Italy- NO TAV – The struggle continues

A summary of the latest events - Baita Clarea is an area in Val Susa where works for the implementation of the TAV were due to start soon.

On Monday 27th February the forces of order proceeded to evict and expropriate the land in Baita Clarea in order to clear the way for the devastating high speed railway works.

On the same day Luca Abba’, a resident of the Val Susa whose land was also expropriated, climbed a pylon in an attempt to block the ongoing military operation. The cops ordered Luca to come down without taking precautions for his safety, pushing him even higher and failing to cut off the electricity of the pylon.

As a result, Luca was electrocuted and fell several metres below. Rescue was delayed by cordons of antiriot cops but finally Luca was taken to hospital by helicopter. He is now out of danger although his conditions remain very serious.

Barricades were set up by NO TAV people in the area, which has been declared a ‘strategic site of national interest’.

Protests and blockages are being organized all over Italy.

The faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Bologna has been occupied in solidarity with the struggle in Val Susa. Here is the communiqué of the occupiers:





LET’S STOP THEIR PROFITS, LET’S BLOCK THEIR DEVASTATION.

COMMUNIQUE BY OCCUPIED POLITICAL SCIENCES



On 27th February 2012 the military machinery of the State attacked the people of Val Susa, by expropriating and destroying lands with bulldozers and truncheons, in order to carry on the insane project for the construction of the TAV.



Among the NO TAV activists who opposed the invasion Luca, a comrade whose land was expropriated by the CMC Company, climbed a pylon to block the advance of the bulldozers.



As cops tried to pull him down, Luca continued to climb the pylon until he was electrocuted by a 15,000 volts electric shock and fell down to the ground.



In spite of the fact that rescue was hampered for almost an hour by cordons of antiriot cops, Luca is now out of danger, even if his conditions remain very serious.



But this is not enough to placate our anger!!! That pylon should have been insulated, police knew this but didn’t do anything, on the contrary they pushed Luca even higher.



IT WAS ONLY BY PURE CHANCE THAT THE STATE DIDN’T KILL ONE OF OUR COMRADES!



It is therefore clear how chief police Manganelli declared war to the valley and to all the people who are resisting, when a few days ago, plainly speaking, he said there would be a dead in Val Susa.



The area of the yard has been declared ‘strategic site of national interest’, which means military occupation and legitimizes unconditional recourse to the violence of the State.



The people of the valley and others in solidarity have immediately occupied the highway close to the yard in different spots, so as to block the access of both the forces of order and the TAV workers.



Since the first hours a great number of diversified actions of solidarity have been carried out in 26 cities [around 80 by now], thus provoking damages and disruptions to the TAV traffic all over the country.



Moreover the solidarity attack went beyond the sector of transport, like all the workers who went on strike on the same morning.



We are aware of the fact that the high speed railway goes across the entire country and that the NO TAV is not confined to the Val Susa and to a single project.



THEREFORE WE HAVE OCCUPIED THE FACULTY OF POLITICAL SICENCES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA IN SOLIDARITY WITH LUCA AND THE NO TAV ARRESTED.



WE WANT TO CREATE AN OPEN SPACE WHERE WE CAN DISCUSS IDEAS AND PROPOSALS AGAINST THE ADVANCE OF THIS NTH WORK OF DEVASTATION AND TO ORGANIZE OURSELVES EVEN IN THIS CITY.
NO TAV solidarity from Bologna, Tuesday 28th February 2012.

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