“Those chants do not correspond to our will. The protest should have been silent, as we saw. We know it was a serious mistake. and we don’t want it to happen again.” The day after the protest at the ANPI national festival in Piazza Lucio Dalla, Roberto Panzacchi, one of the members of the Besta committee, returns to what happened.
«Mmoment of confusion”
On the chants, certainly, but also on those words, such as “fascist”, that some young people addressed to the militants of the partisan association. «The methods we had chosen for the initiative were those of to stage a powerful silence – he continues – with the display of signs under the stage during the mayor’s speech. We went there to seek the solidarity of the Anpi, some of us are also part of it, knowing that it would have been stupid to do anything else. But in this moment of confusion these things also come out.”
Tension at the stars
And so the antagonistic soul of the protest that was ignited to safeguard the Don Bosco park took over, the tones rose and harsh words were exchanged. Against everyone. “The goal,” explains Panzacchi, “was to make people understand that while the mayor talks about anti-fascism, in the city we are witnessing an authoritarian drift that worries us. In a second moment, in fact, there was the opportunity to talk and clarify with the militants of the Anpi, also with the president, who were in the square for the celebration.” Tension over the Besta affair has been running high for some time: the clashes of a few weeks ago, the writings and threats against councilor Borsari who has ended up under guardianship, the request for protection by mayor Lepore are signs that do not bode well for the future either. The negotiation between the parties, if there ever was one, never really took off.
The comparison with the Municipality
Beyond the summons to Palazzo d’Accursio, the delegations sitting face to face at a table, the comparison never entered into substance of the issue: «Dialogue is built by two people – the committee representative adds – If there is room for a real discussion, if there is a willingness to question the project, then it makes sense. But if it is only the representation of a publicly held company that does not actually exist, then it becomes difficult. The willingness to dialogue must be mutual.”
The pro committee: the protesters call everyone a fascist
The problem is that the time to start the construction site is getting tighter and tighter and if no significant developments emerge, the road to solving the issue will become a dead-end alley. Activists fear the eviction is imminent. Meanwhile, the actions of those who do not want a new school to be built at Don Bosco are opposed by the reasons of those who fully embrace the project of the Bolognese administration: «Yesterday yet another massacre of democracy took place – they write in a post the members of the Quattrofoglie committee on Facebook – Now the Don Bosco sect in defense of no one knows what anymore, intervenes at the Anpi party to call everyone fascist». For the defenders of the new Besta, the opponents of the project «only see their own backyard and confuse rights and freedoms with arrogance and abuse». Faced with what is happening, the Quattrofoglie committee asks to stop immediately or, they conclude, «we will all pay the consequences». In reality, the Besta committee has not no intention of lowering the flags: the initiatives will continue, the mobilization will not stop. With ways and times to be verified. In the meantime tomorrow, Sunday 30 June, under the Two Towers arrives the caravan of the Tour de France, a great showcase that could attract the attention of those in the city who want to turn the spotlight on some open issue. Not only on the Besta.
