Two containers loaded with explosive material directed to Israel were stopped at the port of Ravenna. To block its passage was the mayor of the city, Alessandro Barattonitogether with the Province and the Emilia-Romagna Region, which have imposed the stop to the Terminal Management Company, Sapir.
A few weeks ago Barattoni himself had written directly to the Minister of Transport Salvini to ask for clarifications both on the load of weapons intended for Israel who would have gone from the city port on 30 June, against any legislation, both on the relative project Undersecwhose only non -European partner is Israel.
Now, the news of the blockade was made public last night by the same first citizen, after some workers in the port had reported the presence of containers. The checks confirmed: they were explosive loads, with destination Haifa.
We were informed yesterday by some workers in the port. This morning, the Municipality, the province and the Region, as Sapir’s shareholders, have sent a PEC to express the opposition. Today those containers will not transit from the port of Ravenna – said Barattoni.
A clear political choice: on the side of the innocent victims
The action was defined by the mayor as “collective“: An intervention born from the supervision of the workers and concluded thanks to the decision of the local institutions. But not only. Municipality, the Province and the Region have officially asked to know to insert a principle of peace and respect for human rights in their own code, so that in the future the transit of weapons used in the massacres is prohibited, such as the one in progress in Gaza.
View this post on Instagram
The message is clear:
Every action, including inaction, is a political action. Ravenna and Emilia-Romagna are on the side of the innocent and hostages, not from that of criminal governments or terrorist organizations-reads the letter sent to Sapir.
The reference to the Italian government
If on the one hand Ravenna stopped the containers, on the other the mayor points the finger at the central government, accused of pretending not to know that weapons continue to transit from Italian ports, in open contrast to the principles of the Constitution.
We need a government action – he said – because we cannot continue to close our eyes in front of loads that contribute to wars and massacres.
This is not an isolated episode: other explosive containers from the Czech Republic had already been intercepted at the end of July, presumably with the same destination. Also on that occasion the strategic role of the port of Ravenna had emerged in the trafficking of weapons directed in the Middle East.
The position of the mayor and local authorities goes far beyond the technical management of a port: it is a political and ethical choice. Ravenna claims her role as a community that she refuses to be an accomplice, opposing the transit of weapons that feed wars and suffering.
A concrete act, which demonstrates how local administrations can also exercise real power to stop – at least in part – the mechanisms of a system that often seems unstoppable.
