Milan – Two violent police charges occurred against a picket in solidarity of a family that was about to be evicted and relocated in a hotel. The police also hindrances the progress of aid to an elder member of the family in need to be hospitalized.

Rome – A demolition threat hangs on the Occupied Cinema America in Trastevere. In addition to be an historical cinema, many people from the cinema industry and the show business supported the occupiers’ collective and participated to its initiatives.

Terni – 250 to 300 people (students, precarious workers, trade unionists, self-managed spaces and citizens) last week confronted 15 Casa Pound neofascists, which were protected the police forces, and prevented them to start a nostalgic march from the central Piazza Ridolfi.

 

TUESDAY 18F

Sardinia – Local Elections. Amid an all-time low turnout (half of the potential voters deserted the polls, and the mainstream centre-left and centre-right parties lost many votes) Democratic Party candidate, the economist Francesco Pigliaru, wins the competition. Corruption and embezzlement charges still plague the parties’ system, as the island faces a dire environmental crisis, and austerity policies are likely to be implemented by the new governor.

Milan – A new morning of struggle in via Preneste: one hundred people opposes police and ALER housing agency efforts to block the meters and evict two families. The sit-in picket withstands the police truncheons and after a 7-hours resistance is able to repel the siege. A 1000 people demonstration takes the streets of the popular San Siro neighbourhood in the afternoon and occupies three vacant buildings.

Campania – More than 60 schools in the Naples area are occupied by “socially useful” workers in protest over layoffs and reductions of salaries: they are also supported in their struggle by the students’ collectives.

Turin – More and more heinous eviction practices are developed by local police. In the early morning a surprise eviction at the expense of a young couple with a child took place in the peripheral neighbourhood of Barriera di Milano; apparently, the agents had already visited the house disguised as water company employees to organize the operation.

Rome – 4000 people undersigned a petition against the agreement between the ACEA and Mekorot water companies, as the latter steals water from Palestinian lands in favour of illegal settlements, in spite of international law and agreements. Committees for public water and pro-Palestinian associations promoted and joined the effort.

 

WEDNESDAY19F

Pisa – A new social space is born in Gagno: scores of citizens from that neighbourhood occupy a 3-years vacant, municipally-owned hut in the middle of the local park. The space, that the city council wanted to assign to be managed on commercial basis, was rebranded “Casa del Pueblo” during a popular assembly partaken in also by people from the CEP and Sant’Ermete neighbourhoods and put to social and community use.

Rome – The trial for the 24 November 2010 siege of the Italian Senate starts today. The demonstration was aimed against the bankrupt Berlusconi government and his harmful reform of education (Gelmini law), that were to fall less than a year later – and several hundreds students participated in it. Yet, only 12 were charged with “conspiracy against constitutional bodies”, with a potential conviction to 5 years in jail.

Orbassano (Turin) – Tens of workers picketed the gates of the TNT logistics’ company, calling for the immediate reinstatement of unjustly sacked workers, the payment of long-due holiday allowances and the respect of their working agreements by their contractor cooperative company.

Italy – The four no tav activists charged for terrorism are transferred from Turin to high security cells in Rome, Ferrara and Alessandria jails; in addition to censorship on their correspondence, Claudio is in a total isolation and Niccolò and Mattia cannot meet anyone except for their families and have reduced hours outside.

 

THURSDAY 20F

Savona – The local Tirreno Power carbon plant was found responsible for causing 400 deaths by cancer and almost 2500 hospitalizations of adults and children. The company is controlled by the Sorgenia group, which in turn is controlled by Carlo de Benedetti – a Democratic party member and backer and a powerful media tycoon.

Val Susa – No Tav families issue a communique in which they express sympathy for the young pupil that stood up to a carabiniere last week and revamp the 22F nationwide demonstration in defense of the movement.

 

FRIDAY 21F

Brescia – The trial for the 1974 May 28 fascist bombing massacre in Brescia restarts from the appeal for the fascist terrorist Carlo Maria Maggi and the secret services officer Maurizio Tramonte. Delfo Zorzi, another fascist terrorist now living in Japan, is acquitted.

Milan – A new demonstration took the square against the Northern League regional government and its disastrous management of the housing emergency. A 7-point declaration was brought forward, including a moratorium to the evictions and the immediate assignment of 5000 vacant and heated houses.

 

SATURDAY 22F

Italy – The new Renzi government is installed. Among the new ministers, there is Piercarlo Padoan, a former IMF, ECB and OECD officer. He was the IMF supervisor for Argentine in 2001, and contributed with his policies and advices to the country’s ultimate default in the same year.

Italy – A huge nationwide demonstration by the no tav movement, to defend the legitimacy of its struggle and against repression, swept the country. As in Val Susa 3000 people marched to the construction yard spot, in Turin other 5000 blocked the city centre. Five kilometers of fences were destroyed by the no tav third cross committees in Pozzolo in the Ligurian Alps, much to the COCIV vested interests consortium chagrin. In Modena the local committees protested the mismanagement of the recent flooding and the post-earthquake reconstruction, whereas in Milan the Expo 2015 construction yards were targeted. In Pisa scores of people from the CEP, Sant’Ermete and Gagno popular neighbourhoods picketed the city council. Hundreds of demonstrators took the streets in Rome, Naples, Florence, Leghorn, Bari, Brescia, Viareggio and many other cities as well. In Caltanissetta 500 No Muos activists marched towards the prefecture to protest the ongoing militarization of the territory by the police forces and launched a new national demonstration against the US military radar for March 1 in the nearby Niscemi.

Rome – Mauro Gentile, a political prisoner arrested in the aftermath of 2011 October 15 in Rome, is denied by a court the possibility to continue an important therapy to preserve his health in jail.

Rome – 24th anniversary of the death of Valerio Verbano, a young autonomous militant murdered by masked Revolutionary Armed Nuclei fascist terrorists. Back then, at his funeral the police clashed with mourners and chased them in the Verano cemetery with machine guns and tear gases; now students and social rights activists in struggle remember him and link his memorial to the no tav nationwide day of mobilization.