2013 Italian social protests

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2013 Italian social protests
Date15 November 2013 – 18 December 2013
(1 month and 3 days)
Location
Italy; several locations
Caused by
MethodsDemonstrations, protest marches, sit-ins, strike actions, roadblocks, vandalism, online activism
Casualties and losses
Injured: Dozens[1][2]
Arrested: 17[3][4][5]
Injured: 14 (police)[6]
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Locations of the protests

In 2013, protests occurred in many parts of Italy, starting on 15 November and ending on 18 December although several protests continued until February.

Usual targets have been the government, high taxation, red tape, established parties, the European Union, the Euro, the Common Agricultural Policy, and Globalization.[7] The protesters' goals include the overthrow of Enrico Letta's government, the resignation of President Giorgio Napolitano and the dissolution of Parliament. Some went so far as to propose the formation of a military junta to lead the country out of Eurozone.[8][9]

The whole protests, including rallies, demonstrations and blockades of highways and rail service, were dubbed by journalists Pitchfork protests[10][11][12] from the name of one of the leading participants: the Sicilian-based "Pitchforks Movement", which has been active in Sicily since 2011 and was characterised by an autonomist streak.[13] In the 2012 Sicilian regional election the Pitchforks supported either Mariano Ferro (candidate for "People of Pitchworks") or Cateno De Luca (candidate for "Sicilian Revolution"),[14] who both hailed from the Movement for the Autonomies and received a combined 2.5% of the vote.[15]

Several groups, sometimes in conflict one with another, have animated protests, benefiting from a loose or non-existent coordination. They included a diverse bunch of groups: the original Pitchfork Movement, associations of truck drivers, environmental activists, farmers, entrepreneurs, unemployed people, football fans, minor political parties (including New Force and CasaPound, two far-right movements), and a plethora of local groups.[7] The European Federalist Free Entrepreneurs (LIFE), a libertarian and mainly Venetian nationalist[16] organization led by Lucio Chiavegato (a former president of Veneto State), has been playing a big role in Veneto.[17][18][19][20]

The committee which organized the first protests, the "National Coordination 9 December 2013",[21] was led by Mariano Ferro, Lucio Chiavegato and Danilo Calvani (a farmer from Lazio).[22]

In December 2013, Pitchfork spokesman Andrea Zunino claimed that Italy was a "slave" to Jewish bankers; this anti-Semitic remark was widely condemned.[23][24] As a result of this and of neo-fascist infiltrations, Ferro and Chiavegato, who distanced himself from neo-fascists and Italian nationalists, decided not to take part to the 18 December demonstration in Rome.[25]

In March 2014 Chiavegato announced that the 9 December Movement had been dissolved and that he would concentrate again on Veneto only.[26]

In April, Chiavegato and other leading members of the LIFE were arrested, along with other Venetian separatists (including Franco Rocchetta and two members of the Venetian Most Serene Government), for suspected crimes including criminal association for terrorism and subversion of the democratic order.[27] Chiavegato, who endured a 17-day hunger strike in jail,[28][29] was released on 18 April, along with Rocchetta and most of the others, as the tribunal of Brescia did not uphold the accusations.[30][31]

Timeline[edit]

15 November

Thousands of students protested in major university centers in the country against proposed spending cuts in the 2014 budget. Scuffles broke out with riot police at some marches as protesters rallied in Rome, Turin and Palermo.[32]

26 November

On 26 November 2013 Trasportounito, a truckers' union, announced a strike which would take place from 9 December through 13 December.[33] On 4 December 2013 thousands of people gathered in Brenner, the Austrian-Italian border, to protest the counterfeited goods imported abroad.[34]

9 December 2013

Thousands of farmers, lorry drivers, pensioners and unemployed people have taken to the streets in Italy as part of a series of protests against the government and the European Union.[35] Demonstrators stopped train services by walking on the tracks while striking lorry drivers disrupted traffic by driving slowly and blocking roads.[36]

10 December 2013

In Turin, police officers used tear gas to disperse demonstrators who had been throwing rocks and bottles at the headquarters of Italy's tax collection agency. Two demonstrators were arrested for violence. An additional number of 32 people were given police warnings for blocking roads.

