February 27, 2007

Promoting Citizen Health

Campaign Poster

Unfortunately, the pollution situation in the big cities is not sustainable and the consequences for the health of the citizens is ever more serious. Particularly for children and older people. Starting in Milan, Italia dei Valori has decided to create an information campaign to raise awareness about this.
“Promoting Citizen Health is the title of the antismog initiative organised by Italia die Valori in Milan. Italia die Valori has planned a month dedicated to distributing information and raising awareness about pollution, its causes, its effects and its possible solutions.
The antismog month started 25 February, the same day as the total block on traffic in the North of Italy. The anti smog month ends 25 March.
During this month there will be 4 information points at Piazza Cordusio, Piazza San Babila, Piazza Argentina and Piazza Leonardo da Vinci. There’ll also be an opinion survey face to face and online at www.antoniodipietro.it. It’s about traffic, transport, and what it’s like living in Milan.
In the Auditorium S. Carlo at 8:15pm on 6 March , 13 March and 20 March there will be meetings with the major organisations concerned with the protection of public health, traffic reduction and environmental protection.
Medical practitioners specialised in the diseases and conditions caused by pollution will be participating.”

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Society
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February 22, 2007

The Government Crisis

To resolve the current crisis the party secretaries need to be directly involved in taking responsibility for the government. The Executive needs the presence of all the leaders of the coalition who are supporting it to avoid what has been happening, that there are parties with their leaders in the government and secretaries that participate in demonstrations against the same government.
What’s needed is a renewed spirit of coalition in which every party commits to take on as their own, the decisions of the Executive as expressed by the President of the Council.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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February 20, 2007

Abu Omar: Letter to the Government

Today I have written a letter to the President of the Council, Prodi, the Minister of Justice, Mastella and to the Under Secretary to the President of the Council, Letta to solicit a discussion within the majority and in the government about the issue of Abu Omar.
Before the Minister of Justice speaks to Parliament and before taking relevant decisions, in fact, I find it necessary to clear things up within the executive on the issues of the abduction of Abu Omar, the related requests of the Milan prosecutor and the issue of the true collaboration between the Government and the magistracy.
In fact the government has waited too long to give a response to the Milan prosecutors in relation to their request for extradition of the 26 CIA agents involved in the abduction of Abu Omar, who was abducted and then tortured.
I am part of this government and I don’t want Italian citizens to think that there is continuity between the Berlusconi government and the Prodi government.
Furthermore, the recourse to “State secrets” talked about by the executive, has nothing to do with the extradition request.
To clear up all these issues I have asked the Premier, the Minister of Justice and the Under Secretary to have a frank discussion among colleagues, to underline the true discontinuity as regards the topic of justice between the current executive and the previous one.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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February 18, 2007

Council of Ministers. Golden Salaries

Text:
"
The Council of Ministers on Friday 16 February was a “Day after” one. The President of the Council, myself and other ministers are just back from a few days in India. We came back to Italy on Thursday and we had our meeting on Friday morning.
Thus it was an ordinary administration Council of Ministers with a few nominations, a few cancellations and a few routine measures.
There was one important measure to be decided on but partly at my request, it was postponed. I’m talking of the reform of the judicial arrangements by the former Minister Castelli that the Centre Left had promised to repeal once in government. We are still there discussing it. I believe that we should repeal it.
We will discuss it next week and I will make my voice heard, because this new reform of Minister Mastella does not convince me. We shouldn’t put into effect a law that we have contested and that we can change!
We also postponed another measure that I want to talk about. The Finance Law allows for the abolition of consultants and the ceiling for the salaries of the State Directors who were getting enormous salaries. And we have done well. But yesterday it occurred to someone to modify the Finance law to bring back consultants and to increase the top limit for the salaries of the Directors. I couldn’t believe it. I must say that there was general negative feeling because the Finance law needs two modifications to make it more presentable that is the reform of the health “tickets” and the intervention on minimum pensions.
We decided, just about unanimously, to postpone the discussion of these topics too. We must first take measures to help the weakest and then if there are still resources, to help others.
As I said, instead we took decisions of ordinary administration, and because of this the newspapers will give you an account.
What I have told you is however different information, behind the scenes. “

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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February 17, 2007

