The “extermination of demonstrators” is underway in Iran, a repression carried out with “brutal cruelty”. And “the first concern” of the regime was “to block access to sources of information, the spread of news. Every repression, every manipulation of the principles of freedom passes, first and foremost, through repression against journalists”.
The condemnation of President Mattarella
The President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, meeting the participants of the Venice Seminar for the British press at the Quirinale, clearly condemned the violent reaction of the ayatollahs to the protests in the streets of the country.
The Italian streets are mobilizing for Iran
Meanwhile, the Iranian revolt is also mobilizing the Italian streets. Tomorrow at the Campidoglio in Rome, for an initiative promoted by «Amnesty» and «Women, Life and Freedom», there will be center-left leaders: the secretary of the Democratic Party Elly Schlein, the president of the M5s Giuseppe Conte, the leaders of Avs Nicola Fratoianni and Angelo Bonelli, the secretary of Più Europa Riccardo Magi and exponents of Iv.
The differences in the center-left and the issue of foreign policy
While Action secretary Carlo Calenda will be in the streets on Saturday in Rome with the Radical Party. In foreign policy, however, the center-left continues to find uneven terrain. On Ukraine, the issue is always the sending of weapons, with the Democratic Party being in favor while the M5s and Avs are against. On Iran the issue is more nuanced.
The resolution on Iran and internal tensions in the Democratic Party
After abstaining from the resolution approved in the Senate with a bipartisan vote, the M5S presented a document in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber that brought the broad field back together: Avs signed it and the Democratic Party voted for it. But it was not a completely painless transition, given that one of the five Dem representatives in the commission, the reformist Lia Quartapelle, did not participate in the vote.
The discussion on Ukraine in the Chamber
The first foreign policy topic addressed in the Chamber was aid to Ukraine, with communications from Defense Minister Guido Crosetto. As usual, the large camp arrived in Kiev in no particular order: each force presented its own resolution.
A fragmented vote and a precarious balance
At the time of the vote, the Democratic Party abstained on those of the M5s and Avs, but said “no” to the passages in which they explicitly asked for a stop to weapons. While the M5s abstained on the PD document, voting in return for that of Avs. In short, a mess. But it’s not over.
The reformist divisions and the M5s line on Iran
Because in the Democratic Party the reformist wing (Lorenzo Guerini, Lia Quartapelle, Marianna Madia, Virginio Merola and Piero Fassino) distinguished itself from the group by voting “no” to the M5s resolution. More complex dynamics on Iran. In the Senate, the M5s was the only force to abstain on a resolution to support protests against the regime. The following day, Conte’s party presented its own resolution in the Chamber, to add the commitment to “avoid unilateral military actions outside the framework of international law”.
Conte’s position: solidarity yes, military interventions no
Conte explained that on the part of the M5s there is «maximum solidarity with the dissidents, with all the demonstrators. We agree with the resolution that comes from the Senate – he clarified – but we believe it is lacking. We must avoid a unilateral military option. We use all levers, but we always work within a framework of international law, in a context in which the entire international community can be involved.”
The support of the Democratic Party and the cross criticism
An argument accepted by the Democratic Party: «Iranian activists are right when they say that change will come from the people’s struggle and not from external unilateral interventions», said the Nazarene’s foreign affairs manager, Peppe Provenzano. However, he did not spare the M5s a jab: “If in Parliament it is possible to find the broadest convergence on condemning the regime, no political force can escape.”
The final clash on voting and political responsibilities
In addition to Quartapelle, Benedetto della Vedova, of Più Europa, also did not vote for the M5s resolution. “The M5S has tied the support of protesters in Iran to what is a hypothesis”, that is, a unilateral attack on Iran and “this is unacceptable”, Quartapelle said. «I stop at the political forces – Conte replied -: the Democratic Party has voted for our commitment, also at Avs. Quartapelle needs to clarify things with the Democratic Party, not with me.”