United against the No Tav threat, learning from recent history

The series of attacks against law enforcement officers and TAV workers in Val di Susa marks a qualitative leap in political crime; the demands and calls to unite ‘against the enemy’ – the most recent of which, issued by insurrectionist anarchists, is openly subversive in nature – reveal the terrorist nature of this network of movements. It will be up to the judiciary to determine whether this succession of subversive acts and anti-democratic statements constitutes the offence of terrorism. Beyond the legal issue – which will follow its due process and which would allow anti-terrorism legislation to be used to prosecute the accused – there is a political issue. The fight against terrorism was successful during the terrible ‘Years of Lead’, not only because of the often heroic efforts of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, but also – if not above all – because of the political unity and popular participation in that struggle, which served to isolate the terrorists and their sympathisers, rendering their hopes of leading a mass subversive movement entirely futile.

It would be appropriate, on this issue – regardless of the differing stances of the political camps on matters of public order – to swiftly establish a round-table discussion or, at the very least, a dialogue that makes it clear that, when it comes to terrorist threats, Italy remains united, just as it was during previous terrible trials. The violence in Val di Susa has been condemned by all political parties, and this is already a useful starting point – essential for building a shared understanding – which, of course, does not negate the differences that remain and must remain between the various political and social groups (as was also the case, incidentally, during the struggle against the Red Brigades). Given the duties he performs, the Minister of the Interior is likely responsible for initiating the practical development of this necessary new – or, rather, renewed – anti-terrorist unity, which would also be useful in supporting the work of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies in the crackdown that is obviously necessary.