State Abduction

The judicial investigation of the Italian agents together with their American colleagues for the abduction of Abu Omar, is an action which does not have political weight and nor should it have.
In applying national laws, and more generally in applying principles that protect human rights, the magistracy is bound to verify whether in the behaviour of both Italians and foreigners, there is the basis of a true kidnapping that took place on our territory.
A crime is a crime and no one can allow themselves to ignore it, even in the presence of the higher needs of the State.
Particularly when someone is abducted so that they can be tortured to get a confession from them.
Anyone who mixes up justice with politics, trying to criminalize the magistrates and every citizen who wants the law to win out, is in complete bad faith. The Magistracy is bound to verify the truth of the facts.
If someone has good justification to explain their behaviour then the procedures of a trial are the appropriate way of making their defence known. Let there be a serene process of justice that ascertains what crimes have been committed and who carried them out. Allow the Milan magistracy to do their work without putting up obstacles. One such obstacle, today, is serious. It is to not allow the execution of the extradition order.
Every blockage to the ascertainment of the truth must be removed as soon as possible.
The government must give an immediate and concrete response to the request of the Magistracy unless it wants to appear as an accomplice to a situation that is completely anomalous for a State based on rights.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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February 15, 2007

GDP and Alitalia

There are two important facts, both positive, that should be highlighted. The first is the growth of the GDP in 2006 and in particular in the last quarter of the year. A very positive result that bears witness to the change in the economic and industrial policies of the government.
The results obtained can be attributed to liberalization which is anyway just at the beginning (among other sectors not yet covered are banking, telephony/connectivity and energy), as well as the attack on tax evasion. Since the spring of last year the country has changed direction and it must continue on this path.
The second is the operational phase of the privatization of Alitalia. The Treasury has chosen the 5 groupings that will be able to participate in the acquisition. In this operation Italian-ness is not a factor, but what counts are the collective needs and the services offered.
As expressed many times in this blog there are still things not done. In the field of Justice these include the abolition of ad personam laws and the reform of the election law. These are topics that are staying at the centre of Italia dei Valori’s political agenda.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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February 13, 2007

Stop charging for mobile top ups

I'm publishing the statement from Salvatore Raiti, an Italia dei Valori member of the Lower House of Parliament, about charges for mobile phone top ups. A statement that I share in wholeheartedly. The interests of the citizens are always to be put before those of the lobbies.

"In the Bersani decree about liberalization there is an important cut to the additional costs on telephone top ups. This is the first and most obvious signal in contrast to the powers that be in favour of the rights of the consumer.
Now it seems that this measure is about to undergo a swift stop because of a possible amendment to article 1 of the decree, currently being examined by the Productive Activities Commission.
Tomorrow, 13 February, by midday we should know which of the colleagues in the Ulivo have placed themselves against the interests of the citizens, who have already paid too much for an unjustified and disproportionate tax, imposed by the telephone companies, who have hidden behind incomprehensible technical problems so as not to rapidly adjust to the measure.
My invitation to my honourable colleagues, whose names are not known, is to correct their position in time to be fair to the consumers, who must remain our absolute priority. To put off even by just a few weeks, if it were to go well – but it could be a question of months – the date for this measure to become effective, a measure that could facilitate the citizens, to meet the needs of the big multinationals would be inconceivable.
I appeal, as a secondary point, to the good sense of my colleague Lulli, the presenter of the decree, to whom I ask to use less elasticity in evaluating the motivations that are expressed by the telephone companies however justifiable they are. This must not be put before the rights of the citizens.
In this case, their right, anyway recognised by a broad consensus of Parliament, Government and Authorities, is to stop supporting a mechanism that is perverse and iniquitous.
I ask my honourable colleagues to be coherent. We have got a commitment with the citizens. Let us maintain that commitment! !"
Salvatore Raiti

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Economy
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February 10, 2007

Palermo’s Primaries

Leoluca Orlando has won 72 per cent of the vote for the Primaries of the Unione and he will be a candidate for the position of Mayor where he’ll be standing against the outgoing Mayor, Diego Cammarata. Leoluca has sent me this letter.

“We were right.

Dear Tonino,
We were really right to want to have the Primaries. We were right to insist that they are a necessary choice for the whole coalition so that they can be affirmed as a way of choosing candidates and as a way of giving the citizens a means of participating in political life.
Last Sunday, thousands of electors, in the whole of Italy, in Genoa as in Palermo, in Como as in Carrara, in Reggio Calabria as in La Spezia, in Lucca as in L'Aquila, queued up at the gazebos set up by our activists and promoters. Last Sunday, once more those who hoped for the failure of the Primaries were deluded. This applied to both those who are within and on the outside of the coalition. Today there are many who have to admit that the Primaries are being ever more affirmed and that they have to be recognised for their political worth. What counts most is the fact that the Primaries can be seen as a tool for mass participation, no longer or at least not only as a tool for “the living room” but a tool for “the street”; a tool that can allow everyone to speak and for everyone to express their views; not only for the neighbourhoods of the “well healed and intellectuals” in the city but also for the suburbs.
It has been a long and laborious process, frequently not understood and at times with obstacles placed even inside the coalition, but today we can say that we have made it. Now our loyal commitment will be to sustain our candidates (male and female) that the citizens have chosen with the Primaries; now our commitment must be to push our coalition to make the Primaries a sure and fixed method, by introducing them as a point in the agenda of the Government’s actions.
I am sure that we will still be together in this battle.
Greetings.”
Leoluca Orlando

