(AGENPARL) – Rome, 9 May 2024
I join you on this solemn day in moving memory of all the victims of the cowardly terrorist attacks and similar massacres that have shaken the recent history of our country and the West. Let’s not forget the representatives of the institutions, the magistrates, the members of the police forces, the trade unionists, the journalists who were barbarically murdered. Let’s not forget the people affected in their daily lives by the ferocity of individuals and groups organized and willing to do anything to complete their crazy plan of subversion of the democratic order. Let us not forget terrorists’ contempt for human life.
Terrorism – of any origin – has generated and continues to generate suffering and death in the name of wicked, distorted and criminal doctrines and ideologies. Remembering people, and not just the cold numbers of massacres, is a moral duty of the institutions. I therefore express full and heartfelt closeness – on behalf of the Chamber of Deputies – to the families of all the victims of terrorism and their associations present here today.
The testimonies that follow keep the memory of your loved ones alive and serve to pass it on to new generations. Example of a strong people who, in the most difficult moments, were able to unite. Faced with the dark plan aimed at undermining the democratic order, the country reacted unitedly. Also thanks to the generous contribution of citizens, the institutions have been able to firmly reject the terrorist drift in compliance with the principles of our Constitutional Charter. Hatred, abuse and violence were unable to prevail over the cohesion, solidarity and dialogue on which our community is based.
Precisely to respond to the legitimate demands for truth and justice of the families of the victims, Parliament has long since begun the work of declassification and publication of the documents acquired and produced by the parliamentary commissions of inquiry that have followed one another over time. I believe that this is the best way to honor the debt of truth and justice that we owe not only to the families of the victims, but to the entire country. It is also necessary to strengthen the awareness that the rights and freedoms we enjoy must be protected and defended day after day. The more this awareness is rooted, the stronger the response will be to any threats to our democracy, especially in the current historical moment, marked by war which risks rekindling phenomena of violence and fanaticism. I hope that the country will always respond to these threats in a compact, strong and resolute manner as has happened in the past.
