Italy journalist defaced

Protesters in Italy also defaced the bust of a prominent writer, drawn in gold, and scrawled the words ‘racist’ and ‘rapist,’ in reference to his revelation that he had a 12-year-old Erythrian wife stationed in the Italian colony in the 1930s.

The statue of Indro Montanelli, inside a park named after him in Milan, was a flashpoint in Italy’s Black Lives Matter protests, which again focused on Italy’s colonial past. Activists have also urged Italy to give full citizenship to those born in Italy to parents who are permanent residents.

The statue of late journalist Indro Montanelli had been desecrated with red paint and spray-painted Italian words reading “racist,” top, and “rapist” inside the park in Milan.
The statue of late journalist Indro Montanelli had been defaced with red paint and spray-painted Italian words reading “racist,” top, and “rapist” inside the park in Milan. (AP) (a)

Montanelli, who died at the age of 92 in 2001, was one of the most revered journalists in Italy. A well-known war correspondent, he chronicled contemporary Italy from its colonial era through fascism, postwar rebuilding in Italy, and anti-corruption controversies that largely reversed Italy’s political class in the 1990s.

He was shot four times in the legs by a far left terrorist group in 1977. He has also mentored many of today’s leading Italian journalists.

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala rejected calls to repeal the Statute, saying in a Facebook video that Montanelli had admitted to his actions and that “lives should be judged on their totality.”

Sala said, “Montanelli was more than that. He was a great journalist, a journalist who fought for the freedom of the state, a freelance journalist. Maybe he was shot in the legs for these reasons.

The pilfering of the Statute came in the midst of a wave of anti-racism protests across Europe on Sunday, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and the death of George Floyd.

In Berlin, the protesters formed a 51⁄2 mile chain of anti-racism messages, among a number of other causes. They were linked by colored ribbons, forming what the organizers called the “Solidarity Ribbon” which stretched southeast from the Brandenburg Gate to the Neukoelln neighborhood.

In Paris, some 15,000 people demonstrated across the city against racial injustice and police violence against minorities.

French President Emmanuel Macron vowed Sunday to stand firm against racism, but also praised the police and insisted that France should not take down statues of controversial figures of the colonial era.

Meanwhile, in London, the British police said they arrested more than 100 people after protesters, including right-wing activists, fought with officers on Saturday.

On Sunday, the participants in the demonstration of the “Indivisible” alliance against social injustice and racism formed a human chain in Berlin, Germany.
On Sunday, the participants in the demonstration of the “Indivisible” alliance against social injustice and racism formed a human chain in Berlin, Germany. (dpa by AP)

Hundreds of right-wing activists turned out for demonstrations in that city, many of whom said they wanted to “protect” monuments and statues recently targeted by anti-racist protesters for ties to slavery and British colonialism.

Protests turned violent as some scuffled with riot police and others hurled bottles, flares, and smoke grenades at the officers. Six of the police officers sustained minor injuries.