On March 28, the NO MUOS movement returned to the streets of Niscemi (Calabria) to forcefully say no to war and the use of US military bases in Italy. Several hundred people arrived from various parts of Sicily to protest against the war and against the United States waging war in the Middle East from its island territory. It was a moment to say no to all of this, but above all, to the environmental devastation affecting Niscemi with the recent disastrous landslide and the fire in the cork oak forest last summer.
The demonstration was called following an appeal to citizens, committees, associations, and all those interested in initiating and coordinating anti-war initiatives. The appeal reiterated: "Territories are not military bases. War cannot be normalized. Places taken from communities must be returned to local communities, freed from war and military servitude. Sicily and Italy cannot be war platforms in the Mediterranean."
The appeal also emphasized the specific nature of Niscemi's military exploitation, against which the No Muos Movement has never stopped fighting.
In the heart of Niscemi's cork oak forest are the NRTF station and the MUOS, two strategic military infrastructures operational year-round, intended exclusively for US military communications. Signals supporting US wars pass through here every day.
The United States wages war starting from our home, using infrastructure located on our territory and taken from the community.
When a territory hosts strategic military infrastructure, it automatically becomes a potential target in conflict. A specific and profound local impact, added to the many repercussions of the war already widespread in our daily lives: rising energy and fuel prices, rising living costs, cuts in social and public spending to the benefit of the military. All this while proposals such as the reintroduction of conscription are returning to public debate.
In Sicily, as throughout Italy, anti-war demonstrations were recently held in Sigonella and Trapani, in which we participated as the No Muos Movement along with other pacifist and social groups. On March 28th, in addition to Niscemi, demonstrations were held in many cities, including Rome and the Women's Squares for Peace.
Our demonstration was intended to be part of this shared tradition of opposition to the war, which has seen many significant moments: from the years when the No MUOS Movement invaded the American base, to the mobilizations for Palestine that erupted with the departure of the flotillas, to the workers' struggles against the war, led by dockworkers and railway workers, and to the recent example at the Pisa station, where a train carrying military vehicles was blocked.
And it was important to take to the streets even in a place like Niscemi, a city twice wounded, first by the imposition of the American base and then by a landslide that could and should have been prevented. The march concluded with a well-attended assembly in the square that included several interesting speeches. As always, the struggle continues.
Antonio Rampolla
https://umanitanova.org/in-piazza-contro-guerra-e-devastazione-ambientale-28-marzo-a-niscemi/
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Link: (en) Italy, FAI, Umanita Nova #11-26 - Taking to the streets against war and environmental devastation. March 28 in Niscemi (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]
Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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