Matteo Ghisalberti is a Franco-Italian journalist.
The coincidence of the calendar means that exactly forty years, to the day, after the election of François Mitterrand to the Élysée, one of the “inventions” of the first left-wing head of state of the Fifth Republic is likely to still make damages. It is about the “Mitterrand doctrine”, a politico-diplomatic practice which allowed ex-terrorists of Italian extreme left to find refuge in France. In France, these former "combatants", whose actions were inspired by the harshest communist ideology, have rebuilt their lives. The story of Cesare Battisti - captured in 2019 in Bolivia and extradited to Italy where he was to serve a life sentence for the homicide of a Venetian butcher in 1979 - has arguably been the most famous of the ex's 'new lives'. -terrorists.Less well known is that of Maurizio Di Marzio, convicted of having participated in an action in 1982 aimed at kidnapping the police officer Nicola Simone. The latter had succeeded in neutralizing his attackers but he had been seriously injured. For these facts, Mr. Di Marzio must still serve about 5 years in prison but, since the announcements made on April 28 by the Elysee about the former Italian terrorists, he is nowhere to be found. This leak is due to the fact that on May 10 at midnight, this residual sentence expired. Maurizio Di Marzio has therefore become a free man again.since the announcements made on April 28 by the Élysée on the subject of ex-Italian terrorists, it has not been found. This leak is due to the fact that on May 10 at midnight, this residual sentence expired. Maurizio Di Marzio has therefore become a free man again.since the announcements made on April 28 by the Élysée on the subject of ex-Italian terrorists, it has not been found. This leak is due to the fact that on May 10 at midnight, this residual sentence expired. Maurizio Di Marzio has therefore become a free man again.
This former member of the Red Brigades had declared in an interview with the Italian weekly
Panorama
in 2013, that he had changed since the 1980s. “
I have committed a lot of nonsense and I will not repeat the experience of the struggle. army
”, he affirmed, while adding:“
before judging one must consider the context, the climate of the years 1970
”in Italy.
To believe that after all, this ex-terrorist was unaware of having participated in criminal actions aimed at destabilizing Italian democracy.
The years of lead correspond to one of the most painful and bloody periods in the Italian history of the 20th century.
Between 1969 and 1980, more than 350 people died and almost 4,500 were injured
Matteo ghisalberti
On May 5, nine other former fellow fighters of Mr. Di Marzio were presented to the Paris Court of Appeal.
If one of them tried to express - in front of the cameras on arrival at the Ile de la Cité courthouse - a semblance of repentance, once before the judges their tone changed.
There again, some of them tried to justify themselves and to pass themselves off as victims of a distorted transalpine justice system.
With all due respect to these former terrorists, we must never forget that the years of lead correspond to one of the most painful and bloody periods in the Italian history of the 20th century. Between 1969 and 1980, more than 350 people died and almost 4,500 were injured in attacks committed by subversive movements. Projectiles, bombs and kidnappings carried out by members of various terrorist organizations killed law enforcement agents, craftsmen, politicians, traders, trade unionists, journalists, fathers and mothers, old people and children.
Since 2008, Italy has celebrated May 9, the national day in memory of the victims of terrorism.
This date corresponds to that of the discovery, in 1978, of the lifeless body of the former secretary of Christian Democracy, Aldo Moro.
The Italian statesman had been killed by the Red Brigades, who had kidnapped him fifty-five days earlier and put him to political trial before a “
people's court
”.
In the attack, the men of Mr. Moro's escort were also killed.
If France agrees to continue to give asylum to terrorists, even elderly, it risks conveying the idea that there would be a kind of "pantheon of terrorists"
Matteo ghisalberti
This year, on the occasion of this anniversary, the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella gave an interview to the daily
La Repubblica
, reaffirming the need to "
stop all the fugitives
" and "to
shed full light on the years. lead
”. The Italian head of state also thanked Emmanuel Macron for unblocking the extradition file of former transalpine terrorists. He also expressed the wish that other countries "
follow the example
" of France, thus allowing "
the Italian justice to take its course
".
If it definitively and completely abandons the Mitterrand doctrine, France could therefore become a virtuous example, a source of inspiration for other countries. In addition, France unfortunately finds itself living through its years of lead, which began with the terrorist attacks in Toulouse in 2012. The abandonment of the doctrine would find even more sense in this context, because France, to fight terrorism, must be able to count on the cooperation of all countries, even on the subject of extraditions to France of those responsible for terrorist attacks, or their accomplices.
The Mitterrand doctrine is not contained in a law. This means that its effects can be called into question or even erased. It would be a concrete way of building real European collaboration in the area of justice. Because if the former Italian terrorists remained in France, this collaboration would be nothing more than an empty shell. Here is why the erasure of the Mitterrand doctrine and its effects has a scope that goes beyond the confines of the French nationals. It concerns all those who wish the defeat of terrorism, no matter what ideology it is inspired by. On the other hand, if France agrees to continue to give asylum to terrorists, even elderly, it risks conveying the idea that there would be a kind of "pantheon of terrorists" from which could "s'.inspire ”new eversive movements.
