Via D’Amelio, 34 years on. Mattarella: the subversive plot has been foiled. Meloni: let us follow Borsellino’s example

“The Via D’Amelio massacre, which took place two months after the Capaci massacre, left a deep mark on the nation’s conscience. It represented the culmination of a subversive plot aimed at undermining democratic institutions and the very freedom of the Italian people.” So said the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, on the anniversary of the Via D’Amelio massacre, in which Borsellino and the five officers in his escort – Agostino Catalano, Emanuela Loi, Vincenzo Li Muli, Walter Eddie Cosina and Claudio Traina – were killed on 19 July 1992. Thanks to the ‘contribution’ of ‘men and women from the police force, the judiciary and the institutions’, the Head of State emphasised, that ‘subversive plot’ was ‘defeated. The Republic has proved itself to be stronger, by capturing and convicting the perpetrators and those who ordered the attack’.

“Thirty-four years after the massacre, our feelings of solidarity and closeness with the families of all those – men and women from the police force, the judiciary and public institutions – who defended our community from the cancer of the Mafia remain as strong as ever.” “Borsellino and Falcone are symbols of the country’s civil resurgence. Through their professionalism and courage, they brought about trials that had previously been impossible to hold. Through their commitment to the institutions, they provided the State with new and more advanced tools in the fight against the Mafia. Through their passion, they sowed the seeds of a culture of legality, teaching young people that Mafia logic must be countered right from everyday behaviour and in schools. Their commitment is part of the democratic conscience of the Republic.”

‘19 July is a date that has left its mark on the history of Italia. And it has also left its mark on my life. Paolo Borsellino left us a legacy of courage, love for our country and faith in young people: ‘If young people refuse to support it, even the all-powerful and mysterious Mafia will vanish like a nightmare’. In his memory, we continue to follow the path he showed us, with the same commitment to the fight against organised crime and the defence of the rule of law’. This was posted on social media by the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.

According to the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, “the Via d’Amelio massacre represents an indelible wound in our country’s history. And at the same time, it serves as a powerful reminder of the value of freedom. It tells us of silent heroes who, at the risk of their lives, chose to fight organised crime and its culture of abuse and violence. Magistrates, law enforcement officers, businesspeople and journalists who defended, even to the point of the ultimate sacrifice, the highest values upon which our democracy is founded. A courage never flaunted, which has made it possible to chart a different course. Their example still inspires, to this day, all those who, without holding back, devote their energies to the common good, making the fight against the mafia a way of life.”

“Remembrance alone is not enough; we must strengthen, on the one hand, the work of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies and, on the other, our cultural and social defences, whilst also supporting local councils and those working on the front line – without cutting the funds they need to implement social policies. Because it is only where the state is present and functioning that the power vacuums filled by the mafia are prevented.” So said the secretary of the PD , Elly Schlein .