Anti-fascism revives in Italy online only
by Stefano Gioffré, Sinistra Critica, Rome
Fascist violence has spread since the election of Italy’s new right wing
government in April.
However this has led to an impressive response from anti-fascists.
Silvio Berlusconi’s government includes the anti-immigrant Northern League
and the
“post-fascist” National Alliance.
Last month a Nazi gang beat to death a young man, Nicola Tommasoli, in
Verona. This murder was
excused by the press as being the outcome of a clash between two opposing
“extremisms”.
There have been a series of incidents in the capital, Rome. In one, ten
masked men attacked
Bengali shops in the multi-ethnic Pigneto area. In another, there was a
fascist attack against
anti-fascist students at La Sapienza University. Lastly there was the
placing of a powerful
bomb at the entrance of the popular Acrobax social centre, which was
fortunately defused.
The media presents these incidents as the logic of a clash between opposed
“extremisms”.
Racism has been made respectable by the new government – particularly the
Northern League – and
it is only mildly criticised by the centre left whose preferred response
is to say that a
distinction has to be made between honest, working immigrants and
delinquents that have to be
repressed.
But there has been a serious response to racist attacks. In Pigneto we had
an enormous
demonstration just after the attack and it was the starting point for the
creation of a
neighbourhood committee which has issued the proposal for a one day
general strike of all
migrant workers.
At La Sapienza University a student mobilisation won the Human Rights
Faculty to taking legal
action against the fascist attackers.
Across Italy this year’s demonstrations marking the Liberation from
fascism on 25 April 1945
were the largest in many years.
There are still problems in creating a united response but with each
attack it becomes clearer
that this the only way to change things.
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com
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