The temperature of the clash between activists for the fight against climate change and the government majority is rising. Tension has gradually increased over the last few weeks due to the chain of raids carried out by movements such as Ultima Generazione or Extinction Rebellion in various cities in Italy – especially those that have targeted historical monuments and in some cases the headquarters of public institutions . Among the most discussed and most indigestible raids for the political forces – majority and not only – those at the Senate building in Rome and at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, and even more recently the fouling of the Barcaccia fountain in Piazza di Spagna. After bombastic declarations and announcements of war without quarter, as anticipated in recent days by the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, now the right-wing government seems willing to move to legislative action. Fratelli d’Italia is in fact preparing to present a bill to Parliament aimed at “strengthening the measures for the protection of decency, as well as the penalties provided for by the penal code for those who damage cultural or environmental assets”, reports the agency beraking latest news who has seen the draft text.
What does the bill provide?
In detail, the bill composed of a single article would amend the decree law number 14 of 20 February 2017 and article 635 of the penal code, providing for imprisonment from six months to three years for those who disfigure or deface public or religious buildings and buildings subject to protection as cultural assets. Not only that: for those who have been convicted, even if not definitively, or have simply reported one or more complaints for vandalism or willful damage to protected cultural assets, the ban on approaching buildings subject to protection, less than ten meters away, would be triggered a period of between six and twelve months. Transgression of the ban would result in a fine of between 500 and 1,000 euros. “The right to choose to carry out actions of civil disobedience should absolutely not be confused with the non-right to carry out acts of vandalism to bring this or that problem or need to people’s attention”, thunders the first signatory of the draft in the explanatory report of the draft by law, Fdi Senator Marco Lisei.
Ficicchia: “Ready for anything, even in prison”
The anticipation of the possible legislative offensive was enough to provoke an outcry from the first interested parties, the Last Generation activists. “We are very surprised to see a majority that instead of dealing with the climate crisis is increasingly active in promoting ad hoc laws to punish non-violent actions implemented by people concerned about everyone’s future,” he said hotly, again at the ‘beraking latest news, the spokesman of the collective Simone Ficicchia, for which the Public Prosecutor of Pavia had requested special surveillance in recent months. The majority bill, Ficicchia articulated, «doesn’t stop us and doesn’t scare us. We are ready to take any legal risk and even go to jail.” The spokesperson for Ultima Generazione also recalled that the crime of damage “already exists and we have been challenged as a hypothesis of crime for our actions: but this crime probably cannot be prosecuted in court precisely because the damage never occurred ». For this reason, Fucicchia went on to say, «the aim is to punish ‘dirtiness’, but this risks leading to an arbitrary interpretation of the law. It’s a very dangerous thing.”
Next generation moves
In the conversation with the press agency, Ficicchia also announced a new cycle of demonstration actions by the collective, anticipating some details. «They will be aimed at Rome from mid-April. We are talking about roadblocks or more glaring and performative actions, like the ones we have seen on monuments and museums in recent times. But there could be more,” the spokesman said. Which then ruled out, at least for the moment, that Ultima Generazione aims to become a party. «At the moment, as far as Italy is concerned, I can exclude it. We are interested in applying pressure outside Parliament. We weren’t born to please or get votes: our aim – he points out – is to influence public opinion and obtain legislative changes. Becoming a political force is not a mission we are interested in at the moment”. In the future, who knows.