Bologna, vandals at the PD club and death threats to councilor Borsari, after clashes at the construction site

«Pd equals concrete». “Servants of the guards” and so on. But also twigs stuck in the barriers in front of the entrance, death threats to the municipal councilor Simone Borsari and construction site vehicles similarly daubed with violent graffiti.

The condemnation of the administration

«The attempts to block the tram construction site along the stretch of viale Aldo Moro, by some members of the Besta committee and subjects attributable to the antagonistic galaxy, have left a long trail of damage to property – to the vehicles of the company that is operating the tram and tires slashed to the cars of several citizens – and abusive writings on the walls – this is the condemnation of the municipal administration in a note -. Among these, death threats were also found addressed to the councilor for public works of the Municipality of Bologna Simone Borsari, near his home. Violent acts which have nothing to do with dissent, moreover towards a project like the tram, which is fundamental to achieve the objectives of environmental protection, which several protesters are calling for. The threats reiterated in these hours add to the climate of constant intimidation of the last few months, also through social channels, already reported on previous occasions”.

«Violence from anarchist groups»

And, as the administration recalled, it is not even the first time that threatening writings have been found under the councilors’ houses, «attributable to the same worlds linked to the protest against the new Besta school – he wrote -. On other occasions, the interested parties and the administration decided to report the matter only to the competent authorities, without reporting it. Given the gravity of the moment, and the growing climate of violence, it is deemed appropriate to inform the city’s public opinion.” The PD Davide Orsini club, in the San Donato area, last night, between Friday and Saturday, was vandalized with graffiti against the Democratic Party and against the police; “ignoble writings”, as the Dem leaders defined them, which precisely by virtue of their contents were linked to the events of recent days at the nearby Don Bosco park and the clashes between demonstrators and the police. «Everything makes us think that these violent gestures come from the anarchist groups who are leading the occupation of the Don Bosco garden – is the condemnation signed by the provincial secretary Federica Mazzoni and citizen Enrico Di Stasi –, following a day of organized violence, against the police and the workers who are building the tram construction site.”

Situation out of control

The reference is precisely to what happened in particular on Thursday morning at the Don Bosco park, when the violent clashes led to dozens of injuries among both the demonstrators and the agents, to four complaints for the activists and to around twenty identified people being examined belonging to the antagonistic fringes; all in an attempt by the protest committees to try to block the cutting of trees along the embankment on Viale Aldo Moro necessary for the construction of the tram line and a cycle path. A protest, therefore, which has expanded compared to the initial project for the new Besta schools.
«We ask for clarity, we must get out of the ambiguity – the Dem leaders then asked -. We are no longer faced with a protest on the merits of where to build the new Besta schools; confrontation from which the Democratic Party and the municipal administration have never shied away, we are instead faced with a violent political attack, led by a minority, which uses the environment as a pretext for a political battle against the Democratic Party and against the centre-left administration”.

Rain of reactions

After the request for clarity, then, the willingness to discuss further reiterated by Mazzoni and Di Stasi: «We will always be available to discuss, as the appeals for dialogue by Mayor Lepore and Deputy Mayor Clancy, a comparison of the merits of things and proposals, as we have done in different parts of the city involved in construction sites”. Finally, the condemnation of an increasingly palpable climate of hatred: «As the Democratic Party of Bologna we firmly condemn this climate of hatred and these acts of intimidation – concluded Mazzoni and Di Stasi – and we express full solidarity and closeness to the secretary of Davide Orsini, Enrico Verdolini, Pd club, to all the comrades and comrades registered there and to the residents of the neighborhood.” An attempted theft had already occurred in the same club in April, with the shutter being forced open and the front door being damaged, which was then foiled with the intervention of the police.

The mayor’s anger

«I express solidarity with councilor Borsari and his family for the intimidation they suffered and I thank him for the important work he does every day – mayor Matteo Lepore also joins the chorus -. What has been happening at Don Bosco Park for months now is the result of a climate of violence aggravated by compliance on the part of political areas and cultures of various origins. I demand respect for the councilors of my council, but not only. I feel the duty to ask that they are also protected and safeguarded, because those who do their work for the city every day cannot see their private and family life disturbed by a group of violent people who exploit the right ecological sensitivities of many people in good faith for political purposes of another nature. Bologna has always had the antibodies to stem political violence in a democratic way and will do so once again.
I also express solidarity with the people who work for the companies involved in the tram construction site, with the members of the San Donato Democratic Party and with the citizens who have suffered damage”

«Disturbing climate»

Solidarity with the Orsini club, condemnation for the acts of vandalism and solidarity with councilor Borsari were also expressed by deputy Andrea De Maria: «I expressed all my solidarity to the secretary of the club Enrico Verdolini. To him and to all the militants of the club. You can’t underestimate what’s next. An unacceptable gesture of political violence”, he said, and then added: “I spoke to the councilor of the Municipality of Bologna Simone Borsari to show him all my solidarity for the death threats he received. A very serious fact that should not be underestimated and which adds to the acts of vandalism carried out against the PD club in Via della Repubblica. All political forces are called to condemn and isolate a disturbing violent trend that is underway. I hope that the police will identify as soon as possible those responsible for the threatening writings addressed to councilor Borsari”.

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