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[What a perfectly convenient 'terrorist' attack. Would seem to suit Silvio Berlusconi's agenda to a tee. Bombs over Rome?] Wednesday March 20, 5:37 PM Italian government advisor killed, PM vows to fight terror A senior advisor to Italy's right-wing government who was linked to controversial labour reform plans has been assassinated in what Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi denounced as a terrorist attack. Marco Biagi, a 51-year-old economist and law professor, was shot twice in the neck outside his home in central Bologna as he returned home by bicycle Tuesday evening, the Ansa news agency reported, quoting sources close to the investigation. Police said no one had claimed responsibility for the killing. But journalists said they saw a five-point star, the symbol of the ultra-left Red Brigades guerrilla group, carved on the door of Biagi's house after the departure of security forces. They said it was impossible to say if the symbol had been put there recently. Biagi was an advisor in the labor ministry, which has backed controversial labor reforms that have sparked fury among unions and are expected to bring one million people onto the streets Saturday in a nationwide protest. Italy's three largest unions are also considering calling a general strike to protest the reforms, which will make it easier to hire and fire employees. The unions called a two-hour general strike for Wednesday to protest Biagi's killing. The prime minister reacted late Tuesday to the murder by saying: "Terrorism shows itself once again, after the assassination of Massimo D'Antona, a topical danger that must be fought with all the necessary force." Biagi's death bears similarities to the 1999 killing of D'Antona, an aide to Italy's labor minister at the time, Antonio Bassolino, which was claimed by the successors to the Red Brigades. The Red Brigades guerrilla group was involved in bombings and assassinations in Italy in the 1970s to mid-1980s, with their most high-profile action being the kidnapping and later killing of the leader of the Christian Democrats, Aldo Moro, in 1978. Berlusconi said that in the social and political conflict between his government and the unions and the left, "one must stop considering adversaries as enemies. We must end the spiral of political hatred and a deadly way of speaking worthy of a civil war." Labor Minister Roberto Maroni, a leading figure in the anti-foreigner Northern League within Berlusconi's right-wing government, was informed of the killing after recording a television programme about a controversial modification of labor law and said he was "shattered" by the news. Interior Minister Claudio Scajola decided to cut short his official visit to the United States following the killing and return to Italy overnight to brief parliament on Wednesday, aides said, adding he was in close contact with Berlusconi. Public prosecutor Luigi Persico went to the scene of the crime shortly after the killing. European Commission President Romano Prodi, a former Italian prime minister, said in a statement from Brussels he was "shocked" by Maroni's killing. The head of the Northern League's parliamentary group, Alessandro Ce, said he was "worried". "We have to see what are the concrete elements, but how he was killed is worrying. Without wanting to draw links with this murder, it is clear that there is a climate surrounding employment which can end up in tragedy," Ce said. "We will wait before drawing conclusions, but the fact is that the mass mobilisation and continued accusations against the government that it is cutting down on workers' rights is creating a heavy atmosphere. Let's hope that this event is not linked to this climate," he said. Witnesses said Biagi was lying in his blood next to his attache case. Born in 1950 in Bologna, Biagi was married and father of one child. He also wrote for the economic daily Il Sole 24 Ore and had recently published a book on labour policy. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Movies - coverage of the 74th Academy Awards® http://movies.yahoo.com/ --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
