The day after the pro-Palestine demonstrations in Florence and Pisa, with the students charging, the discussion continues on the harsh intervention of the police and carabinieri and on the right to demonstrate.
Schlein: climate of repression, Piantedosi must clarify in Parliament
"Last night Pisa gave an extraordinary democratic response. No more beatings on students. Piantedosi must finally come and clarify in Parliament, in front of the country, and take his responsibilities. We can no longer witness to unacceptable scenes like those we saw yesterday, of truncheon beatings on minors, of minors being held and immobilized on the ground. It is not acceptable."
This was said by the secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, arriving at the Più Europa event underway in Rome.
"It is not an isolated episode. We have seen scenes like these in Florence, Naples, Bologna. There is a climate of repression which we already asked Minister Piantedosi to account for last week. It is necessary for him to come and clarify and take his responsibilities before Parliament and I express all the solidarity of the Democratic Party with the students who were injured and their families".
Bonelli: immediate resignation of the Police Commissioner of Pisa is needed.
I have watched dozens of times various videos documenting the beatings by the police of minor students with their hands raised.
I saw the fury of the police who unleashed incredible violence on boys and girls.
There is nothing that can justify this squalid violence.
The response of the citizens who took to the streets last night in the large protest demonstration was an exceptional democratic response.
We are still waiting for Minister Piantedosi to clarify what happened.
But one thing is certain: the police commissioner of Pisa must be removed, we ask for his immediate resignation.
This is the person who was also responsible for planning public order at the time of the G8 in Genoa where Italy was condemned by the human rights court for torture for the violence committed against demonstrators". This is what was said on Facebook: co-spokesperson for Green Europe and AVS MP Angelo Bonelli.
Lollobrigida: the police always do their duty
"I believe that the possibility of demonstrating and the possibility of the police to do their job should be respected. There was a case of an attempt, from what I saw from the images , of pressure compared to a demonstration that was organized on another site and there was a reaction from the police. They will explain whether within the canons and terms of the law and respect for the rules. I always think that the police always act to the interest of citizens' safety and not to do anything else. I hope that the political forces start from trust in the police forces, possibly contradicted by the facts, and not the opposite: distrust in the police forces who become subjects to be accused. The police guarantee the safety of citizens and must be taken as an example of trust. Those who act badly must be prosecuted."
The Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida said this on the sidelines of the Forum in Masseria 2024, commenting on what happened yesterday in the square in Pisa.
"In many other cases - he added - there have been heavy charges but it is not up to me to judge the images. There is the judiciary, there is Parliament which can discuss. In principle in a normal state, we start from assuming that the police did their duty. Then we check whether they did something different from their duty. If I have to choose whether to start from the assumption that they were wrong and have to prove the opposite, I won't do it."
For further information Agenzia ANSA Pro-Palestine demonstrations in Florence and Pisa, protesters charged - News - Ansa.it The universities: deeply disturbed, the use of violence unacceptable.
PS Department: there will be checks (ANSA)
Landini: the beatings in Pisa are unacceptable
"In these hours we have asked the Minister of the Interior to convene a meeting with the trade union organizations because we think that what happened in Pisa and other cities is serious, it is absolutely not acceptable and the right to demonstrate must be a right guaranteed to everyone", said the general secretary of the CGIL
Maurizio Landini
.
"When this doesn't happen, the democracy of this country is called into question, I think that especially today the attention must not be against those who demonstrate and against the rights of those who demonstrate".
Student march in Empoli: 'Protect us, don't beat us'
An unannounced procession of students in support of Palestine marched this morning through the streets of the center of Empoli (Florence).
The procession was organized by the Collettivo Sav of the Virgilio institute, through social media, following the events that occurred yesterday in Pisa and Florence, where some students were charged by the police.
The demonstration took place without episodes of violence or public order problems.
The students held up some banners with messages such as 'Free Palestine' and 'Protect us, don't beat us'.
