25 June 2008

The Vote of Shame

Today we’ve seen the Vote of Shame in the Senate. The majority were united in voting in favour of the “trial-blocking” law, bowing their heads to the wishes of Silvio Berlusconi.
I don’t believe that the citizens who voted for the Lega or the former AN were expecting that the leaders would be betraying the trust put on their shoulders with the elections of 13 and 14 April. Perhaps, and I sincerely hope this, not even the voters of the former Forza Italia were expecting a decree like this.
No citizen was expecting a decree against their own security, just as in the previous government, no one was expecting the Great Pardon. Simply because no citizen had asked for it and no political entity had inserted it into their political manifesto.
Travaglio, during the Passaparola broadcast yesterday, gave a complete list of crimes that the justice machinery will be obliged to “ignore”.
I’m giving them here, one after the other, as you do for a list of dead people, because today what is dying is a part of the democracy of this country.

- unauthorized abortion
- abuse of office
- adulteration of food substances
- associating to commit crime
- fraudulent bankruptcy
- calumny
- abuse of a vulnerable person
- corruption
- corruption of judges – this is the one crime for which Silvio Berlusconi has done this decree
- holding false documents for foreign travel
- possession of pornographic or pedophile material
- extortion
- falsification of public documents
- tax fraud
- mugging
- burglary
- clandestine immigration (“just think, with all the threats they’ve made with the stories of clandestine immigration, now they suspend the trials” – Marco Travaglio)
- arson and fire-raising in a woodland
- illegal wiretapping
- domestic abuse
- harassment
- culpable homicide caused by medical intervention
- culpable homicide caused by violation of traffic regulations (“all those who are drunk and wipe out people on the streets, will not be on trial” – Marco Travaglio)
- embezzlement
- carrying or possessing weapons even in secret
- robbery
- computer crime
- receiving stolen goods
- revealing official secrets
- kidnapping
- exploitation of prostitution
- administration of dangerous substances
- rape and sexual violence
- trafficking refuse
- defrauding the European Community
- usury
- sale of products with counterfeit brand names
- violence to the person.

All of these, because they have penalties lower than 10 years in prison, will be suspended.
To suspend the trial of one citizen, namely Silvio Berlusconi, it has been calculated by the Association of Magistrates that about one hundred thousand will be suspended.
With this, it is really unavoidable that people will come out into the streets. On the blog, I have decided to launch this initiative against the “trial-blocking” law. It’s an initiative calling on all voters to show that they are disassociating themselves from the choices made by the representatives of their parties.
The rule of law is at the basis of every democracy. Without the rule of law there’s just the totalitarian regime or anarchy.

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Justice