Dear friend,
Remember that scene from "Life is Beautiful" where the Jewish actor Benigni tries to explain to his son Samuele why his bookstore has been defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti? As you may already know, the city of Lucca was at the center of a sadly similar episode a month and a half ago, and again a few days ago.
There Baroni Library, one of Lucca's most important bookstores, dared to host an event on June 28th of this year, organized by the newly formed Lucca gay and lesbian association "L'Altro Volto," for a book presentation that, coincidentally, was against homophobia. For the bookshop's owners, it was a perfectly normal gesture, one of the many occasions in which a small-town bookshop attempts to fulfill its role as a cultural center. On the night of June 30th, a group of people wrote some insulting graffiti on the windows: a swastika and a very explicit and sadly evocative slogan, "Gay Raus." The incident ended there.
On the night of August 29th, almost two months later, the same perpetrators likely broke the windows of one of the two shop windows and left a swastika on another. A few hours later, bricks were thrown through the windows of a pub in the Lucca area, the "After Dark," a gay bar.
Unfortunately, the homophobic nature of the attacks is clear.
We believe that the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution cannot be questioned in any way and that these people must be culturally and politically isolated, as well as prosecuted by the authorities.
It is for these reasons that Saturday, September 6th at 6:00 PM in Piazza San Michele in Lucca We organized a demonstration to condemn the episode, which reiterates that the cultural roots of the city of Lucca and our region all point in the opposite direction.
We ask you to officially join us with your group at Saturday's demonstration, inviting everyone you know to do the same. Even if your commitments prevent you from attending, we ask you to at least spread the word about the demonstration through all available channels (mailing lists, word of mouth, phone chains, etc.); as you surely understand, it's important for us to gather together on Saturday the 6th to affirm our desire to build a peaceful society.
Giulio Maria Corbelli, President of The Other Face — Lucca Gay Lesbian
Alessio De Giorgi, President of Arcigay Tuscany
Lucca, September 1, 2003
PRESS RELEASE 08.29.03
LUCCA: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, DEMONSTRATION AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA AND INTOLERANCE
The association "L'altro Volto — Lucca Gay and Lesbian" and Arcigay Toscana announce that they have called a solidarity demonstration for Saturday, September 6th, at 6:00 p.m., at the Baroni bookshop in Lucca, following the serious incident that occurred last night, and to condemn what happened.
The demonstration will take place at 6:00 PM in Piazza San Michele. The Lucca association will submit a request for authorization to the City of Lucca on Monday morning.
“"The demonstration," emphasizes Giulio Maria Corbelli, president of the Lucca association, "is a necessary response to the serious neo-fascist incident that occurred last night. The incident must be immediately linked to what happened on June 30th, when a neo-fascist group "punished" the Baroni bookshop by defaced its windows with the words "Gay Rauss" for having granted the space to our association for the presentation of a book on homosexuality.".
“"We ask the institutions, the Region, the Province and the Municipality of Lucca, the political parties, the unions, the associations and individual citizens," adds Alessio De Giorgi, president of Arcigay Toscana, "to join the demonstration, to ensure a unanimous response from the city, condemning the incident and completely isolating the perpetrators and the groups to which they belong, both politically and culturally."”
Applications can be sent to [email protected], by fax to 0583/316162, or by phone to 349/8100203.
Info:
THE OTHER FACE OF LUCCA: GAY AND LESBIAN
Via S. Gemma Galgani 46, Lucca
349.8100203
[email protected]
ARCIGAY TOSCANA Regional Coordination
[email protected]
Press Release from Arcigay Toscana 29.08.03
“"They made them pay for it." This was Alessio De Giorgi, Regional President of Arcigay Toscana, after learning the devastating news that overnight a group of neo-fascists had destroyed one of the two windows of the Baroni bookshop in the center of Lucca, defaced the other with a swastika. The Baroni bookshop was also at the center of a similar incident on June 30th: the windows were defaced with swastikas and the slogan "Gay Rauss," just days after the Lucca-based gay and lesbian association "L'altro volto" had held a presentation of a book on homosexuality there.
“"What happened is a very serious attack on democracy, on one of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, freedom of thought," insists Alessio De Giorgi. "Defacement, and a month and a half later, smashing the windows of shopkeepers who "show solidarity," who think differently, is a very serious signal that recalls much darker periods in history. It brings to mind the stark and terrible scene in "Life is Beautiful," when Benigni tries to explain to his son Giosuè why fascists left anti-Semitic graffiti on the windows of his bookstore.".
“This incident must be seen as part of a very serious episode of black terrorism that requires us all to be on high alert. We urgently need to mobilize the city, the province, and the entire region to demonstrate the solidarity of democratic institutions and civil society with a businessman who is suffering significant damage to his business simply because he disagrees with these criminals, and to isolate these new terrorists of democracy.
“We also ask the Lucca Public Prosecutor's Office to get to the bottom of this matter: demonstrate with facts that it is committed to prosecuting such serious violations of the fundamental principles of our democracy, pursuing those responsible, whom we believe will not be so difficult to track down.
Today at 12:30 pm, the Honorable Franco Grillini, honorary president of Arcigay Nazionale, and Alessio De Giorgi, regional president of Arcigay, will be at the Baroni bookshop to express their solidarity.
Pisa, August 29, 2003
Press Release from the Tuscany Regional Council, August 29, 2003
Harsh condemnation of the vandalism that occurred last night in Lucca
Martini: "The entire region stands in solidarity with the Baroni bookstore."“
A gesture that should not be underestimated and which affects the right to freedom of thought
FLORENCE – An act not to be underestimated. This is how the President of the Tuscany Region, Claudio Martini, described the act of vandalism with which last night, for the second time in two months, unknown assailants damaged the Baroni bookshop in Lucca, "guilty" of hosting the presentation of a book on homophobia as part of the Gay Pride parade. "This second episode of serious vandalism and racist hatred," Martini explained, "is a very serious signal that law enforcement will properly assess. We must all feel called to express the strongest condemnation and express our solidarity with the bookshop's owners. It is essential that the entire city of Lucca, the province, and the region, mindful of their traditions of tolerance, mobilize against this despicable episode and work together to identify and prosecute the perpetrators.".
Tuscany has always been particularly attentive to respecting human rights, and a law has been submitted to the Regional Council that, in accordance with Article 3 of the Constitution and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, condemns all forms of discrimination, including sexual discrimination.
“"It is important," President Martini concluded, "that all political and social groups make their voices heard, unequivocally, in the face of this attack on one of the fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution: freedom of thought.".