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Italians demand end to Ukraine arms shipments in Rome peace march
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"Tens of thousands of Italians marched through Rome on Saturday calling for a halt to arms shipments to Ukraine and a ceasefire, highlighting the resistance that Giorgia Meloni’s new government could face in providing further military support for Kyiv.
Waving rainbow flags with the words “peace” and “non-violence”, members of labour unions and Catholic associations, scouts, students and a range of social activists demanded an end to fighting and a serious international diplomatic initiative to negotiate a solution to the conflict.
“Ukrainians are dying, Russians are dying and there is no meaning for this,” said doctor Cynthia Masini, 56. “We send weapons while our sons and daughters are warm and comfortable in their beds and children there are dying. It’s not tolerable.”
Citing Italy’s own history of violent conflict, marcher Spartaco Geppetti, 70, a member of an antifascism organisation, called for dialogue to resolve the issues between Russia and Ukraine. “We are against the war and only want peace,” he said. “This is not good for Europe, or the world. They must stop.”
Other marchers waved placards with slogans such as “weapons down, wages up”, “enough arms to Ukraine” and “We don’t want war. No weapons, no sanctions. Where is diplomacy?”
Meloni, sworn in as prime minister two weeks ago at the head of a new rightwing government, is a staunch supporter of the Ukrainian cause and has vowed continuity with her predecessor Mario Draghi’s tough stand against Russia.
But she faces resistance to further arms shipments as Italy’s economy reels from the effects of the conflict, including slowing growth and inflation that hit nearly 12 per cent in October, the highest level in almost three decades.
Meloni’s own alliance partners, Matteo Salvini, leader of Lega Nord, and Silvio Berlusconi, the 86-year-old former prime minister, both have past ties with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and have expressed ambivalence about Draghi’s hard line against Moscow.
Berlusconi recently caused a stir by telling Forza Italia lawmakers he had recently exchanged gifts of fine alcohol and “sweet letters” with Putin, in reviving a longtime personal friendship.
Meanwhile, Five Star leader Giuseppe Conte, who threw his weight behind the Rome peace march, has also warned against further weapons shipments to Kyiv.
“Ukraine is now fully armed — we need a breakthrough towards a ceasefire and peace negotiations,” Conte, who triggered the chain of events that led to the unexpected collapse of Draghi’s government, told reporters.
“No one thought that Ukraine should be left alone and we did not declare ourselves indifferent or equidistant,” said Conte. “But this strategy is leading only to escalation.”
Many march participants echoed the concern that arming Ukraine was only prolonging the devastating conflict and could lead to the use of nuclear weapons.
“The drama in Ukraine must not be underestimated — the way to peace must be urgently sought,” said Andrea Riccardi, founder of the influential Catholic social organisation Sant’Egidio. “The atomic threat is not a phantom, but a possible threat . . . We are not neutral but we stand for peace.”
Riccardi urged Putin “out of love for his people to bring Russia out of the spirals of war” and asked Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy “to be open to serious proposals for peace”.
Giovanni Timoteo, a member of the Confederation of Italian Workers, said: “I am absolutely against sending new weapons to Ukraine. Today, people want peace with weapons. It is inconceivable. Ukraine has the right to defend itself, but we need a big UN initiative for peace.”
Yet even as the heart of Rome filled with peace marchers, Carlo Calenda, leader of the centrist Azione party, organised a counterdemonstration in Milan, with strong support from Italy’s large Ukrainian community.
“Those who call for peace but also to disarm Ukraine call for the surrender of Ukraine,” Calenda told reporters ahead of the Milan event.
Among the demonstrators in Milan, Oles Horodetskyy, president of the Christian Association of Ukrainians in Italy, was critical of the Rome marchers, asking “are they pro-peace, or pro-Putin?”
“Not giving weapons to those defending themselves from attackers means to favour those who attack,” he added."
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Trade unionists and leftists marched after the new government promised more arms for Kiev next year
Left-wing demonstrators took to the streets in Rome on Saturday, demanding higher wages and condemning the Italian government for renewing a decree allowing it to send weapons to Ukraine until 2024.
Organized by Italy’s USB trade union and backed by a number of leftist political factions, the protest saw thousands of people assemble at the Piazza della Repubblica and march behind a banner reading “guns down, wages up."
