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Help
Italian Women Stop New US Base in Vicenza
A group of Italian women who have been fighting
against a proposed new military base in their
historic town of Vicenza have been invited by
CODEPINK to Washington
DC to pressure Congress to stop the base. Here's
more info and how you can help:
Sign
our petition NOW!
Vicenza, a town of 120,000 and showcase of renowned
Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, is also
a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city is already
home to several U.S. military installations, including
Camp Ederle, which has tripled
in size since it was established in 1955.
This new base, which will serve to unite the 173rd
Airborne Brigade currently based in Italy and
Germany, will be located just 1 mile from the
historic center of Vicenza at the little used
civilian airport Dal Molin. The area is surrounded
by a densely populated, residential area and is
very close to one of Palladio's architectural
treasures.
The Italian government has approved the new base,
but the local people
have not. Alarmed at the urban, environmental
and economic impact as well as the risk of becoming
a terrorist target, and firm in their refusal
to allow further militarization of the city, the
local community mounted a grassroots campaign,
led by women, in opposition to the base. This
movement has grown to become an Italian cause,
with national demonstrations bringing people from
all over Italy. The people
of Vicenza are determined to continue protesting
as long as it takes to stop the base, and thank
you profusely for your solidarity.
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Latest
News:
June 5, 2007: Peace Activists Take Over Italian
PM's Event:
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi was confronted
by a hostile audience this week at an event in
Trento, Italy, where he spoke at a conference
on economics. The "No Dal Molin" movement
from Vicenza, Italy, which is opposing the construction
of a new U.S. military base protested outside
the event and inside. In an attempt to satisfy
the audience, the moderator permitted the citizen
activist leader Cinzia Bottene to come on stage
with Prodi and address him. She did so, and the
people cheered, but the Prime Minister refused
to meet her gaze. When Prodi eventually tried
to leave, protesters blocked the streets and forced
him to wait until they were all carried away by
the police.
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