In solidarity with the NO TAV struggle

international | environment | feature

sábado febrero 21, 2015 18:44

by Anarkismo

Let's put an end to useless major public works and to the repression of militants!

For more than 20 years, Val di Susa residents, common people and militants have opposed the construction of a high-speed railway to connect Lyons with Turin. This useless major infrastructural project would be a catastrophe, wreaking destruction on Nature and ravaging the ecological system. Some of the tunnels are meant to be pierced through uranium and asbestos ore, which would spread the dust of these minerals throughout the valley's atmosphere. Collaterally, many expropriations are planned to enable the railway's construction, especially of agricultural lands.

It has been demonstrated that these construction works will cost a fortune to local populations, while the existing rail lines could be improved and put to better use, especially to carry freight, which is currently delivered by road, causing massive pollution. Every metre of the TAV costs €158,000! These are public resources being diverted from socially-useful works and services to be consigned into the hands of mafias and profiteers!

Strong protest has never stopped since the project began, with thousands protesting, and the Val di Susa also being occupied, together with other acts of resistance and sabotage against the work sites imposed on the population. This movement brings together militants from the valley, people from all over Italy and even collectives from France, and has become a struggle of reference for the Italian social movement of the last 20 years. It has also been heavily repressed by the Italian State.

[Français] [Italiano]

In solidarity with the NO TAV struggle

Let's put an end to useless major public works and to the repression of militants!

For more than 20 years, Val di Susa residents, common people and militants have opposed the construction of a high-speed railway to connect Lyons with Turin. This useless major infrastructural project would be a catastrophe, wreaking destruction on Nature and ravaging the ecological system. Some of the tunnels are meant to be pierced through uranium and asbestos ore, which would spread the dust of these minerals throughout the valley's atmosphere. Collaterally, many expropriations are planned to enable the railway's construction, especially of agricultural lands.

It has been demonstrated that these construction works will cost a fortune to local populations, while the existing rail lines could be improved and put to better use, especially to carry freight, which is currently delivered by road, causing massive pollution. Every metre of the TAV costs €158,000! These are public resources being diverted from socially-useful works and services to be consigned into the hands of mafias and profiteers!

Strong protest has never stopped since the project began, with thousands protesting, and the Val di Susa also being occupied, together with other acts of resistance and sabotage against the work sites imposed on the population.

This movement brings together militants from the valley, people from all over Italy and even collectives from France, and has become a struggle of reference for the Italian social movement of the last 20 years.

It has also been heavily repressed by the Italian State. For years, the NoTAV militants have been subject to arrests, with Italian magistrates rabidly pursuing them. Although the charge of terrorism has been dropped, the Italian State continues to strike indiscriminately at the NoTAV movement, criminalizing every demonstration. It is a strategy against political, trade union and social militants in Italy, that is spreading throughout Europe and across the world. 48 NoTAV militants were recently sentenced to a total of over 140 years and payment of over €100,000 for the demonstrations held between 27 June and 3 July in 2011. This is a political sentence, built with intimidation and stretching of definitions.

Everywhere in the world, people’s movements are rising up against these useless major public works, from Testet TAZ, to protesting against dam, nuclear plant and airport projects and so many others in favour of a industrial-productivist society, that capitalism and States are bent on imposing onto us.

Recently, a comrade lost his life when he was killed by a grenade launched by the police militias. This comrade could have been any of us. Rémi was murdered while defending a zone meant to be turned into a dam, to satisfy the agriculture industry in the Testet; proof enough that the State and the major capitalist corporations have very little consideration for human life, not to mention Nature.

Put a halt to the useless Lyons/Turin high-speed major project and its deadly consequences on Nature!
Stop all useless major projects!
Stop the looting of our communities!
Let the people have control over our communities!
Massive united NoTAV demonstration on 21 February in Turin.
International solidarity!

Signatories: