LAMEZIA TERME The line between emulation and propaganda is very thin, and even thinner in times of war. And so it is that Lamezia Terme, following the example of Verona, From one day to the next a series of posters appeared with a slogan (similar but not identical) to the one that had already appeared in the city of Verona.
The claim, however, has the same effect: «Russia is not my enemy!». Under two hands, one with the Italian tricolor, the other with the red, white and blue colors of the flag of the Russian Federation. The authors of the surprising advertising campaign are the Fratello Sole Cultural Association and the Fragiacomo Apiculture Company.
In Verona, we were saying, in recent days the poster that appeared with the writing had caused quite a stir «Russia is NOT my enemy». In this case the “signature” on the posters are the militants of the “Verona for freedom” association (together with “Sindacato libero” and the “Veneto-Russia” association). It is – as he explained Paolo Berizzi in an article on Repubblica – of an acronym founded by leaders of Forza Nuova and former Northern League members and born in protest against the green pass. Then, after the end of the pandemic, “Verona for freedom” threw itself into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, defending Moscow and organizing events and demonstrations in favor of the Russian people. But that is not all.
A similar billboard also appeared in the city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine under occupation by the Russian army. «The Italian people are not my enemy». In short, here too the message is emblematic and recalls an Italy-Russia “brotherhood” called into question precisely after the invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s army and the international condemnation of Russian escalation. It remains to be understood why, in Lamezia Terme, a company and an association (which is not exactly very active) were commissioned to put up the pro-Russia posters.
In Calabria – as we wrote in one of our investigations – for years there has been an active and constant commitment through a series of meetings, collaborations and above all some associations. Facts and events from the past (even very recent) which allow Calabria to be placed in a scenario in which it plays the role of absolute protagonist, with Lamezia Terme as its epicentre. It is here that, in the maze of acronyms, associations and names, that of Vittorio Gigliotti and his “Cantiere Laboratorio” also stands out, chosen as president of IACRAI, acronym for “Italy, Abkhazia, Congo, Russia, Africa and India”.
The association in Lamezia has been known for at least 15 years, and has stood out for its political commitment aimed, without making any secret, at far-right parties such as Forza Nuova and Fiamma Tricolore, carrying out “international” political battles and, also in in this case, the endorsement of Paolo Mascaro’s candidacy for mayor in May 2015.
Over the years, “Cantiere Laboratorio” has taken part in and/or organized a series of events including: three conferences dedicated to Codreanu, Romanian ultranationalist leader and anti-Semitic ideologist; two pro-Assad conferences on the war in Syria, this time in collaboration with the “Centro Studi Aletheia” of Lamezia Terme and the militant group Identità Tradizionale of Catanzaro, led by Simone Grisolia. The “Cantiere Laboratorio” association has taken an active part in a long series of meetings related to Donbass in collaboration with “Gioventù Controcorrente” (an offshoot of the Lamezia association) and the Italo-Russian Association Speranza (AIRS) of Rome. Grittani was the head of the delegation of the Italian “observers”. Among them is also a citizen of Lamezia, Pasquale Salatino, director of the online magazine “Osservatore Calabrese”, who for the occasion explained: «I wanted to see with my own eyes everything I had heard so much about, because my job is to spread objective information in my homeland». ([email protected])
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