Demonstration in Savona for Peace in Palestine. A march took place in Savona with the participation of hundreds of people, including many young people, to call for an end to the conflict in Palestine and to denounce the ongoing massacre in Gaza. The event, organised by the CGIL and the Peace Forum, featured speeches from local mayors and representatives of associations, with appeals to ensure humanitarian corridors and to support humanitarian missions.
The procession and public participation | Friday 19 September the demonstration began at 7 pm from Brandale Square, winding along Paleocapa Street to Sisto IV Square, where peace and Palestinian flags were displayed from the Town Hall balcony. In the presence of numerous citizens, flags of the CGIL trade union and dockworkers were also carried, remembered for their refusal to handle weapons. Among the opening speeches, representatives of associations such as Friends of Cuba, No Rearm Europe, and Aned took turns, linking the current mobilisation to previous strikes against war, such as the one in 1944, according to the president of the Deportees’ Association, Simone Falco (Aned, Associazione Nazionale Ex Deportati / National Association of Former Deportees).
Institutional interventions | The Mayor of Savona, Marco Russo, highlighted the difficulty of speaking out in the face of the tragedies in Gaza, where “the massacre of women, children and the elderly” defies description. He emphasised that, although it seems impossible to find suitable words, silence risks being interpreted as indifference. He described the moment as one in which it is necessary to take clear and unequivocal positions, valuing every sign of solidarity, such as the flag displayed by the Municipality and the sash worn. Furthermore, he recalled the motion passed by the City Council calling for the recognition of the State of Palestine.
Bishop Marino evoked the image of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem to describe the current situation, urging people to take a clear stand in support of the victims and denouncing the perceived indifference within institutions. Jacopo Marichisio, representing the Peace Forum and the Liguria Palestine Association, reiterated the need for constant mobilisation against all wars.
Words from the CGIL Secretary Andrea Pasa | Andrea Pasa described the demonstration as “a strike, a march against war, against all wars, against the massacre in Gaza, against the deportation of the Palestinian people.” He urged people to empathise with the situation of the residents of Gaza, deprived of all protection and forced to live under a siege that denies them water, food, and medical care. According to him, the reality on the ground is not that of a symmetrical conflict, but of “an invading army advancing with tanks, erasing the life and future of an entire people, metre by metre, hour by hour.” He also condemned the use of hunger as a weapon of death by the Israeli government and the severity of the recent ground occupation.
Demands and commitments of the mobilisation | The organisers emphasised the urgent need to immediately halt all military actions in the Gaza Strip, protect humanitarian missions such as the Global Sumud Flotilla, and ensure safe corridors for the civilian population. They also called for the lifting of the humanitarian embargo and the official recognition of the Palestinian State, hoping for swift intervention by international institutions and the convening of a peace conference under the auspices of the United Nations.
(Red. Corsara)