2 min. of reading
“We are shocked.” Two words that express it all amazement of the Abruzzo Pride organizing committee, following the decision of the Municipality of Chieti to impose the payment of public land for the construction of the Pride Park 2023 as part of last year’s celebrations, namely for the Abruzzo Pride 2023 held in Chieti (this year the event will be in Pescara on 6 July)
A year after the event (you will remember the far-right infiltrations in the procession and the difficulty in collaborating with some local companies), the administration, through the ICA – the Municipal Posting Tax – has returned to raising cash, this time with the threat of possible administrative arrest.
“It’s a situation that has been dragging on for several months – explains Manuela Di Nardo, activist and spokesperson for Abruzzo Pride – The first payment reminder, if I’m not mistaken, arrived in September-October. I don’t remember exactly, but we always responded by mentioning patronage.
So, simply, after two or three months we received new reminders. After the last one, however, we received a demand for payment immediately followed by the administrative detention. It is obvious that we were surprised and taken aback“.
Yes, because during the preliminary meetings of the event, the Municipality itself had repeatedly assured that the patronage granted would exempt the organizers from payment of this specific tax. Only at a later time would it be the existence of an “internal regulation”, never previously mentioned, came to lightwhich effectively invalidates the promises made a year ago.
“It is the first time that a Municipality has granted patronage without associating the exemption of rights to occupy public land or the free use of municipal halls and spaces. This is already a very indicative signal.
Some councilors have reimbursed us privately, which is certainly a kind gesture, but we still perceive it as a sort of hustler. In fact, the Municipality has not officially acknowledged any responsibility. Even if now, with the public release of this situation, there is an official admission, it still remains a question of words without concrete consequences.
Now we have to interface with an administration which, despite the good faith of the people involved, has made a mistake, probably also due to the shortcomings of the sector’s management offices.”
The question remains what the meaning is of a patronage granted to an event like Pride when not associated with a concrete commitment by the administration in support of the organizing committee. Even if there doesn’t seem to be a political will for opposition, the bitterness still remains.
“Overall, we were taken aback and very disappointed. The granting of patronage by the city of Chieti is therefore limited to the use of the city’s brand. No event really needs the city banner, but rather services, goods and the public and accessible support of the municipal administration.
We recognize that the Municipality of Chieti actually helped us during the organization, offering practical support and always proving to be very helpful. However, the fact remains that this situation, which may seem small, could probably have been avoided with an extra word or a little more attention. We will never know this, but this is what happened”.
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