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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Council of Ministers. The Abu Omar case.

Transcript:
"Today 7 February there was an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers because the events at Catania and the death of Inspector Raciti while carrying out his duties obliged us to take important decisions, in relation to the game of football: access to the stadiums is going ahead only if certain precise rules are respected because it is not acceptable to transform the game into violence.
Thus we have a harsh response from the Government and from the Institutions against those criminals who use the sport to give vent to their violence.
But another decision was taken and I did not agree with this one, unlike the other one. I was the only one to vote against. I am talking about the case that is being considered by the Constitutional Court that came from the Milan magistracy against those who kidnapped Abu Omar, the citizen from the Middle East who was resident in Milan and who was taken by American CIA agents and transferred to Egypt where he was interrogated even violently to get information from him.
The problem is this: Can a foreign State, even a friend like the United States, kidnap people in Italy and take them away secretly?
The Milan magistracy is investigating the people responsible for the kidnapping and has sent for trial certain officials of the Italian Secret Services for complicity; and above all it has requested the arrest of the American agents responsible for the operation.
Even here the State is based on rights. Even here there is the magistracy. If it was thought that Abu Omar had committed crimes, the Italian authorities should have been informed and they could have had extradition proceedings for this gentleman, according to legal regulations.
But it is not possible to come here secretly and kidnap him like the Sardinian bandits do.
The Italian magistracy has issued an International arrest warrant for these CIA agents.
Well, in the Berlusconi government, the Minister Castelli never sent out this arrest warrant.
The problem is that with the Prodi Government, not even the Minister Mastella has done this and yesterday I formally asked the whole government to account for this.
Why is a measure requested by our magistracy not being acted on? Thus a duty of every power of the State, the loyal collaboration with the other powers is not happening.
The Italian Government is a serious government if it respects the other institutions. This is why I do not agree on the fact that up until now these documents to ask for an International arrest warrant for the kidnappers are being “kept on the table”.
What is more, the Council of Ministers has considered it appropriate to promote an action in the Constitutional Court against the Milan judges to say that they must not use the evidence collected against these people, because the affair is covered by State Secrecy.
Here we have to have a clear understanding. State Secrecy makes sense if it is used so that something is not revealed. Thus it is possible to impose State Secrecy to say to Pollari, the General of the Secret Services who is asking to be interrogated in Milan, that “you cannot say what you know because there’s a problem with State security."
But State Secrecy in relation to facts already known, and checked, in the public domain, presented formally by the parties to the case, what kind of State Secret is that?
A secret of fairy tales.
In this situation the Secret is designed not to protect the security of the country but to interrupt the action of the magistracy.
This is why I do not agree to applying State Secrecy to facts that are not only still to be verified but also to those that have already been verified.
The State Secrecy should have been invoked at the time of the actions, not now that there’s the trial. It makes no sense at all.
This double measure, to invoke State Secrecy in relation to facts that are already public and not to exercise the duty to extend the international arrest warrant to people who have committed crimes in our country, I have not agreed to. Even though I was the only one.
No: Not really the only one. Very quietly a few Ministers told me “I agree with you!” But they said it very quietly.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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February 08, 2007

Scala

On 19 February the mixed company Anas-Lombardy Region called “Scala” will be formed to manage future concessions of Lombardy’s motorways.
The Lombardy Region will be able to nominate the CEO who will have operating powers, through the controlled Lombardy Infrastructure. Anas will nominate the President and three of the five members of the Board of Directors.
The new State-Region company will make it possible to speed up the creation of new infrastructure with the direct involvement of the Lombardy Region.
It’s a true step forward in the development of federalism with the handing over of real powers to local administrations to govern the territory.
Scala is a development model that in the future will be possible to replicate in other Regions each time the opportunity presents itself, beyond every political colour of the regional representatives.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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February 06, 2007