Giani: unworthy scenes in Pisa, Piantedosi should examine his conscience
"I believe that Minister Piantedosi must certainly do a good analysis of conscience on what happened yesterday. It is not acceptable that in the late afternoon I, as head of the health authority in Tuscany, have from the director of the emergency room in Pisa a analysis of thirteen people present and ten minors. This is not good. I consider the scenes we have seen on social media to be unworthy. I believe that there is no sense of the individual police operator, unfortunately here there are indications that are not given well. One thing they can be the repeated protests of semi-subversive movements, it is one thing for 17 or 18 year olds who go to the streets without weapons or blunt instruments to demonstrate their solidarity with the people of Gaza. Honestly, in this case the attitude we have is not justifiable seen in the images that social media have highlighted in stark clarity."
The president of the Tuscany Region Eugenio Giani, a member of the Democratic Party, said this on the sidelines of the Forum in Masseria, commenting on what happened yesterday in the square in Pisa.
Diocese of Pisa: 'Shocked by the clashes'
Even the Diocese of Pisa, with a note signed by Archbishop Giovanni Paolo Benotto, intervened on what happened yesterday in the city of the Tower where students taking part in a procession were charged by the police.
"The Pastoral Council of the Archdiocese of Pisa - we read - expresses deep concern and dismay at the clashes that occurred" in the city centre, "which caused the injury of some students, including minors".
The Diocese "believes that violence is never justified and while waiting for light to be shed on the incident and on the actions of the police, it hopes that all the competent authorities will intervene to guarantee correct and peaceful democratic confrontation, protecting security of everyone, of young people in particular. He believes that peaceful dialogue and the repudiation of violence in all its forms is the only path capable of building our common home on solid foundations."
"Regarding the tragic situation in Israel and Palestine - continues the note -, it reiterates its condemnation for the terrorist attack last October and for the massacre currently underway in the Gaza strip. As a Church we are committed to Caritas Jerusalem in support of all the people who suffer, in the Holy Land, the horrors of the "adventure of no return" war (Saint John Paul II). Let us join our voice to that of all those who ask for an immediate ceasefire and the release of the hostages. Let us make our the words of Pope Francis who has forcefully asked since the beginning of the conflict that 'the Palestinian people and the people of Israel have the right to live in peace as two brotherly peoples' and we welcome the invitation to prayer that the Pope addressed to the Church so that "disputes are resolved through dialogue and negotiations and not with a mountain of deaths on both sides.
Please let us pray for peace in the Holy Land."
PS union: 'Partisan images of Pisa do not do justice'
"It is known that all demonstrations are video recorded by our operators, it is unthinkable, to entrust judgments to video footage taken with the mobile phone when the police force was already under attack, it is necessary to understand the reasons that determined the order of charge by the Police forces".
Thus in a note Antonino Alletto, national secretary of the Police Movement.
"The events in Pisa - he states - should open up yet another reflection in a democratic country like ours and make us understand that espousing democratic principles means above all respecting the law that regulates peaceful living. The demonstration held in Pisa in favor of Palestine was an unauthorized demonstration, evidently for the Police Commissioner of Pisa not to authorize it there must have been valid reasons which, surely, our Minister will explain in the appropriate places".
"Anyone who has held a demonstration in the past undoubtedly knows the dynamics of a sudden protest and the verbal clashes to which the law enforcement officers are subjected, who - he adds - have other tasks than ensuring the peaceful conduct of the demonstration itself when it is authorized and follows a well-defined path. In a democratic country it would be necessary to ask ourselves whether it is correct, regardless of who carries it out, to violate a public order and safety requirement issued by a Police Commissioner who always stigmatizes the actions of the forces of the order".
Alletto concludes by "reaffirming his solidarity with anyone who, in compliance with the rules, demonstrates in public squares, rejecting, at the same time, any street trial against law enforcement officers".
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