Large-scale protests against arms supplies to Ukraine took place in Rome.The protest march was organized by national trade unions. The protesters are not satisfied with the economic situation in the country. The demonstrators demand higher wages. pic.twitter.com/nIZaxv4ED4
— Natalia Gabriella Dominica (@Natalia96058112) December 4, 2022
‼️Hoy estaba viendo las noticias en el Canal 1 de España y estas Noticias no muestran. ¡¡¡Y sin embargo hay manifestaciones en toda Europa!!! 🇮🇹 En Italia los sindicatos nacionales organizaron una marcha de protesta en Roma contra el suministro de armas a Ucrania.👇 pic.twitter.com/JpYQEG2qxe
— ANGELIKA DIMON (@angelika_dimon) December 4, 2022
“The Meloni government is dragging us further and further into a spiral of war with unpredictable outcomes,” the USB wrote prior to the protest. “Italy is evidently a belligerent and active country in the conflict, despite the fact that the great majority of the population is against the war and the consequent sharp increase in military spending.”
Italy’s new prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, issued a decree on Thursday allowing her cabinet to continue sending weapons to Ukraine until the end of 2023 without seeking the formal approval of parliament. Her predecessor, Mario Draghi, was a staunch supporter of Kiev and lost power after a disagreement over arms shipments split the largest party in his coalition government, the Five Star Movement.
The Italian public is split too, with 49% opposing sending weapons to Kiev and 38% in favor, according to a poll taken by EuroWeek News last month. Additionally, 49% of Italians believe that Ukraine needs to make concessions to Russia in the ongoing conflict to speed up the peace process, while only 36% want Kiev to keep fighting.
Last month, another rally in Rome calling for a peace deal to end the Ukrainian conflict drew 100,000 people, organizers said.
As the Russian invasion sows pain and devastation in Ukraine and threatens to spread, other wars continue to claim victims in Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia, and elsewhere. Those who pay the highest price are most defenseless, especially children. Ordinary people want peace.
By Sergio Centofanti
Now, more than ever, we dream of Isaiah's prophecy: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again" (Is 2:4).
For too long here in Europe, we have taken peace for granted. War was the business of others, of distant peoples; we could forget about those wars, since we were involved in them only by the cries of refugees in search of a new hope.
We were perhaps insensitive to the pain of those people. Those wars are still there: Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia, and many others. People still flee those wars, just trying to stay alive.
Like night and day
Life, sometimes, changes suddenly. The night before the Russian invasion, crowds filled the streets and restaurants of Ukrainian cities. People tried not to think about the massing of Moscow's troops on the border. No one imagined that the drama would come within hours.
The evening was filled with peace, yet the night brought outright war. The evening saw couples walking arm in arm, while the next day those same people carried rifles under their arms.
One young couple got married right after the invasion and enlisted to defend their country. Many children were taken out of Ukraine, as many others huddle still under falling bombs. It is a new slaughter of the innocent.
Near or far?
We have grown too accustomed to peace. We complain daily about so many petty things. But when war suddenly breaks out, we see clearly what is essential.
Peace is essential. Psalm 144 reminds us of this: "May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, no outcry in our streets. Blessed the people so fortunate.”
Now fighting has returned to Europe. We find ourselves afraid and distressed. For others, perhaps, this remains another distant war.
For Ukrainians it is in their land which someone wants to steal. For Europeans the war is close. The nightmare of nuclear war looms. Missiles could hit a nuclear power plant.
In the midst of this anxiety there is an outpouring of solidarity for those who have been attacked. Saturday morning’s Lauds reading says, "Relieve the oppressed" (Isaiah 1:17).
What can we do to help?
Ordinary solidarity and prayer
We want peace! We do not want the war of the powerful who aim to amass more power with the blood of others, even that of their own children, who are used, deceived, and sent to kill and die.
How can we stop this madness? Some resort to sanctions, others to weapons, and still others walk the path of diplomacy.
What can ordinary people do? Help out. Stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. And pray for peace.
Living in peace
Today, more than ever, we dream of another prophecy, in which enemies will finally live together in peace.
"Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them" (Is 11:6).
Lord, give us peace!
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