Choirs and 'Bella ciao', slogans also in dialect such as 'Meloni vattin', 'the most servile government of the USA and NATO' and 'let's prepare the hot autumn against the government of war and racism'. The anti-Meloni procession organized this afternoon in Bari at the same time as the Fratelli d'Italia party at the port began amid controversy, but continued peacefully.
The decision to limit the route to the Basilica of San Nicola, very far from terminal 10 where the stage on which the prime minister stood was set up, pushed the organizers to contest the "management of the square by the authorities", due to the "serious anomalies in the continuous restrictions". In the evening, the demonstration reached the basilica where it was blocked by the police in anti-riot gear: more controversy and slogans, but no tension.
The demonstrators, over 500 led by many young people, shouted at the policemen 'are you leaving yes or no', 'everyone is free', 'let us pass', in the hope of being able to continue beyond the blockade. Some lit red and black smoke bombs. However, there were eight people who were subjected to preventive detention by the police while on their way to the march, according to what the organizers themselves reported, while others were identified.
The protest counter-demonstration began at 5.30pm with the rally in the central Ferrarese square which was joined by various acronyms including Cambiare Rotta, Osa, Ex barracks liberata, Usb Bari, Alleanza Bari Palestina, Committee for Palestine Brindisi, Power to the People and Alternative Communiste. The procession then moved around 6.00 pm, when according to the organizers there were more than 500 demonstrators, stopping for a long time in front of the Margherita theater and then slowly continuing along the seafront until the police cordon near the Basilica. Also in the square was the Global Sumud Flotilla activist, Tony La Piccirella: "The Prime Minister's choice to hold a rally here in Bari is singular because it is her government that is trying to steal public funds, worsening the quality of life in the south".
Bobo Aprile, of Cobas Brindisi and one of the organizers of the demonstration, immediately announced his intention to ask the prefect and police commissioner to remove the ban" on reaching the port, without however finding their approval. It was not the only form of opposition to the Meloni government expressed in the city. On the opposite political side, in fact, exponents of Futuro Nazionale had posters put up with the slogans 'security', 'remigration', 'stop Islamization'. A way "to remind Meloni why he got votes", explained the deputy Rossano Sasso, a Puglia exponent of Futuro Nazionale. "We want the real right, the one that someone promises to be and which, evidently, he has not lived up to", he concluded.
The anti-Meloni march in Bari, 'three preventive stops'
The counter-demonstration organized by an assembly of movements and associations in conjunction with the Brothers of Italy celebration in the port for the longest-serving government in the history of the Republic with the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, began in the central Piazza del Ferrarese, in Bari. The demonstrators displayed banners reading: 'Meloni vattin, the most servile government of the USA and NATO' and 'let's prepare the hot autumn against the government of war and racism', from the megaphone they also chanted 'away with the Meloni government'. In the square there are various movements and associations (currently a few dozen demonstrators) including Cambiare Rotta, Osa, Ex barracks liberata, Usb Bari, Communist Refoundation, Bari Palestine Assembly, Committee for Palestine Brindisi, Communist Alternative.
The procession started from Piazza del Ferrarese to cross part of the seafront up to the Basilica of San Nicola. The entire seafront, from the Margherita theater to the Vittoria gate in the port, is closed to traffic. The authorized one is a shorter route than the one initially planned (which should have passed through the port).
The organizers of the counter-demonstration complain about "the management of the square by the authorities" which "resulted in serious anomalies in the continuous restrictions", clarifying that "we will ask for the application of the Italian Constitution regarding the freedom to demonstrate" and that "we will ask with strength and determination to have the procession pass along the seafront next to the highly armored meeting". For its part, the Municipality of Bari has prohibited the transit of vehicles and the stop in via Calefati, in the heart of the city, where the Israeli consulate is located. The decision was taken following a note from the Police Headquarters "to protect public order and safety in maximum safety, in order to avoid the occurrence of illegal actions".
The procession then reached the seafront, near the Basilica of San Nicola where the road is blocked by officers in riot gear and police vans. This is the end of the route authorized by the Police Headquarters, which denied the arrival of the demonstrators at the port. At the head of the procession are many young people shouting "all free" and "let us pass" in the hope of overcoming the blockade.
Three demonstrators who were trying to reach the anti-Meloni demonstration underway in Bari were allegedly subjected to preventive detention by the police according to what organizers of the anti-government demonstration underway in Bari reported. At the moment there is no confirmation from the police headquarters.
The demonstrators reiterated that they had repeatedly asked the police headquarters and prefecture for authorization to continue the procession beyond the Basilica of San Nicola, an authorization which was denied. Furthermore, it was said during the demonstration, other identifications were underway. Meanwhile, the procession, which started around 6pm from Piazza del Ferrarese, gradually grew, exceeding, according to the organisers, 500 people. "They blocked us long before the port - they say - and this is arrogance that we are experiencing day after day".