Stop the Championship

I want to express my sincerest condolences to the Raciti family who are mourning the policeman assassinated at Catania by vulgar delinquents. And at the same time I want to give all my solidarity to the Police Forces who risk their lives for little recompense to protect citizens.
Football should be suspended at least for the current season. A few days are not enough to take decisions that can solve the issues. Citizens, rightly, would feel they were being taken for a ride. The football clubs should leave the Stock Exchange. Too many economic interests are destroying the football sector. Penalties for the ne’er do wells who are parading themselves as “ultras” at the stadium must be more severe and above all certain. Too many police officers are hit and threatened with the people responsible not paying any consequences.
Finally the freewheeling words that insult both the work of the Police and the memory of Inspector Filippo Raciti pronounced by the Member of Parliament for the Rifondazione Party, Francesco Caruso: “The life of a police officer is worth the same as that of an ultrà” and by the President of the Football League Antonio Matarrese: “Football cannot close down, the dead are part of the system”. These words serve to justify an intolerable situation.
Matarrese must go. What’s more he should never have stayed after the scandal of the fraudulent games. Football needs new leaders and responsible policies. Otherwise it has no future.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Society
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February 04, 2007

Council of Ministers – The Monitoring Authorities

Text:
“Today’s meeting of the Council of Ministers has been very important because we have taken some important decisions about the regulations applying to the monitoring Authorities in the sectors like communications, infrastructure, energy, but above all because of certain political moments that give the sense of the delicacy of the current situation.
Of things like this there’s no summary in the acts because we didn’t decide on any measures but there are certainly two delicate topics that are worthy of attention:
- The role of the government in foreign policy especially in relation to the refinancing of foreign missions being carried out in agreement with the international community. On this point Prodi has confirmed that we are loyal to the Atlantic Pact.
From this there are consequences: when an international organisation like the United Nations asks us to go to Afghanistan, the Lebanon, Bosnia, Sudan, Somalia, we have to go. This is why the Council of Ministers has confirmed that it’s not possible to operate two policies, one correct and solid that is respecting international obligations and a policy of polemics and of chit-chat for electoral reasons and as propaganda for one’s party thus cracking open the coalition, while knowing very well that our country cannot violate international rules.
- The role of the Ministers when because of their function they become aware of delicate facts that can have an impact on the economy. In particular we were thinking of the Alitalia situation: if each Minister says that Tom, Dick or Harry will win it is obvious that outside people may think that that Minister knows how things will go. I assure you that all that is not true: none of us, except the Minister of the Economy and the President of the Council knows anything about the examination of the offers to buy Alitalia.
When someone is chitter-chattering, it creates a distortion of the market, an expectation in the economy and ideas among investors that things will go in one way or another. We need to watch out. Even Padoa Schioppa has warned: there’s the risk of insider trading.
Thus it’s best that those who know shouldn’t speak; that those who don’t know shouldn’t speak either.
It seems to me that these are really important political issues. I have been very insistent about these. A final point, on my specific intervention in relation to the monitoring Authorities.
We have set up a series of controlling organisations, but who will make them up? We need to watch out that they don’t represent a conflict of interests, like when we have allowed ineligible people to do politics: those convicted or those who up until the day before were carrying out an activity in conflict with the political activity.
At my suggestion, a series of incompatible situations has been drawn up: for example all those who have been public administrators at any level, or who have carried out economic activity relating to the area of interest of the monitoring Authority in the two years prior to the appointment to the position, it is best that they don’t form part of the monitoring Authority.
Otherwise we are back to the disaster. We are back to those taking up the role to do their own business instead of to act in the interests of the public. At least this time let’s start off on the right footing.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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February 01, 2007

PACS – Civil Unions

Hundreds of thousands of couples are living together in Italy without being married. Many have children. None of them have pension or social security rights.
We are talking of true families that find that they can’t do the everyday activities that are allowed only to married couples.
In Italy everything is normalized, in fact even crime has been with the recent pardon. Amnesties and condoni have come thick and fast thanks to the Centre Right in the last few years. In this situation not to give rights to de facto families is inconceivable.
The traditional family is changing. Marriage with a religious or civil ritual is rare. We must simply take note of this. It’s not by ignoring the PACS that social dynamics are changed. But without extending certain fundamental rights of married couples to de facto couples, we are creating social inequalities, in particular among those with the lowest incomes.
The programme of the Unione aims to extend certain rights to de facto couples and all the parties of the coalition have signed up to this. The PACS are not against the Church but in favour of families and their rights.
All families must be at the centre of attention in politics with equal rights and duties according to principles of equity and solidarity.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Society
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