Verona for peace, Mayor Tommasi: “I too am an objector”
An event within an event: the great participation of the public on the evening of 7 January in Gran Guardia. Verona waves the flag of peace over the citywith the municipal administration that embraces the Catholic world, the voluntary sector, the environmentalist area, the pacifist network, which since yesterday have rooted their non-violent identity even more in Verona.
“Christmas time of peace”
The public meeting was organized by the European coalition that established the movements of «Europe for peace». And that in Verona was the last demonstration of the “Christmas time of peace” campaign, which unites laity, Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox. The mayor of Verona raised the peace symbol, Damiano Tommasi, the bishop Domenico Pompili, the general secretary of the CGIL Maurizio Landini, the president of Emergency Rossella Miccio, the spokesperson of the Third Sector Forum, Vanessa Pallucchi, and the founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio Andrea Riccardi. The spokesman and historical exponent of the non-violent movement of Verona, Mao Valpiana, recalled the deep roots of conscientious objection in Verona, with the first objector Enzo Molegari, in 1968. «We have implemented every initiative to stop the weapons and lay the foundations for a conference for peace in Europe – recalled Valpiana -. We went to Ukraine to support the peacekeepers and bring support to them. We ask that Europe open its doors to those who withdraw from all wars in the world. We have asked citizens and institutions to mobilize for disarmament”.
Mayor’s words
Exceptional witness, the mayor Thomas he recalled that he was a conscientious objector, belonging to the pacifist world. And, surprisingly, Valpiana’s schoolmate intervened, the internationally renowned physicist Carlo Rovelli, who promoted the appeal of the 50 Nobel Peace Prize winners: «Hello mayor, hello bishop, Verona is my city and I love it very much, especially now with this new leadership. We ask governments to negotiate among themselves so as not to use 2% of military expenditure a year», Rovelli recalled. How to stop this war? Riccardi underlined this: «My generation has known only peace, we have been a happy island in a world marked by wars. Syria has been at war for 12 years and we have ignored it. Much of the war in Ukraine can be explained by what happened in Syria. And so it broke out in Europe and surprised us. There is diplomatic dwarfism and a reduction in humanitarian aid, while only military support is mentioned. We hoped for a Christmas truce, even an Orthodox one: the Russians shunned it and the Ukrainians didn’t want it».
The intervention of Landini and Bishop Pompili
The National Secretary of the Cgil, Landini, he recalled how his organization, even before the war began, had taken a stand against the conflict: «There was an underestimation. Today we are facing a very serious situation, with a potential nuclear escalation that puts the very life of the planet at risk. We need a new economic model for social justice, cutting spending on armaments and aiming for sustainable production”. “Why are there so many people tonight? – underlined the mayor Tommasi – Because we have left the doors open to the social network made up of a lot of volunteering and commitment. I am the first to be a conscientious objector, peace has no political colour, we must create a united community» In closing, the bishop Pompili he highlighted the lack of fraternity and friendship that reigns in this time: “We need to adhere to a more symbolic and less diabolical culture: it is a choice to distance ourselves from the ongoing clash of civilizations”.
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January 8, 2023 (change January 8, 2023 | 21:11)
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