You can’t arrest the whole Valley – support the NO TAV arrestees

You can't arrest the whole Valley! Freedom for all NO TAV activists!

If you’ve read my previous article, you’ll know more than twenty NO TAV activists were arrested a few days ago all over Italy; if you haven’t, read it before you carry on here! To keep up-to-date with the NO TAV defendants’ solidarity campaign, you can either follow the Facebook page or the NO TAV’s main website if you understand Italian. Or keep reading my blog otherwise 😉

Also, if one of your New Year resolutions was to be more active, then grab a pen and paper and write to the NO TAV activists in prison (if you’ve never done it before and don’t know how to start, have a read here beforehand). Have a look at the end of this article for some general greeting and phrases in Italian. Everything is better with friends, so why not start a NO TAV letter writing night? Email me if you want me to publicise it on my blog.

Wave of arrests among the NO TAV movement

NO TAV: it's impossible to stop us!

With charges such as violence, property damage and injuries to police officers, more than 40 activists of the NO TAV movement have been put under investigation: 25 are under arrest, while the remaining ones are under house arrest and similar banning orders. The operation started at dawn on January 26, saw more than 150 officers involved, and took place all over Italy (and even parts of France, where some local activists were prohibited to travel to Italy). The majority of arrests were made in Turin, but many other towns and cities were also targeted by the raids: Milan, Palermo, Rome, Padua, Genoa, and many more. The operation is specifically linked to the clashes that took place between NO TAV activists and police officers in the two big action days of summer 2011, June 27 and July 3.

Resistance in the Susa Valley goes on

As I wrote a few days ago, the NO TAV movement was planning a huge day of mobilisation on December 8, for the anniversary of what has become known as “The Battle of Venaus” in 2005, where activists managed to defeat police and security forces and take back parts of the valley that had been evicted and cleared up in the previous days.

NO TAV: more protests planned for December

On November 24, the NO TAV movement held a public assembly in Bussoleno to discuss and plan December’s initiatives and protests. For more than 3 hours participants debated and exchanged views on the present state of the NO TAV struggle and future initiatives. More protests are planned in particular around the date of December 8, anniversary of the great victory of Venaus in 2005*.

The militarisation of the Susa Valley: final act

Berlusconi’s moribund government has finally managed to pass a decree – with the opposition’s approval – that formalises the current state of militarisation in the Susa Valley. The construction site in La Maddalena will become a “site of strategic national interest”, that is, a military area. The consequences for those who trespass will be the same imposed by law for any other military area trespass: a prison sentence between 3 months and one year, or the payment of a fine between 51 and 309 Euro. That’s not it, though! The rock extracted on the site will become a legal construction material, even if contaminated by uranium, asbestos and other chemical products released by the excavation process. This will have a huge impact on the industry of the “great useless public works” beloved by the current government; and it’s a huge present to the construction mafia. Also, it’s another heavy attack to freedom of protest and dissent, and a clear message for the people of the Val Susa: don’t disturb the construction!