After the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, war winds rise in the Middle East. The US military base Camp Darby between Livorno and Pisa is the largest weapons depot outside the US. CGIL, ANPI and ARCI* call for mobilization

Tradotto da Eve Harguindey

There is a state of alert at Camp Darby, the U.S. military base between Livorno and Pisa, where the extraordinary defence plan was launched to deal with possible terrorist threats following the killing of the Iranian General Soleimani. ARCI, ANPI and CGIL call to a mobilization to stop the trafficking of arms that will pass through the port of Livorno to reach the U.S. military base.

“General Qassem Soleimani was killed along with 7 others (the wounded are at least 12 Iraqi soldiers as well as several civilians) in an attack with helicopters and rockets at the Baghdad airport by Trump,” ARCI, ANP and CGIL say in a statement. “That’s enough! While we dabble in discussing whether or not Carola Rackete should wear a bra saving people at sea, whether the mayor’s job is a job or a pleasure, whether or not the Pope has the right to get irritated against a rude woman, we don’t see that we have monsters in the house and we put traps for mice”. “For ARCI, ANPI and CGIL – the note continues – it is all too clear that it is not, as narrated by the sovereignist right wing, a distant scenario that concerns some minority or backward parts of the world, facts that in any case deserve help and attention: the masters of the war are once again changing the world scenarios”.

In the joint communiqué of ARCI, ANPI and CGIL it is explained that “war is the invisible phenomenon responsible for visible phenomena, such as migration, but also creator of economic logics able to influence the financial markets. Power and not politics is responsible for the destruction of peace”. “The war – CGIL, ANP and ARCI write – is worth 1,800 billion dollars a year, more than 2% of the world GDP. The companies that produce war material operate in an oligopoly regime with a turnover higher than the GDP of even sovereignist States. 50% of the world’s wealth is in the hands of much less than 1% of the population”.

“Military expenditure in the capitalist mode of production supports profit and in the face of deflation, unemployment, contraction of consumption and overproduction, represents a sector that allows very high returns – continues the note -. The war serves to destroy excess capital to relaunch new growth cycles. This is how the cynical world of world finances faces the crisis”.

“The role of Camp Darby, the largest repository of military means and armaments outside the USA, appears serious also in this scenario – ARCI, ANP and CGIL conclude -. With Trump, the seriousness of having ceded the sovereignty of a piece of Italian territory, whose activities are classified as a military secret, is even more evident, also preventing the diffusion of security plans for the populations living nearby. Livorno cannot remain silent while acts of irreparable gravity take place. We call institutions, citizens and workers to a great mobilization. Weapons to the Middle East and Africa pass through our port. The hands of our workers help the trafficking of arms. Now it’s time to say enough ».

Translator’s Notes

CGIL : Italian General Confederation of Labour, the most important Italian trade union.

ANPI: National Association of Italian Partisans

ARCI : Italian Recreational and Cultural Association, the biggest Italian non-profit association not linked with the Catholic Church, with one million members