actions of the Disobedienti until now', a clear aim to outlaw the practice of social dissent, not least as a provision against the massive demonstrations against the war that will take place in Italy on the 15th of Feb.

The minister also adds to the area of 'diffuse political illegality' the racist actions of neo-nazist and neo-fascist groups such as Forza Nuova, demonstrating once again the attempt to bunch together groups with completely different roots, visions and practices. The Minster demands that the Italian Judicial Authority practice a 'uniform application of the laws' to punish all these groups' 'illegalities' in the same way. Historically, judges have been a sticking point for executive power, exercising significant latititude in the interpretation of different cases of government repression. In calling for an end to that latitude, Pisanu has effectively turned a significant part of the battle for civil rights in Italy into a contest between political and judicial power.

The Pisanu document, 'Internal and International Terrorism', is available in Italian at http://www.interno.it/news/pages/2003/200301/news_000017985.htm .

The Disobedienti's answer to Pisanu is available in Italian at http://www.sherwood.it/portal//article.php?sid=1031. It is translated for Mute by Matthew Hyland at http://www.metamute.com/look/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=1&NrIssue=24&NrSection=5&NrArticle=827

The Radio Sherwood answer to the Pisanu reporty is available in Italian at http://www.sherwood.it/portal/article.php?sid=4316. It is translated for Mute by Matthew Hyland at http://www.metamute.com/look/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=1&NrIssue=24&NrSection=5&NrArticle=828

2) disobedienti_statement

by The Disobedienti

Press statement from the movement of the Disobedienti in response to illegalization declared by the interior minister of the government of the Republic.

Translated by Matthew Hyland

The movement of the Disobbedienti takes note of the expressions and indications chosen by the interior minister, the honourable Beppe Pisanu, in his presentation to parliament yesterday on 'internal and international terrorism', with regard to what he describes as 'a vast area of diffuse political illegality'.

The minister speaks of 'individuals and organized groups' which have 'chosen violence, even at a low level, as a method of political struggle', and adds that 'relations' could be formed between this area and 'that of terrorist subversion, as happened in the past when the most extreme elements of
Autonomia Operaio created the phenomenon known as “diffuse terrorism”, in a dialectical relation to the "selective terrorism" of the Red Brigades.'

The minister dedicates an entire chapter of his report to this 'diffuse political illegality', even placing it alongside terrorism as the principal object of parliament's attention.

This area, according to Pisanu, is made up of 'transversal phenomena' which could 'open the way to more serious forms of violence'. The minister includes without distinction in this category the racist aggression of the neofascist and neonazi group Forza Nuova, actions of 'the extreme left around the area of class Autonomy' and what he calls 'episodes of a similar nature over recent months which can be attributed directly to the so-called movement of the Disobbedienti', that is, to one of the best-known and most visible movements active against neoliberalism and war, a driving force behind the European Social Forum in Florence and the enormous, determined and peaceful demonstration on November 9. This march of a million Italian and European citizens was a response to the terrorist campaign of intimidation by the same Pisanu, who even threatened not to permit it.

Pisanu lists: the action of the Disobbedienti against racist laws and the 'dismantling' of the the concentration camp for migrants on Bologna's via Mattei on 25 January 2002; the act of disobedience against the war and the symbolic occupation of the British consulate in Venice, attributing it to the Rivolta social centre of Maghera and 'Pedro-Radio Sherwood' of Padova;
the act of disobedience against the attack on workers' rights and the picketing of Telestampa Sud of Vitualno near Benevenuto against the distribution though scab labour of the newspapers 'Libero' and 'Il Giornale', the night following the general information strike of October 20, attributing this to 'militants of the Ska social centre of Naples.

We claim all these actions with pride. They were agreed on by the entire movement of the Disobbedienti and called for by the movements of migrants, pacifists and for the generalization of strikes as legitimate and exemplary in the context of broad and unified campaigns of mobilization.

The minister responds now that such actions are 'subversive' , albeit on a level of 'low intensity subversion'. He not only calls for repression against those who carried them out, but admonishes and criminalizes those who agreed on the them, namely the multitudes of the movement of movements that has grown from these and other recognised practices.

