On Saturday November 7th, Women in Black from Padua, Naples, Schio, Verona, Udine, Bologna, Ravenna, Milan, Turin and Alba were in the streets of Vicenza together with many women from the city, to declare their opposition to the construction of the new US military base, Dal Molin. They went to Vicenza because the construction of the base and all that is revealed by the choices and actions of successive Italian governments concerning the base, is a problem that all of us must confront. | |
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The stubborn fight by the citizens of Vicenza has brought more visibility to the secret agreements that impose not only the presence of foreign bases in Italy, but also the financial burden of maintaining them at the expense of Italian taxpayers. But it has also made visible, in an unmistakable way, the contempt of our political leaders for the opinions, the wishes and the rights of citizens. The citizens of Vicenza have seen their opinions discarded, their right to have a local referendum denied, the decision against the construction of the base by the local courts for the Veneto region set aside.
The exclusion of citizens from the decisions that concern military installations represents a serious threat to democracy in a country that already hosts 110 American bases. | American Bases in Italy |
We're told that all this is done for our security.
But to feel secure we need, in the first place, respect and recognition of our freedom, dignity and self-determination. In second place, it's necessary to build relationships that are driven by mutual recognition, living together and solidarity and to recognise the rights of citizens to participate in choices that concern their own land.