200,000 peaceful protesters march on Rome, but an army of riot police and a small militia of anti-capitalist urban guerrillas wreak havoc across the city.
As the European debt crisis spills over from Greece to Italy, so do the flames of indignation spread from Athens to Rome. On Saturday, the Italian capital was the theater to a spectacular 200,000-strong peaceful anti-austerity march. But a small minority of dedicated militants turned their sights on the authorities. Violent clashes broke out that led to at least 100 injuries and countless torched police vans and cars, broken shop windows and unearthed cobble stones.
Makeshift bombs were detonated, missiles and Molotov cocktails fired at police, a church was ransacked, and the Ministry of Defense set ablaze. The extreme bout of violence was the worst in Italy since the notorious 2001 Genova riots (notorious mostly for the police response, leading to the death of Carlo Giuliani). La Repubblica this morning dedicated its first 13 pages to the protest and riots, in a sign of the extent to which these events have shaken the country.
As the tear gas and petrol bombs fly from one ancient city to the next, the social sustainability of our present political economic arrangement is once again being thrown into question. The outbreak of violence in Rome — like in London and Athens before — is a symptom of a much deeper disease: the crisis of global financial capitalism and the profound legitimation crisis of our national representative democracies.
In December 2010 we made a gloomy prediction for the new year: “The rage is spreading, and the legitimation crisis of global capitalism is only going to deepen in 2011 as austerity measures aggravate inequality, insecurity and unemployment. The question is not so much if there will be renewed violence, but where and when it will take place.” Athens. London. Rome. Who’s next?
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And we should learn from Jesus, for ” See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (10:16)
a political song about the Greek debt
lyrics in English on video
i was caught in the riot returning from my aunt from sgurgola near rome, the cab driveer could not take us to san giovanni square as our hotel was at the best western ” the president hotel”. we walked from the train station to our hotel crossing peaceful protesters with flags and youg children by there sides. as we got closer to our hotel i smeled the fresh paint of graphiti, saw with my own eyes pretenders to be anarchist/ with balaclavas our the faces and black scooter helmets defacing a church with the word “jesus christ supercazzola”. As we continued towards our hotel i smelled the odour of fire in the air, where we saw garbage bins on fire. we had to turn on manconi avenue , but the fire was intense . two cars burning and trash bins on fire. up the street towards poiazza san giovanni, only to be greeted witha cloud of tear gas. We turned back towards the fires and crossed them with dark clad individuals looking at us in dismay as i was with my two kids and my wife red eyed and chocking . we were greeted at our hotel, witha “kill the president grafitti ” on the window of our hotel. We made it back safe to the bst western. my wife was shooked up and my kids spooked. By eight thirty we noticed all the noise and remaining manifestors had left. the anwer was clear on the tv screen Milan was playing Palermo at 8:45.
I saw ,what i saw. destruction, gratuitus display of mayhem with no purpose except to harm and take advantage of an uncontrolled situation. Human respesct for property or the wellbeing had left all. Except when it came to a football game. Incredible .
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