security a la italiana sicurezza all'italiana securitate a la italiana

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ITALY REPORT
incarcerated,” according to the national Italian newspaper La Repubblica. Two days later on
13 May, a mob of approximately 60 people razed a Romani camp in Naples with Molotov
cocktails (See Section 5 below for further detail). 4
In late May, following the arson attack on the Romani camp in Naples, the LA Times
reported that Mr Davide Boni, a Northern League representative of the Lombardy Regional
Government stated, “All Gypsies must go.” At the same time, senior government officials
made public statements apparently condoning acts of violent aggression against Roma. Mr
Umberto Bossi was quoted as having stated that “People do what the state can’t manage” 5
and Minister of Interior Roberto Maroni has also been quoted as having stated, “that is
what happens when gypsies steal babies, or when Romanians commit sexual violence.” 6
It is hardly surprising in this political climate that a majority of Italians want Romani
camps dismantled. According to the results of a poll by the national Italian newspaper La
Repubblica conducted in May 2008, 68% of Italians want to deal with the “Roma Gypsy
problem” by expelling all of them.
In the short period since May 2008, Prime Minister Berlusconi’s government has
undertaken a range of acts fundamentally adverse to improving relations between Roma
and non-Roma at local level, as a result of frequent anti-Romani speech by high ranking
government officials and a number of discriminatory national and regional legislative
undertakings which have harmed the possibility of genuine inter-ethnic dialogue.
4 For more information, see: http://www.errc.org/cikk.php?cikk=2953=#ERRC.
5 See: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-right24-2008may24,0,4552045.story.
6 See: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article4021089.ece.