"Any suggestion that there is a Government plan to repress political dissent and that this plan is carried out by police forces during public order services must be immediately rejected."
Thus the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, responding to question time in the Chamber.
"There is not, and never can be - adds Piantedosi - any ministerial directive in this sense, nor any indications aimed at changing the operational rules of public order, which have always been characterized by caution, balance and professionalism, regardless of color politician of the Government in office".
"Even in the recent episodes in Turin, Naples and Bologna - recalls the minister - the greatest number of injured, as often happens, was recorded among members of the police forces. The difficult action of our police forces, fundamental institutions of a country with a mature democracy like ours, is oriented solely towards ensuring that public demonstrations take place in conditions of complete safety. And it is for this reason - he adds - that their role cannot be represented in oppositional or antagonistic terms to the demonstrators. Their presence is, instead, an expression of "the fundamental requirement of democracy is that dissent, even the most bitter one, can always be expressed, without any fear or censorship, and, as I said, in complete security".
"Scrupulous attention - continues Piantedosi - is paid to the training activity of the police operators themselves who, at the conclusion of specific professional courses, acquire appropriate and constantly updated intervention techniques. Having said
this, I hope that there is no temptation on the part of anyone to drag the work of the police force into the political conflict, which must be able to operate, especially in public order services, with the necessary serenity, an essential factor for managing the risks associated with challenging scenarios and contexts".
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