(by Elisabetta Stefanelli) Sanremo, the city of flowers and the festival that has launched ''global successes that celebrate life, happiness and love'', hosts the speech by the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and controversy ensues.
"We hope that Sanremo will remain the Italian song festival and nothing else", says the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, who adds: "They will have made their assessments, what I hope is that the war will end as soon as possible and that the stage of the city of flowers remains reserved for music". Before him, a large group of intellectuals mobilizes and, waiting to take to the streets in Sanremo on Saturday 11, signs a protest manifesto. ''
We learned with disbelief that Zelensky, head of state of one of the two countries fighting the bloody war in Donbass, will intervene.
A terrible war'', wrote in the document signed by Franco Cardini to Carlo Freccero, by Joseph Halevi to Moni Ovadia, by Paolo Cappellini to Alessandro Di Battista.
A war, they still write, ''fomented by irresponsible shipments of arms and unmentionable economic and geostrategic interests'', ''which has complex reasons, including the fact that NATO went to "bark at Russia's borders" (using the words of Pope Francis)'' and that in their opinion ''as Italians we have the constitutional duty to "repudiate"''.
And they add: ''The
Italy not only sends weapons (and increases the military budget in a very difficult economic phase for the majority of Italians), but lets NATO and the United States use its territory as they please, in the absence of any form of government, parliamentary control and popular.
Because of this uncritical and supine position, Italy has given up on carrying out the important role of geopolitical mediation which corresponds to its historical vocation, at the same time abdicating its own national interest and its role as founder of the European unification process, as structure to ensure peace among nations''.
As intellectuals, they add ''we have a duty to understand what happens behind the scenes, and therefore we make ourselves available to speak to the Italian people,
which to this end we invite to the mobilization on Saturday 11 February in Sanremo, to participate in a large popular assembly in the square.
Italy must exit the war immediately by interrupting all direct or indirect aid to one of the parties to the conflict.
Italy cannot resign itself to remaining a depot of deadly nuclear devices under American control, nor a place of war laboratories and research centres.
It is necessary to free our territory from this presence''.
''My generation - Carlo Freccero explained to ANSA - grew up with the taboo of nuclear power.
Today Zelensky presents the war to us with the lightness of a musical between songs and costumes.
Regardless of how we think, we need to regain a sense of reality and danger.
We are not in a movie.
There are and there will be real deaths and real victims.
The society of the show had never gone that far.
This is why I signed the document '', she concludes.
Among the signatories also the columnist and former 5 Star Alessandro Di Battista who judges the participation of the Ukrainian president in the final evening of the Sanremo festival as a "ridiculous antics". The reporter signed the petition shared by a group of intellectuals in which criticizes the decision to invite Zelensky to the singing show but, speaking with ANSA, specifies that he does not intend to participate in the protest in the square called in Sanremo for February 11: "I support the petition but I will not participate in the demonstration". , He says, "
