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Gelmini Law voted in, Italy. Student revolt spreads.

MR | 29.10.2008 15:30 | Education | Social Struggles | World

An hour ago the Gelmini decree was voted by the Senate into law. Immediately there was
a big reaction from students across Italy. In Rome they also had to confront fascist student
organizations. In Milano, an unauthorized demo of 2000 highschool students traversed the city center where and was charged at several points by riot cops. This is gonna be a hot day. Tomorrow there is a general strike in the public education sector.

Fascists in Piazza Navona

Fascists in the hands of Anti-Facists

Blocking the train lines in Milano

Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Rome - Siege in the Senate!
Milan - The City Blockaded!

ROME: Seven marches departed from various points of the city and to reach The Senate. The parade of the Sapienza University party was met with a confrontation in Piazza Navona by the neo-fascist students.

Pics / Video here:

http://roma.repubblica.it/multimedia/home/3468128

In the afternoon students occupied the faculty of Communication Sciences and Sociology. The Senate was forced to suspend the sitting for the Gelmini twice as thousands of students besieged the Senate calling loudly for the withdrawal of the decree.

In Rome, this week, was the first organized effort by neofascisti groups to infiltrate into the series of student mobilization. The first episode, emphasized by the mainstream media was on Monday when some neofascisti linked to Casa Pound tried to takeover the head of the parade of school students from the fourth Municipality. Today, while the students were converging on Piazza Navona, a group of students tried to take a position in front of the barriers around the entrance of the Senate. Student protested the group which responded by attacking some protesters with sticks and belts. On arrival of the University movement into the Piazza, there was a very hard fight with 'Block' students, who was chased them away from the square. Police and carabinieri also charged the crowds. The news agencies speak of 30 arrests among the groups of the extreme right. At 14:30 there was a press conference at Sapienza on the events in Piazza Navona.

In Milan today, school and university students were blocking the city. Several parades were spontaneous and uncontrollable going towards the Prefecture. From there the students split into two parades: the university students have occupied the railway station in Milane. In Piazza San Babila, the police tried to stop students with batons, but the march, determined was not stopped. The news of what happened in Rome reached the marches in Milan, which are strongly shouting slogans against racism. The students reiterated that the University movement is free from racism" and is "nazi free zone". In solidarity with Rome, against fascist infilitrations and provocations, the Milan movement announces that "the great march of 30 October and 2nd November (Gelmini Milan Day) will be dedicated to the memory of Abba."

Photos from Milan today:

http://www.corriere.it/vivimilano/gallery/Milano/vuoto.shtml?2008/10_Ottobre/corteo/3&1

http://www.globalproject.info/gal-17550.html

Additions

This is a hugely important struggle

29.10.2008 19:40

This is a massive new movement in Italy with Universities and high schools occupied, railways and roads blockaded. An absolute re-birth of hope in Italy after the election of a right wing governements that included fascist parties. Even more importantly it is a direct response to the economic crisis. It leads the way in refusing both the crisis and the solutions being forced on us.

The Gelmini law slashes spending on education to pay for the crisis and includes segregated classes for the children of immigrants. That's why those fascist scum, who have been burning out and murdering Romany families, are supporting the law. The video is just beautiful. Those nazi's get truly fucked up, there's a great bit when one gets smacked on to hs arse, then like al nazi's they go hide behind the police.

Anyway there's a good summary and lots of links here:

http://libcom.org/news/we-wont-pay-the-crisis-2610200

Things are moving

struMENTAL

30.10.2008 01:09

fascist mob

people... I think it is very important this article to be here... even if people don't know
what Gemmini is .... she is in fact the minister of education, and she made a law
to reform the school that has just been approved by the parliament... today.

for UK this law is probably just like normality, since the capitalistic regime of uk
is much more advanced than the italian one... but basically the law cut funds to
a lot of research and university and allow the universities to become FOUNDATIONS ?

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THAT NAME ? fuck the foundations....

also more details... some days ago Berlusconi said that he would have used the police
to sljuck people out from univeristies that are occupied for protest... then a former
italian prime minister, (COSSIGA), yesterday, in an interview to the newspapers said...
about the use of force against students...

>

in italian read here :

http://www.ilbenecomune.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/jmsra1.pdf

Finally today you have a >, the picture you see of all the people with the red,white and green baton, that spark the riots in Rome against people from "centri sociali"...

Was it just a coincidence that crazy interview talking about agent provocatoeurs ?

WELL from this government, and from Berlusconi, you can expect anything...

See what happened in Genova ...

Ciao

me
mail e-mail: af@af
Homepage: http://Fuck the school - free school

translation

30.10.2008 01:40

http://www.ilbenecomune.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/jmsra1.pdf

a little translation that did not get published in previous comment from cossiga interview...

Cossiga was president of Italy between 1985 and 1992 and he was responsible for setting up
the GLADIO OPERATION... he is a very well know and crazy italian senator...

he said in an article titled :

WE MUST STOP THEM , TERRORISM TOO (1970s) STARTED IN THE UNIVERSITIES

we should not care about high school students. think at the scandal if one of them
would be blessed or killed by the police. concentrate on university students.
start removing all police forces from uni etc.
or so. then infiltrate the movement with ' agent provocatoeurs' ready to do anything.
.. , and let them doing for 10 days , smashing shops, burning cars, etc...

then let the police intervene with violence against all the students and the teachers
responsible for the strikes and occupations.. send them all to hospital.

this is the receipt of democracy : extinguish the flame before the fire spark....

(... and goes on... )

History keep on repeating... ( this interview does reveal the exact strtegy of italian's anni di piombo )

translation

Update on Wednesday's actions

30.10.2008 14:47

THE WAVE BREAKS THE DAMS
By Alex Foti
Posted to EuroMayday list:

The day after the gelmini's authoritarian cuts to education were voted
into law (and fascist gangs aggressed the student demo with belts and
tricolor-wrapped sticks to intimidate the movement only to find their
ass finally kicked by collectives and centri sociali in piazza
navona), all students from high schools and universities of the milano
metro area converged on piazza castello where the hugest demo since
the first invasion of iraq (1991) took off and completely blocked the
city of milano, as even the fascist vicemayor grudgingly admitted
after heaping insults on students. At first rain pounded on the
protesters, but soon it gave way to a shining sun and we just couldn's
see the end of the student multitude.

an infinite rally opened by students of high school collectives of
milano, cernusco, cologno, rho, san giuliano, saronno, monza, lecco
ecc and closed by all the big university complexes of milano (statale,
scienze politiche, politecnico, brera, mediazione culturale, medicina,
chimica, bicocca ecc) moved out the square cos there was just not
space for the people. the demo spiraled around piazza duomo to fill it
completely. antiracist banners were prominent up front as were the
incredible antiberlusconi anticapitalist rapping of roman collective
colle der fomento among college student collectives. many sound
trucks, many teachers, school workers, school kids all denouncing the
incredible arrogance of the first declared rightwing government in
italy since fascism. They want to destroy public education but won't
let them! They want to makes us all unemployed but WE WON'T PAY FOR
YOUR CRISIS as it was cried a hundred times in front of Milano Stock
Exchange (Borsa) in a 5000-strong sitin of students as rows of riot
police protect the gamblers that have played with our lives for way
too long. I've just come from the demo and the sitin and let me tell
you this is huge and it's radicalizing to the left, and to the heretic
left as well.

The sit-in at the stockexchange is part of the technique of
spontaneous blocks carried all around the city in the past few weeks
by students, with various rallies converging and separating to
reappear at major hubs of metropolitan life. it's completely
unpredictable and it drives cops and rightwingers nuts.