Police Attack Italy IMC

This morning around 7.00, police knocked at the doors of a few social
centers: Gabrio in Torino, Cecco Rivolta in Firenze, TPO in Bologna,
as well as those of the Cobas offices in Taranto. The huge
mobilitation (a lot of cars, vans, and riot cops) was due to an order
from Genova’s attorney.

The attorneys Andrea Canciani and Anna Canepa ordered to seize audio
and video material referring to Genova facts, focusing on what could
deal with the police raid at the Media Center and the massacre at the
Diaz-Pertini school.

The search warrant explains that such material would have been
collected through the Italy Indymedia website, and would be situated
in the social centers Gabrio, TPO, Cecco Rivolta, and in Cobas
offices in Taranto, and in other places (using an aleathory form
which allows them to search and seize at their pleasure).

Searches are still going on. Police is seizing computers, archives,
and all of the stuff that hundreds of italian activists need for
their daily cultural and political activities.

The search warrant locates these places as “Indymedia offices”.
Italy Indymedia states that Indymedia has no offices, but works through
the thousands of people who contribute to the website, and commit
themselves to produce a free and independent information. Italy
Indymedia decision making and project processes take place over the
internet, through open and publicly accessible mailing lists and
chatrooms. A daily and cooperative effort carried on by hundreds of
people, who won’t be threatened.

This morning, an attack has been struck against freedom of
information. A few places have been targeted, to exercise a political
pressure on a complex and manifold subject as Italy Indymedia.

The material seized in Bologna, Firenze, Torino, Taranto, just like
all of Indymedia stuff, is freely viewable on our website. And so are
the archives of our mailing lists, of our chats, and of all our
activities.

Indymedia has nothing to hide.

Italy Indymedia, a network of independent media, reports a severe
attack to free information. We take note that minister Scajola, after
speech, is turning to facts. And Genova gets back under public
attention. After partial and smoky investigations which were supposed
to find proof of police violence, and while the dynamics of the
murder of Carlo Giuliani haven’t been cleared yet, while the
officals responsible of the public order during those days are still
holding their seats, and in a few cases even got promoted.

To put this in perspective, it’s important to note that Italy’s Prime Minister Berlusconi is a media mogul on the scale of Ted Turner or Rupert Murdoch, and so his gov’t is extremely hostile to independent media. Imagine that Rupert Murdoch became president (luckily he’s can’t since he’s Australian-born) and took a Fox News approach to media regulation/repression. My understanding is that Berlusconi’s administration has been openly critical of the public broadcasters, accusing them of being too soft on the Communists and Socialists, and using this as a rationale to push for making the media “indpednent” which really means privatizing it. That, of course would make the Italian public media about as independent as NBC or FOX. Scary stuff.