“The electoral campaign of these European elections is strange. It lacks any real discussion between the parties involved. If our list wasn’t there Peace Earth Dignity which puts the theme of Peace and the themes of the South in the foreground and seriously, it would all have already been written. A consociational game between the right and the fake left to divide the seats for the European elections. The situation is even more serious and evident in Basilicata, where the electoral debate is almost narcotized and nothing is discussed”. This is what stigmatizes Piernicola Pedicininational secretary of the Met and candidate for the European elections with Michele Santoroin a note on the electoral debate in the region which continues: “In Basilicata there is an issue of national importance that is devastating vast areas of the region and has a profound impact on hundreds of thousands of Lucanians, about which it is forbidden to speak. I am referring to the oil extraction in Val d’Agri and in the Sauro-Camastra area. In this election campaign the topic is taboo and no one is dealing with the negative repercussions of the largest onshore field in Europe which represents 6% of Italy’s annual oil needs. There is no discussion of the renewal of concessions that are in conflict with the EU’s decarbonisation objectives, and the damage to the environment and the health of the population is not addressed. There is no mention of the ongoing Petrolgate 2 and 3 trials for environmental disaster for the 400 tons of crude oil dispersed into the environment in 2017, which leaked from the Cova tanks of Villa d’Agri because they lacked the double tank. The trial will also have to shed light on the “strange” suicide of Gianluca Griffa, the young Piedmontese Eni engineer who died in 2013 in circumstances that have never been clarified. The young man had discovered the irregularities of the plant, had written about them in his memoir and after having told them to his superiors he had been put on forced leave. Then suicide.”
“Furthermore, what is even more serious, – argues Pedicini – we no longer talk about the health impact assessment of oil extraction developed by the Cnr of Pisa with some doctors from the Val d’Agri, where it was certified that in the area of the Viggiano Oil Center people get sicker more and die more than cardiac and respiratory diseases compared to the rest of the region. The study lasted ten years and was published in international scientific journals. Then, it was forgotten in a drawer. Now we are waiting for a new audit to start on the environmental and health impact of the drilling, coordinated by the Region and financed by the oil companies with 25 million euros over five years. But everything is postponed and diluted over years and years without any interventions being achieved and while drilling continues thanks to the authorizations of the Region and the State. And then, there is the question of the Pertusillo dam, a beautiful natural heritage which has seen the quality of its water worsen over the years, surrounded as it is by oil wells. In short, the priority issue of Basilicata is ignored by all political forces and only we have continued for years to highlight how important it is to block extraction and preserve public health and the landscape, aquifer, agricultural and tourist heritage of the region.” “Probably, – concludes Pedicini – Bardi, former general of the Guardia di Finanza, won the regional elections twice in Basilicata precisely because he had to renew the concessions without creating problems for the oil multinationals. This happened promptly in 2021 with the renewal for another 10 years in Val d’Agri, and on 5 April with the five-year renewal of the Tempa Rossa concession. Therefore, it is clear that with all the oil royalties that arrive every year (150-200 million euros) no Lucanian politician criticizes the extractions, no one says how many jobs have been lost in the agriculture and tourism sectors and no one deals of citizens’ health and pollution”.
Registered in the register of journalists of Basilicata.