In Savona, near Genova, protesters broke into a bookshop urging the owner to "shut down the store and set fire to the books".

11 December 2013

On 11 December, violence erupted in Milan when 20 Ajax fans, who had arrived in the city for the Champions League game against AC Milan, got off their bus and hurled beer cans and insults at the demonstrators in the central Loreto Square. Police intervened quickly to break up the fighting, but five Ajax supporters and an Italian peddler were injured.[37][38]

12 December 2013

In Rome, hundreds of students clashed with police and threw firecrackers outside a university where government ministers were attending a conference. "Our university isn’t a catwalk for those who peddle austerity" read a banner. Clashes have been also reported in Ventimiglia, a locality on the Italian-French border.[39]

14 December 2013

A group of protesters of the neo-fascist movement CasaPound attacked the headquarters of the European Union in Rome. The leader of the movement, Simone Di Stefano, ripped the EU flag from the balcony of the building and replaced it with the Italian one. The protesters have been charged by the police and, after tough fighting, ten of them, including Di Stefano, have been arrested.[40]

18 December 2013

After the renouncement of Mariano Ferro and Lucio Chiavegato to take part to the demonstration in Rome, Danilo Calvani, the leader of Lazio's factions of the movement, remained the only one to participate to it.[41] Simone Di Stefano, the Vice-President of the neo-fascist CasaPound said that his movement will take part to the protest.[42] The Ministry of the Interior deployed 2,000 police officers to maintain security.[43]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Redazione Il Fatto Quotidiano (2013-12-14). "Forconi, arrestato vicepresidente di Casapound. Mercoledì presidio nazionale". Il Fatto Quotidiano. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  2. ^ "'Forconi', la protesta invade l'Italia A Torino 14 feriti tra le forze dell'ordine - Adnkronos Cronaca". Adnkronos.com. 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  3. ^ "Italian neo-fascist group tears down flag from EU headquarters". Reuters. 2013-12-14. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  4. ^ "Milan-Ajax, 5 ultrŕ olandesi feriti, 6 restano in carcere. Scontri col movimento dei Forconi - La Gazzetta dello Sport". Gazzetta.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  5. ^ Redazione Il Fatto Quotidiano (2011-11-23). "Sciopero Forconi, scontri a Torino: un arrestato. "Protesta a oltranza" - Il Fatto Quotidiano". Ilfattoquotidiano.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  6. ^ ""Forconi" in sciopero, proteste e disagi Scontri a Torino, 14 agenti feriti - Tgcom24". Tgcom24.mediaset.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  7. ^ a b "7 cose sulle proteste dei "forconi"". Il Post.
  8. ^ Di Caterina Giusberti (2013-12-14). ""Politici a casa e giunta militare": la rabbia dei forconi modenesi - Bologna - Repubblica.it". Bologna.repubblica.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  9. ^ Massimo Solani. "Neofascisti e ultrà con il popolo della rabbia". L'Unità. Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  10. ^ "Clashes with fans as Pitchfork protests enter third day". Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata English. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  11. ^ Cinelli, Antonella (2013-12-12). "Italy's 'pitchfork protests,' in fourth day, spread to Rome". Reuters. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  12. ^ "'Pitchfork' protests reveal economic frustration in Italy | The Stream - Al Jazeera English". Stream.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  13. ^ "Cos'è e cosa vuole il "Movimento dei Forconi"" (in Italian). IlGiornale.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  14. ^ "Forconi, divisi verso le elezioni regionali Da Forza Nuova a Crocetta, o in solitaria". CTzen. 2011-11-07. Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  15. ^ "Sicilia - Elezioni Regionali 28 ottobre 2012 - la". Repubblica.