Thursday, March 26, 2009

ITALY: A COUNTRY WITH A LIMITED SOVEREIGNTY, OUTPOST OF IMPERIALIST AGGRESSIONS

On April 23, 1949 the Italian government controlled by the Christian Democrats and other anti communist forces, signed the North Atlantic Treaty. Since then up to today, the Italian national territory has been transformed by the USA into an “integrated system” of more than hundred of naval air and logistic bases for land troops: Aviano, Ghedi, Vicenza, Camp Derby, Camp Ederle, Gaeta, Brindisi, Sigonella, Capo Teulada, etc. (see map with the 113 bases). In some bases nuclear arms are stocked. In Naples there is the General Quarter of NATO Southern Area.
And so the Italian territory has become -in the Mediterranean area- a privileged point of departure for the USA imperialism aggressive operations, by itself or associated with the other European imperialisms (including the Italian one), directed against other peoples and countries, first of all the Middle East ones. This in flagrant violation of the art. n° 11 of the Italian Constitution.
In Naples and Vicenza there is now being planned the installation of the new Africom command for the military control of the continent, which would make of Italy a real outpost for new imperialist interventions and aggressions in Africa, Red Sea and Persian Gulf.

The consequences of the Italian participation in NATO in domestic politics have been very serious.
The presence of CIA has always conditioned the Italian governments’ politics since the Anglo-American troops landed in Sicily in 1943 wioth the Mafia help. There are additional “secret protocols” of NATO treaty, never disclosed to the Italian people; this highlights the condition of “limited sovereignty” of our country and the heavy interference in its domestic affairs.
It is well known the role that the USA and NATO, with the cooperation of the Italian secret services, played in the massacres and criminal outrages in the years of the “strategy of tension”. A strategy directed at destabilizing the political situation, at repressing the advance of he working class and communist movement, and at assuring the membership to the system dominated by the USA. From the economic point of view the political and military obligations undertaken with NATO have caused a continuous increase of military expenditure, to the detriment of public expenditure for education, health and other social purposes.
The opposition to NATO has always been strong in Italy. In the ‘50s, a lot of anti imperialist forces took part in the World Movement of Partisans for Peace, which had as its aim the ban to atomic arms. Many were the manifestations of struggle of pacifist and anti imperialist movements in front of the USA and NATO bases in Italy since the ‘60s. Particularly important was , in the 80’, the great popular mobilization against the installation of the USA missiles at Comiso, in Sicily. In the 90’ there developed the struggle against the aggression to the former Jugoslav which started from our country, at the time governed by social democrats.
In the last years, there has been a large mobilization of political, trade union, social organizations, of local movements, for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. against the enlargement of the USA military base in Vicenza, against the expansion of the base at Sigonella and the Mediterranean radar system at Niscemi in Sicily, against the increase of military expenditure and the building of the “missile shield”. Instead, Berlusconi’s reactionary government, faithful servant of the USA, wants to support and increase all these projects.
Withdrawal from the warmongering and imperialist alliances as NATO and UE, closing of all the USA and NATO military bases in Italy and all over the world, drastic reduction of military expenditure, active struggle against the war of imperialist robbery, freedom and independence for peoples: these are the aims for which the communists fight and, together with them, all the revolutionary and anti imperialist forces! 

PIATTAFORMA COMUNISTA
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