Bologna massacre: Mattarella: ‘A neo-fascist strategy against democracy’. Meloni: ‘One of Italia’s darkest chapters’

“A neo-fascist terrorist attack” that “has torn apart the lives of so many people, of a city, of an entire nation”. This was stated by the Under-Secretary of State for the Interior, Nicola Molteni, speaking on behalf of the Government in the courtyard of Bologna City Hall at a meeting with the victims of the massacre of 2 August 1980. “Being here in Bologna means coming together to reflect on one of the most painful wounds in our country’s history. It is a date that belongs to the whole of Italia,” he added.

Matteo Piantedosi from the Ministry of the Interior also spoke out on social media. “The explosion 46 years ago in Bologna of the deadly bomb that claimed the lives of 85 people and injured more than 200 left an indelible mark on the country’s collective conscience. The station clock, frozen at the minute the attack took place, still stands today as a testament to the inhumanity of the fascist-inspired subversive plot that sought to undermine the very heart of our democracy,” added Piantedosi.

“The terrorists, however, had to contend with the united and resolute response of society and the State, which never gave in,” emphasises Piantedosi - On this tragic anniversary, my heartfelt thoughts go out to the families of the victims who, despite their grief, have never ceased to demand truth and justice for their loved ones. Honouring those who lost their lives in the Bologna Bombing also means taking a clear stand against all forms of hatred and violence: a warning that is renewed year after year and urges us to defend the values of freedom and justice that underpin our Republic.”

“Forty-six years on from the infamous neo-fascist massacre that killed 85 people and injured over 200, we stand, and will continue to stand, alongside the Association of the Victims’ Families, which has been fighting for 46 years to bring the whole truth to light.” This was stated by the secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, on the sidelines of the commemorations for the 2 August massacre at Bologna station.

“We will not allow,” he added, “any attempts to rewrite history. History has been set in stone by the court rulings secured thanks, in part, to the work of the Association of Relatives and the Bologna Public Prosecutor’s Office, to whom we owe a great debt of gratitude for seeing the search for truth and justice through to the end, including in the trial of those who ordered the killings.”

Schlein pointed out that “it is stated in those judgements that this was a neo-fascist massacre, carried out with the aim of subverting the state and in collusion with corrupt state bodies”. According to the PD secretary, “we must now continue the search for the truth and carry out the necessary investigations, as the families of the victims have also called for today. The Democratic Party will play its part”. Finally, she called for the full implementation of the legislation on victims: “They are right to demand all the answers they are entitled to, including the full implementation of the law on victims. The truth is a right first and foremost of the families, but also of all Italian citizens”.