From ‘Open Road’, Issue Eleven, Summer 1980, Vancouver, BC
Italian security forces raided homes and workplaces throughout Italy recently trying to “dry up the mudfields where the flowers grow,” as one Italian source put it. Among the hundred or so suspects they nabbed on trumped-up charges were more than 30 anarchists, including three from Great Britain.
Among those arrested in Catania are two members of the “Anarchismo” editorial group, Alfredo Bonanno and Sal Barletta. Also arrested were Jean Weir, editor of the Bratach Dubh anarchist publishing group in Scotland, Kenneth McBurgon, also from Scotland and Anslow Holton, another anarchist from England.
What makes these arrests particularly serious is the new powers of detention in the hands of the police: under a January 1980 law, they can now hold anyone suspected of having any connection with so-called “terrorists” for up to 12 years without a trial.
Police say they were looking for members of Azione Rivoluzionaria (Revolutionary Action), a guerilla group that they claim were responsible for a series of bank robberies and explosions around Bologna. In the past the group have described themselves as anarcho-communists.
Of the anarchists arrested, Bonanno alone has some 20 charges to face for what observers describe as simply “opinions he expressed.” He is accused of being the theoretician behind Azione Rivoluzionaria.
All the arrested have declared that they have had nothing to do with what they were accused of and are refusing to answer any questions.
The accusations are said to be inconsistent and absurd and similar to those recently levelled against other European anarchists in England (the Persons Unknown case, see OR 10½), Greece (see story this issue), France, West Germany and Spain. The scapegoating and physical kidnapping of known militants is one way the closely connected police forces of Europe are trying to cope with social tensions. It’s part of their strategy to intimidate and pressure activists and their supporters into giving up their struggles.
For some background on the current situation in Italy, see the pamphlet “Armed Struggle in Italy – A Chronology,” published by Bratach Dubh, and available from Box 11, 45 Niddry St., Edinburgh, Scotland, for $3.00 plus postage.
See also:
The Revolutionary Project, by Alfredo M. Bonanno (layout by Fugitive Distro)
Intro to Insurrectionary Anarchism, by M.Gouldhawke (2022)
A Project of Liberation, by the Insurrectionary Anarchists of the Coast Salish Territories (2004)
Squatting in Vancouver: A Brief Overview, by M.Gouldhawke (2002)
The Right to Life Isn’t Begged For, It is Taken, by Endless Struggle (1990)
Against Imperialism: International Solidarity and Resistance, by Endless Struggle (1990)
Endless Struggle reviews ‘From Riot to Insurrection’ (1989)
Survival Gathering: Toronto, July 1-4, 1988, by Jean Weir
Against Ecology, by Pierleone Porcu (1988)
Breaking out of the Ghetto, by Jean Weir (1988)
NATO Fighter Planes Invade Innu Territory, from Open Road (1987)
At home in the house of the Lord, from Open Road (1984)
How We See It, by The Vancouver Five (1983)
Protect the Earth, by the Free the Five Defense Group (1983)
What “Anarchismo” is and how it functions (1978)
Martin Sostre and the Open Road Interview (1976)
An Archive 