The timing of this murder is enough to make conspiracy theorists out of the most skeptical observers.
On Sat, Mar 23, 2002 at 01:08:10PM -0800, Sabri Oncu wrote: > Italians Rally Against Berlusconi > Sat Mar 23, 9:50 AM ET > By FRANCES D'EMILIO, Associated Press Writer > > ROME (AP) - Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators streamed into > Rome on Saturday to protest Premier Silvio Berlusconi's efforts > to make it easier to fire workers, and to denounce the > assassination of a government adviser on labor reform. > > A sea of red caps and swirling red Communist flags and union > banners could be seen on the boulevard lining the Tiber River as > participants marched to the rallying point in Circus Maximus, the > ancient Roman space for entertainment. > > Before the rally began, demonstrators bowed their heads for a > minute of silence in respect for Marco Biagi, an economist and > government consultant who was gunned down Tuesday night in an > attack claimed by the Red Brigades, a leftist group that > terrorized Italy with assassinations in the 1970s and 1980s. > > Organizers declared that the rally would denounce the killing as > an assault on democracy. Biagi, through his role as a chief > drafter of the legislation aimed at ending Italy's system of > virtual lifetime employment, was an opponent of the union. > > Many politicians from the center and left joined the rally, > including former Premier Massimo D'Alema, a leader of the > Democratic Left, a former Communist party: "We're here to say no > to terrorism." > > The leader of the Communist-backed CGIL labor confederation > Sergio Cofferati told the crowd the killing was carried out just > when "workers and citizens were mobilizing to claim their > legitimate rights." > > Berlusconi, in a message broadcast Friday on state TV and the > media magnate's private TV networks, reiterated his government's > resolve to push the employment reform through Parliament. > Opposition politicians immediately accused Berlusconi of taking > advantage of Biagi's slaying to push his agenda, noting the > televised appeal came on the eve of the protest. > > The drive to liberalize labor laws has split the country, and > Italy's main labor confederations are calling for a general > strike in April to protest the reform. > > When Berlusconi first was premier in 1994, he backed off on > pension reform after mass protests by workers in the streets. > > "The government will soon realize that they are losing ground and > they will lose power as it happened in 1994," said factory worker > Salvatore Picco, 35, who was carrying his furled Communist flag > after the rally as he walked to a bus to travel back to Turin, > several hundred miles to the north. > > But the conservative premier insists that Italy's rigid > employment system must be loosened so that businesses can stay > competitive and create more jobs. Many employers complain that > they are discouraged from hiring new employees when demand > increases, because it is almost impossible to fire them when > demand shrinks. > > Security was heavy on Saturday and about a dozen extra police > were posted outside Berlusconi's residence about a half-mile from > the rallying point. > > Union leaders said it appeared that at least 2 million people had > poured into the Italian capital for the rally, but Rome's police > headquarters put the number at 700,000. > > But hours after the peaceful rally began, dozens of buses loaded > with demonstrators were trying to make it through Rome's traffic > to reach the center, so the overall number of protesters was > likely to be higher than the police estimate. > > Article at: > http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=535&u=/ap/2002032 > 3/ap_on_re_eu/italy_rally_1 > -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