Above all, in a single blow the minister declares the movement of the Disobbedienti a phenomenon of 'political illegality', against which he invokes 'the role of judicial authorities in the prompt, rigorous and above all uniform application of the law, which allows all those responsible in
any way for illegal acts to be punished. This is clearly a message to the various magistrates who have chosen various means, from Cosenza to Genoa to Naples to Padova, to prosecute and repress the path of civil and social disobedience. A path which has been the nervous system of the movement of movements from the G8 of July 2001 to the World Social Forum just ended in
Porto Alegre.

The movement of the Disobbedienti takes note: we will meet this challenge. Not only do we not intend to give up the practices of disobedience used up till now, we are working to strengthen them and multiply them in order concretely to stop the machine of the coming war and our country's
participation in it.

The movement of the Disobbedienti was born to practice the refusal of unjust laws in the name of the superior ones of humanity. We will continue to disobey, and our disobedience will increase against the violation of the Republic's constitution and of the Human Rights Charter. Even knowing, as we have since yesterday, that this government intends to make us illegal.

It is time for every democratic citizen to choose to join us in opposing in every conceivable civil form those who nourish the terrorism of the bombs of the powerful and its mirror image in those of the fundamentalisms, those who intend to repress savagely and preventively every act of concrete
opposition, and, finally, those who revive the theorems of the 1970s, including that of 'opposed extremes', in order more conveniently to ignore the conscience of 80 per cent of Italians.

Disobey the government of military, economic and social war!

Stop permanent global war!

Rebel against the domination of the powerful and of death!

Obey the laws of humanity!

Everywhere in Italy, Europe and planet Earth.

28 January 2003, Second Act of permanent global war.

Agency of Disobedient communication, for the illegal and rebel movement of
the Disobbedienti

3) radiosherwood_statement

by Radio Sherwood

Press Release from Radio Sherwood

Translated by Matthew Hyland.

The newspapers, in particular today's La Repubblica, tell us that the interior minister of the government in charge of the repression in Genoa has presented parliament with a 300 page dossier on 'internal and international terrorist threats', in which the movement of the Disobbedienti, the Pedro and Rivolta social centres and Radio Sherwood are identified with the so-called area of "diffuse political illegality".

Naples, Genoa, Rome and Florence are witnessing the start of a preventive campaign criminalizing social movements before the mobilization against the barbaric war in Iraq.

We deplore the continuous attack on free and independent communication since Genoa. The raids on press centres, searches of supposed Indymedia headquarters, and the arrests of media activists involved in the Cosenza and Genoa investigations are an attempt to block and criminalize information of which it is obvious that the powerful are increasingly afraid.

They fear the thousands of still and video cameras that revealed the truth on the streets of Genoa in July 2001.

They fear what Radio Sherwood, which is part of the social movements, does every day with its reporting and investigation, and what its new Global Radio satellite project will attempt on a global level.

As for [interior minister] Pisanu's warning to be "especially alert", if anyone should be alert it is us, who are evidently targeted by the same criminals who managed public order at Genoa, those responsible for the massacre at the Diaz school and the murder of Carlo Giuliani.

We are also witnessing yet another round of the game of opposing extremes: the attempt to put social and collective political action referring to and practicing an ethical vision of the world on the same plane as the racist heirs of the worst elements of last century's history is grim and intolerable. Legitimizing repression serves only to suffocate movements that fight for real change, against those who hide permanent global war, hunger, death and the destruction of our planet behind the word 'legality'.

From below we call for and practice another legality, a constituent legality that answers to a superior justice and chooses to remain part of humanity.

It is for this reason that on February 15 the editors of Radio Sherwood, together with Global Radio, will offer their means of communication to everyone, following the demonstrations against the war in the capitals of the world, agreed on in the last few days at Porto Alegre.

We will be in Rome and across the world with the nomad research of Global Radio and Global Television, to continue doing what we do every day, producing open, independent, horizontal, unequivocally disobedient communication.