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  16. ^ Nome *. "I Forconi che ci piacciono | L'intraprendente". Lintraprendente.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  17. ^ "Il falegname con il mito di Putin e gli altri capi della rivolta". Archiviostorico.corriere.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  18. ^ "I Forconi in strada: invaderemo Roma". Archiviostorico.corriere.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  19. ^ "Forconi, Tir e autonomisti Il popolo degli arrabbiati - Corriere del Veneto". Corrieredelveneto.corriere.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  20. ^ "I Forconi preparano la fase due: A Verona e Mestre contro Equitalia - Corriere del Veneto". Corrieredelveneto.corriere.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  21. ^ "Coordinamento Nazionale - 9 dicembre 2013". 9dicembre2013.it. Archived from the original on 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  22. ^ "Forconi, ecco chi è e da dove viene il leader Danilo Calvani". Il Messaggero. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  23. ^ "Social Justice Protest in Italy Takes an anti-Semitic Turn". Haaretz.com.
  24. ^ "Italian populist leader slammed for Jews and money slur". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2013-12-15. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  25. ^ "Forconi, il movimento si spacca Chiavegato: no "marcia" su Roma - Corriere del Veneto". Corrieredelveneto.corriere.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  26. ^ "Chiavegato: "Il 9 dicembre è morto. Ora, si pensi solo al Veneto"". L'Indipendenza Nuova. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
  27. ^ R. Pol. "Indipendentisti, blitz all'alba: 24 arresti Sequestrato 'tanko', in manette Rocchetta". Corriere del Veneto.
  28. ^ "Faccia: "Sono un prigioniero di guerra" E Chiavegato inizia lo sciopero della fame". Corriere del Veneto.
  29. ^ "Faccia: "Sono prigioniero di guerra" Tutti gli altri in silenzio davanti al gip". ilgazzettino.it.
  30. ^ Andrea Priante. "Scarcerati Rocchetta e Chiavegato Il riesame: cade l'accusa di terrorismo". Corriere del Veneto.
  31. ^ "La Nuova di Venezia". La Nuova di Venezia. Archived from the original on 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
  32. ^ "Students protest over austerity cuts in Italy". BBC News. 15 November 2013.
  33. ^ "Trasportounito, Il Congresso Conferma Pensiero E Longo". Trasportando.com. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  34. ^ "Coldiretti, protesta "invade" il Brennero. Bloccati i tir: "No a falso cibo italiano"". il Fatto Quotidiano. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  35. ^ "Italian police fire tear gas as thousands stage "Pitchfork Protest"". Reuters. December 9, 2013.
  36. ^ "Italy: 'Pitchfork protesters' disrupt road and rail travel in protest at state of economy". Euronews.com. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  37. ^ "Scontri prima di Milan-Ajax: cinque tifosi olandesi e un ambulante italiano accoltellati - Tgcom24". Tgcom24.mediaset.it. 2013-12-15. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  38. ^ "Protesta dei Forconi: scontri a Milano con tifosi dell'Ajax". Sport.sky.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  39. ^ "Italian interior minister warns of "spiral of rebellion" after fourth day of social unrest | euronews, world news". Euronews.com. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  40. ^ "Forconi: "Mercoledì tutti a piazza del Popolo" Blitz Ue, arrestato il vice capo di Casapound". Roma - Repubblica.it. 2013-12-14. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  41. ^ "Forconi, correnti interne dividono la protesta: a Roma due manifestazioni - Tgcom24". Tgcom24.mediaset.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  42. ^ "Forconi, destra radicale si spacca. Casapound c'è, Forza Nuova no. "Marciamo su Roma come nel 1922" (FOTO)". Huffingtonpost.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  43. ^ "Forconi - 2000 agenti e rischio tensioni a Roma - OGGI NOTIZIE". Ogginotizie.it. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
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