Statement on the national demonstration against the US military base on 17th February 2007 in Vicenza
The concessions made to the United States government by Italian prime minister Prodi and foreign secretary D'Alema for a new military base in Vicenza (at the Dal Molin airport) is a matter of the utmost seriousness which goes to show this government's militaristic, warmongering tendency, and provides yet another signal of continuity with the disastrous foreign policy of previous governments.
Hot on the heels of a "blood, sweat and tears" Budget for Italian workers, the increase in military spending and the soon-to-be-confirmed continuation of financing for military missions abroad (in Afghanistan and Lebanon) with the full support of the centre-right opposition coalition, are the most tangible signs of the continuity from one government to the next over the past fifteen years. It is these governments who are to blame for having pushed this country into the war games, thus betraying the pacifist and anti-militarist spirit of the majority of Italians who are against war and who support the withdrawal of Italian troops from abroad.
Conceding another military base in Vicenza, an area that is already heavily militarized, is further proof of the submission of this country to the diktats of the US government which, now more than ever, needs to reorganize its military presence in the world for its global war on terror, with the sole aim of implementing more efficiently its unilateralist, greed-driven policies of aggression against countries that are rich in resources but poor as far as per capita incomes are concerned.
The presence of a military base in any area not only poses problems linked to its violent and destructive nature, but also represents a threat for the local population, which is forced to put up with a progressive worsening of their living conditions.
Apart from being instruments of death and destruction, military bases pollute the air and water, upset the social balance, use up precious energy and cause the social and economic development of the surrounding area to be influenced by military and geo-political policies instead of by the will and needs of local inhabitants.
The protests by the citizens of Vicenza - and in particular the exemplary, determined opposition on the part of the local committees - are the natural response of the majority of the population (which does not want more military bases) to the decisions of the centre-left government and centre-right local administration, and serve to demonstrate the marked contrast between civil society and the "representative" political institutions.
The struggle being carried on by the local committees against the concession of Dal Molin airport to the US government is an important one. Not only because it is the expression of a mass movement, but because there is every reason to believe that Vicenza can be the birthplace of a nationwide, and even Europe-wide, movement against military bases. A movement that can only serve to strengthen the struggle against war and for social justice.
For all those who fight against war and the militarist attitude that produces war, it is absolutely essential that the decision to allow the new military base in Vicenza be blocked (remembering also that the existing Ederle base has already been expanded several times since 1954).
The Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici will be participating in the national demonstration on 17th February and expresses its solidarity with and support for Vicenza in struggle.
Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici
8th February 2007