unacceptable violence – Il Tempo

“Last night in Bologna, once again, we witnessed another situation where, on the one hand, there were people who only looked for vulgar pretexts to carry out normally unacceptable violence; on the other hand, a police force that established itself as a bulwark of true democratic values. Values ​​are of course not only exhibited with words, but defended with balance and professionalism.” Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi thundered, following the guerrilla war that took place in the city center of Bologna while the Euroleague match between Virtus and Maccabi Tel Aviv, the Israeli team targeted by ProPal, was being played at PalaDozza. Paper bombs, fire hydrants, smoke bombs, rubbish bins and materials from the tram construction site were used to build the barricades. Something that the owner of the Ministry of the Interior cannot accept: “My solidarity goes to the fourteen injured agents and I trust that the ongoing investigation will ensure that the perpetrators of violence, including the fifteen people who have been identified, are held accountable. Once again, a small group of professional violent workers have been prevented from affecting everyone’s freedom. Our government will never allow it. My full appreciation goes to the operatives involved in the field, the prefect and the police commissioner of Bologna support and my most sincere thanks for the firmness and balance shown on this occasion”.

“Yesterday evening, during a demonstration against the Virtus-Maccabi match in Bologna, many paper bombs containing nails were thrown: one policeman was hit in the genitals, another was seriously injured in the leg. This is no longer a dissent, but a strategy of terror”, says the complaint in the notes of Domenico Pianese, secretary of the police union Coisp, according to which “the preparation of similar offensive instruments clearly shows the desire to cause even serious injuries to Law Enforcement. These criminals disguise themselves as demonstrators looking for tragedy, and they seek it scientifically by exploiting every opportunity, to turn the streets into battlefields. We are faced with uncontrolled and unprecedented deterioration in recent times, and those who are asked to guarantee public order in these demonstrations are the ones who suffer the consequences, only guilty of doing their duty.” Pianese then noted that “in the last three months alone in Bologna there have been seven attacks on the Police during street demonstrations, and this should make those with institutional responsibilities understand that any justified attitude towards these things, as has happened in the last few days, is irresponsible. We are tired of having to face the absurd scenario of urban guerrillas and counting the wounded the next day – he concluded – we ask for a clear response from the justice system and the state in general: we cannot wait until the dead to realize the gravity of the situation”.