One week left to the anti-G8 demonstrations. The Italian government's paranoia towards the social centres-white overalls-Yabasta has reached points of true delirium: last week the police has searched the house used as the comrades' headquarters in Genoa; a report of SISDE (Italian secret service) mentions Luca Casarini (spokesperson of the 'white overalls' and the Northeast Social centres) as a potential terrorist threat to the G8, second only to Osama Bin-Laden! Finally, the Italian army has just deployed surface-to-air missiles at Genoa airport (!). The Movement and the social centres have been the opening story on Italian TV news for the past 3 days; not bad in terms of 'visibility'. Finally, the anti-G8 demos have been simbolically opened yesterday with a concert by Manu Chao in Rome, in front of a 30,000-people crowd, which has been addressed by comrades of the social centres afterwards. Total confidentiality (confirmed by Casarini in a recent interview on the comrades' Sherwood Radio) remains on the concrete methodologies of attack to be used on the 20-21. After the meetings with the foreign minister and the police authorities have gained more spaces to demonstrate and stay in Genoa for the comrades, the main stake in the game is now what will happen on 21 July in the 'red zone' where a total prohibition to demonstrate remains. The following story, on Italy's top circulation newspaper, refers to this.
--------- FROM: "Il Corriere della Sera" (Milan) 11 July 2001
"Ten Thousand will crash the Red Zone" Genoa - Demonstrators in Action on July 20. Manu Chao: Governments Ready to the Battle
GENOA - In the frontline, and ready to attack the Red Zone. Not just a demonstrative thing, just to say 'here we are': the 'white overalls' will take responsibility to smash the 'wall', open a breach, and then let the troops in. 'Ten thousand will rush in', they say. A real full-blown invasion, also the date is known: July 20, a day devoted to 'direct action' in the plans of the anti-G8 demonstrators. To be sure, this desn't mean they will make it, but they have decided it and planned it, with the endorsement of the fellow travellers that are prt of the Genoa Social Forum (GSF). The top echelons of the movement has met yesterday afternoon, pompousl calling themselves 'Direct Action Network' (DAN), to discuss and define 'how to be in the streets' during the summit's days. 25 spokespersons (from Agnoletto to Zoratti of the Lilliput Network, Jade and Casarini from the Social Centres, De Cristofaro from the Comminusts' Youth Wing, and Paladini from the Tuscany Autonomist Movement) have met until late at night. And it's not over yet. Today the GSF's General Meeting will close the discussions with its final resolutions. In substance, this will indicate ways and forms of 'civil disobedience', a buzzwod for Italy's 'Seattle people'. Then there is the question of the 'irregulars', half in and half out the GSF. These are groups led by the Social Centres 'Murazzi' and 'Askatasuna' of Turin, 'Vittoria' of Milan, and the Tuscany Autonomist Movement. The aim of the anti-global is to stop the G8. With which actions? To start with, some want the block, but concretely will do nothing real to disturb the summit. These are catholic ultra-pacifists, who will march and pray. Then there are Gandhian 'non-violent' people, who will take part to the direct action , and to the siege of the Red Zone, in the form of sit-ins; in practice, they'll make passive resistance. Then the White Overalls (supported by the 'No-Global Network' [Social Centres from Southern Italy, led by Naples' 'Officina 99', FB], as the shocktroopers. No stones, sticks or other offensive tools, they will be armed with body defensive gears, anti-gas masks and plexiglas shields in their march towards the barriers (concrete bases nd metal nets) that protect the fort of the powerful. Their goal is to open gaps, favouring the invasion. They say: 'let's see how the police intends to tackle us'. How could you do it? 'We have imagination - they answer - Didn't the Lilliputians prevail over Gulliver just using long ropes?'. Unclear are also the intentions of the 'irregulars' of some social centres. It looks like they want to upset the schedule with direct action on the 21 and not the 20 as decided by the GSF. One also wonders which tools they will use: sticks and stones? They deny, but... 'Everyone will assume their responsibility', the 'white overalls' say (...)
Marisa Fumagalli