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Video released by Italian media on Monday shows hundreds of people dressed in black lined up in a line, raising their arms three times in a fascist salute while shouting “Present.”
Published on August 1, 2024 10:31 p.m
Reading time: 1 min
A view of Rome, October 7, 2015. (OLIVIERO OLIVIERI / ROBERT HARDING HERITAGE / AFP)
Italian opposition leaders called for the dissolution of neo-fascist organizations on Monday, January 8, after a video was broadcast that appeared to show hundreds of people giving the fascist salute during a far-right rally in Rome. The video, filmed at night and published by Italian media, including the daily Corriere della Sera, shows hundreds of people dressed in black lined up in a row and raising their arms three times in a fascist salute, shouting “Present.” AFP could not confirm the authenticity of the video on Monday evening.
According to media reports, the scene takes place in front of the former Rome headquarters of the Italian Social Movement (MSI), a party founded by Mussolini supporters after the Second World War, during the commemoration of the murder of two teenage members of the MSI's youth wing, shot on January 7, 1978 during the “Years of Lead.” The far left was held responsible but the investigation resulted in no conviction, while a third member of the MSI youth organization died after being hit by a stray bullet in the ensuing unrest.
“It feels like it’s 1924”
“Rome, January 7, 2024. It feels like 1924,” a time when Italy was ruled by Benito Mussolini's national-fascist party, commented Elly Schlein, leader of the center-left Democratic Party. “Neo-fascist organizations must be disbanded, as provided for in the constitution,” she said. Elly Schlein called on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, leader of the MSI's post-fascist Fratelli d'Italia party, to condemn the incident. The Democratic Party also called on the government to disband neo-fascist groups and “counter the apologists of fascism by all means.”
According to the AGI news agency, the opposition Five Star Movement (M5S) wants to file a complaint with the Rome public prosecutor's office. In a statement, Fratelli d'Italia condemned their rivals for “using for sinister propaganda the memory of the tragic deaths of three boys killed by communist hatred.”