"A peace march to stop the march of war".
With the slogan "Stop! War is madness", also written in the banner at the opening of the procession, the extraordinary edition of the March Perugia Assisi of peace and fraternity started this morning at around 9 fire in the war in Ukraine.
After welcoming the participants and some opening speeches at the Giardini del Frontone in Perugia, the long procession made up - according to the first data provided by the organizers - by 156 Municipalities, Provinces and Regions, 53 Schools, 88 National Associations set out. , 359 Local associations.
In total 10 thousand people only officially registered, the organizing committee always says, "without counting the more than thousands of women and men who freely participate in the march with friends and family".
A procession as always made up of people of all ages with many young people.
An "extraordinary edition" that arrived just one month after the beginning of the conflict, especially gathering the cry of Pope Francis, as recalled from the stage by Flavio Lotti, Coordinator of the Promoting Committee of the Perugi-Assisi March.
"We do this march together with him by choosing to be on the side of the victims without discrimination," said Lotti.
"A march with a war to stop, the controversies are only part of the one that continues even within our society and that would pretend to see us all against each other" Lotti underlined again on the sidelines of the interventions before departure, commenting on a placard positioned above the stage ("Missiles from the east, weapons from the west. Peace from where?") in response to the controversy that inflamed the eve of the march with the official manifesto accused of equating aggressors and assaults.
"It is for them that we are here today and for all the victims of the wars" said Lotti, showing a large flag of Ukraine on the stage and dedicating a minute of silence to those who lost their lives during the conflict.
"Working during the war to build peace, the only enemy is war," she added.