November 28th was the opening day of the Aerospace and Defense Meetings,
an exhibition-market of the aerospace war industry. ---- A closed-doorevent, reserved for the world's major manufacturers, representatives ofgovernments, armed forces and contractor companies. ---- The meetingpoint for the antimilitarists was in front of the entrance to the Oval,where, protected by a large deployment of police, the participants ofthis convention, the flagship of the subalpine arms lobby, were toenter. ---- Antimilitarists armed with banners and placards haveoccupied the road in front of the gate of the conference center since 12pm.After a few minutes the cars headed for the Oval reversed. Participantswere forced to enter the Oval on foot, bit by bit, from an internalpassageway at the Lingotto.For the first time in 18 years, antimilitarists blocked the entry ofarms dealers.The blockade was held for over two hours, so that no one passed throughthe front door.During the blockade, an assembly was held where, beyond the strongenthusiasm for the success of the counteraction, the commitment tocontinue the fight against the arms industry and market was reiterated.After two hours of blockade, the antimilitarists moved in a processiontowards the pedestrian walkway from which three Extinction Rebellionactivists had just hung, to show solidarity with the ecologists.At the same time, clandestinely, in the former Alenia area, a bulldozerwas demolishing a piece of wall. According to the media, this would bethe start of the construction of the Aerospace City, a new war center inthe heart of Turin. No trace of Minister Crosetto who announced hispresence a month ago. An all too clear sign of the uncertainties thatstill weigh on the project: after having pocketed the money from thePNRR, Leonardo cannot find private individuals willing to invest.We must not have any illusions. Both Cirio and Lorusso confirmed theirsupport for the birth of the Aerospace City, where increasingly precise,increasingly deadly weapons will be designed. In Turin, Leonardo, incollaboration with the Polytechnic, focuses above all on research andinnovation, while the role of Alenia in Caselle is confirmed as aproduction hub, which will probably be strengthened in view of theproduction of a new fighter-bomber, the Tempest, a joint venture betweenItalian, Japanese and British manufacturers, and of the Eurodrone.One fact is certain.The institutional and media narration of the Aerospace and defensemeetings and of the Aerospace City continues to hide, behind therhetoric of space travel, spaceships, explorers of Mars and the Moon,the reality of a market and a production sector whose fulcrum they arethe weapons: fighter-bombers, combat helicopters, drones, targetingsystems. These weapons are used in wars everywhere, but they areproduced a stone's throw from our homes.The smoke screen that hides the choice to transform Turin into an armscapital has been partly dispelled, involving students, ecologists,education workers, as well as groups that have been fighting against thewar industry for years.The campaign launched by the Antimilitarist Assembly and theCoordination against war and those who arm it managed to build animportant communication procession on 18 November and culminated withthe blocking of entry to the weapons exhibition.A good handful of sand has been thrown into the gears of a deadlymachine. We will need to multiply our efforts so that the machine isstopped forever.This long November of struggle ends with the awareness that themerchants of death, the armies, the producers of weapons will find moreand more people willing to get in the way.Stopping the war and whoever wants it is possible. It depends on each of us.Antimilitarist Assemblyantimilitarist.to@gmail.comhttps://www.anarresinfo.org/torino-bloccati-i-mercanti-darmi/_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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