Trentino: the Skinheads’ rally has been given the go-ahead; at least 140 police officers will be on duty

‘Return to Camelot’, the international gathering of the far right organised by Veneto Fronte Skinheads, is going ahead. The Provincial Committee for Public Order and Safety in Trento has decided not to ban the event, which will take place from 3 to 6 September in Pietramurata, in the municipality of Dro, in Trentino. The controversy that has been rife for days now as the event draws nearer shows no sign of abating; the rally is opposed by opposition parties, associations and trade unions, who denounce it as unconstitutional.

The event, which will feature concerts, talks and book and music stalls, will take place on private land near the Ciclamino Hotel. At the conclusion of the meeting that gave the go-ahead for the event, the Prefect of Trento, Isabella Fusiello, announced that, in order to maintain public order and safety outside the hotel premises, ‘assistance has been requested from the State Police, the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza’. Furthermore, as Fusiello explained, personnel from the DIGOS and other units are also expected to be present inside the hotel ‘precisely to monitor their behaviour; should any actions be found to be of a criminal nature, they will be reported to the judicial authorities’.

Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, Police Commissioner Nicola Zupo added that the event is estimated to attract 300 or 400 people at most and that, from the evening of 2 September until 6 September, 120–140 officers will be deployed, partly in anticipation of the protest march scheduled for Thursday 3rd: “These officers have been deployed not only to prevent clashes but also to ensure that the instructions issued by the Chief of Police are complied with by those taking part in the gathering.”

At the end of the Committee meeting, the mayor of Dro, Ginetta Santoni, stated that ‘unfortunately, we have found ourselves having to deal with this situation, which we did not want. We do not agree with the spirit of the demonstration and it is regrettable that Pietramurata should become a gathering place for extremists and be placed under heavy security’. The mayor, however, also expressed confidence in the ability of the provincial authorities to ensure that excessive unrest is avoided: ‘I am convinced that the authorities will be able to guarantee the safety of the public’.

On 31 August, the mayor of Trento, Franco Ianeselli, also strongly condemned ‘Ritorno a Camelot’, pointing out that ‘Veneto Fronte Skinhead is one of the oldest neo-fascist and white supremacist organisations in Italy’. Ianeselli also highlighted the incompatibility of the far-right rally with the presence of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, who will be in Trentino during the days of the event to mark the 80th anniversary of the agreement that led to the province’s autonomy. “As the historian Francesco Filippi has written, it is one or the other: either the Nazi-Fascist rally is legitimised, or the anti-Fascist celebration of autonomy is honoured – a celebration born of the democracy and freedom won thanks to the Partisan Resistance. The two cannot coexist,” stated Ianeselli.