Rumours over Schengen agreement and ESF

national | miscellaneous | news report Wednesday October 16, 2002 14:52 by esf

From ATTAC newsletter: The threat over the European Social Forum (By ESF Italian Coordination) Silvio Berlusconi is starting to play with the social movements. He is organizing rumors that his government will lift the Schengen agreement during the ESF. The Italian coordination is asking for a very strong response even if this attempt is not yet a confirmed decision. Please contact Italian embassies around the world and express your concerns about this. (Spread the word, thank you).

While we were going to positively close all the agreements with the
Local Auhorities and the Local Representative of the Government in
Florence, a very bad rumor appeared today in some newpapers.

It seems the Italian Government is planning to suspend the Shenghen
agreements' application during the ESF week.

Until now, there is no official confirmation of it.

We decided to open a very strong campaign in order to stop this
decision before it will became a reality.

Today we interrupted the meeting with all the Local Representatives in
Florence, as a symbolic action, explaining it's impossible to go on
with the technical negotiations until we will know by sure which kind
of scenario we will have in front of us.

In the Parliament today several parlamentarians from different parties
asked formally the Government for an answer, and are planning other
kind of pressures.

We are trying to organize a campaign at the level of the European
Parliament.

We asked the Local Authorities in Florence to express clearly against
this decision, and it seems they will do it.

There has been a press conference today. In the next days we will go
on with a press campaign, and a specific campaign devoted to the
citizens in Florence. And of course, we will go on with the
preparation of the ESF!

We need your support!

We ask you to organize press conferences in your country to ask the
Italian Goverment not to take this decision.

We ask you to send official statement to the Italian Government
through the Italian Embassies and the Consulates, organizing -where
possible- symbolic actions in front of the Embassies.

We ask you to involve intellectuals, politicians and prominent people
to write appeals.

We ask you to send statements by all the international neworks and
coalitions.

Please, send copies of these statements in the mailing list.

We believe it's possibile to stop this decision. But we have very very
short time. According to our informations, it can become official at
the end of this week. So, we have to move quickly.

Let's defend together our rights! A Europe without citizens'
participation is a Europe without democracy.

Thank you very much to all of you.

The ESF Italian Coordination