A-Infos (en) Italy, Sicilia Libertaria: Editorial - Anti-militarist relaunch (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

While the situation on the ground in Ukraine drags on badly, and the 
stalemate seems to increase the possibility of an armed peace agreement, 
the fibrillations in the West do not slow down at all and the war with 
its various related elements inspires and guides the policies of the 
countries of the the EU, brought into line by the USA in the new NATO. 
In an increasingly brazen manner, essential sectors such as health and 
education are being cut to ensure continuous rearmament, while the 
inability to manage the many environmental and climate disasters that 
afflict the country from North to South emerges. If it weren't for the 
volunteers , the official bodies of the State (Civil Protection, Fire 
Brigade, army) would literally be in the shitter, despite the 
self-sacrifice and efforts of many individuals. The State purchases, 
manufactures and trades in increasingly sophisticated warplanes, then 
the insufficiency of the Canadairs explodes to put out the fire fronts 
that destroy neglected or depopulated and abandoned territories.

Faced with all this, it may seem crazy that movements scattered across 
Italy are organizing themselves to fight militarist madness. In fact, it 
takes clear madness to decide to dedicate energy and perhaps one's life 
to opposing the true destructive madness of capital, for which war has 
always represented an outlet for one's difficulties and an opportunity 
for business expansion (which also translates increasing the phantom GDP 
for the States).

This summer too, the opportunities have increased in the areas affected 
by militarization projects; the first campsite took place in Coltano 
(Pisa) at the end of July, attended by representatives of various 
national realities; the traditional campsite of the NO MUOS Movement 
took place in Niscemi, the report of which can be read on page. 2; other 
events on more specific topics took place in Italy and abroad, with an 
internationalist spirit.

These were moments of debate, reflection and discussion on ways to make 
the struggles more incisive and develop paths of unity. Two important 
national deadlines have emerged: October 21st (the day after the general 
strike promoted by grassroots unions), a day of mobilization that will 
see demonstrations in Tuscany, Sicily and other places, and November 
4th, Armed Forces Day , chosen as the date for a protest on militarist 
interference in the field of education and research. But autumn already 
presents other important events, such as the one on November 18th in 
Turin against Aerospace, the military aerospace fair.

The military question has also forcefully entered into the discussion of 
the Strait Bridge; NATO military sources have in fact declared that the 
infrastructure will be indispensable for the movement of land vehicles 
in Sicily in order to strengthen the military projection of the island 
in the Mediterranean. Even if this would entail at least another 7 
billion in costs to equip the bridge - a very sensitive objective - with 
defense weapons, such as anti-missile batteries. The question was also 
posed at the No Ponte campsite in mid-August and could not fail to 
emerge in the procession on 12 August in Messina, characterized by great 
popular participation the likes of which had not been seen for years. 
The city (but also Sicily and Calabria) raises its head against the mega 
big hoax that sells a mega destructive work of countries and 
environments, good only for the mafias and political cliques.

But the militaristic frenzy always focuses on Sigonella, where the 
"Poseidon" patrol boats are being armed; the first was armed on 6 June 
with 4 AGM-84D "Harpoon" anti-ship missiles (range 120 km) with the aim 
of strengthening the armed presence in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. 
From patrol vehicles to killer planes ready to intervene. We remember 
that on 15 April 2022 it was a "Poseidon" departing from Sigonella that 
played a central role in the sinking of the flagship of the Russian Navy 
"Moskva".

Not just Sigonella. The matter of the training range for the Aosta 
Brigade, which remained entangled due to the opposition of the 
populations and administrations of the three municipalities involved, 
should not yet be considered closed, and we expect new developments in 
the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the President of the Defense Commission of 
the Chamber Nino Minardo, a Sicilian from Modica, announces that the 
former Fiat plant in Termini Imerese could soon become the factory for 
the German Leopard 2 tanks, which Italy currently purchases from Germany 
(latest expense: approximately 6 billion). The builders of death would 
take advantage of the incentives for the SEZ areas (special economy 
zones), a nice gift in the form of tax relief, which the Sicilians would 
obviously pay.

If war is increasingly central; it is anti-militarism that is central, 
and we must continue to commit ourselves to keeping it alive by 
increasingly involving the territories directly subject to its bullying, 
but also the entire population, who pays in terms of cuts to essential 
services, conditioning of education, subtraction of territories, or of 
condemnation, in the Sicilian case, to increasingly act as an aggressive 
outpost in the Mediterranean.

And if every now and then a bit of the stench of hegemonism emerges in 
the movements (an old vice of political groupings that claim to have the 
truth and impose it), we must have the political ability to tamp it down 
and extinguish it, to prevent it from spreading its poisonous art of 
division. .

The fight for freedom from every war is too important to confine it to 
sterile backyard battles. The NO MUOS Movement has a huge responsibility 
in this today.

Pippo Gurrieri

https://www.sicilialibertaria.it/
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