67,248 Italians propose new law declaring Italy a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone
March 27, 2008
On Thursday March 27th a delegation presented to the Italian Parliament 67.248 certified signatures of Italian citizens asking the Republic of Italy to be declared a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone. For six months almost 100 local committees of concerned citizens, assisted by mayors and councillors, collected signatures for a law in order to declare Italy a "Nuclear Weapon Free Zone". The platform of local authorities and social movements grew steadily following the first official signatures of the Mayors of Ghedi and Aviano during a ceremony on 30 September 2007. The airforce bases of Ghedi and Aviano in northern Italy host a total of 90 US nuclear weapons against the will of the Italian people.
Lisa Clark, the coordinator of the campaign for a Nuclear Free Future declared: "If the will of the People is upheld and the draft law is approved, Italy could become the second European state that declares itself Nuclear Weapon Free. At present, Austria is the only European country with a Nuclear Free Constitution. Today already 113 States in the world outlawed nuclear weapons and declared regional Nuclear Weapon Free Zones: Central and Southern America, Africa, the Pacific and Oceania, Central- and South-East Asia and also Mongolia."
Lisa Clark, the coordinator of the campaign for a Nuclear Free Future declared: "If the will of the People is upheld and the draft law is approved, Italy could become the second European state that declares itself Nuclear Weapon Free. At present, Austria is the only European country with a Nuclear Free Constitution. Today already 113 States in the world outlawed nuclear weapons and declared regional Nuclear Weapon Free Zones: Central and Southern America, Africa, the Pacific and Oceania, Central- and South-East Asia and also Mongolia."
Lisa Clark during press interview
The formalities required by law to certify the signatures are very strict: and so they should be, since this procedure allows the People to become legislators! The forms on which signatures are collected must first be stamped and dated by the Courts; each person’s signature must be vouched for by a public official who certifies that person’s identity; then, the Electoral Office in the municipality where each signatory resides is required to certify that that person is indeed registered in the voter’s roll in that city, adding each individual registration number to the forms. The entire process cannot take longer than 6 months, vouched for by the earliest date stamped by a Court on the forms and the date on which the forms are presented to Parliament.
The bill presented to the Italian Parliament is very simple. Just a few lines to have Italy declared a Nuclear Weapon Free country, a text modelled on Austria’s constitutional law. If approved, it will mean the dismantling of the 90 B61s nuclear weapons in Ghedi and Aviano.
The Draft Law initiated by the People reads
Article 1. Aims
1. The territory of the Republic of Italy, including its airspace, its underground and territorial waters, is officially declared "nuclear weapons free zone".
2. Transit or storage, even temporary, of nuclear weapons, or parts of nuclear weapons, is not allowed under any circumstance whatsoever on the territory of the Republic, as defined in para.1.
3. The Government shall adopt all necessary measures, both nationally and internationally, to ensure the full implementation of this Article within 60 days from the entry into force of this law.
Article 2. Entry into force
1. This law enters into force the same day it is published in the Official Bulletin of the Republic.
The areas of Italy where the largest number of signatures were collected paint an interesting picture. The highest number come from the Province of Brescia: this is the province that includes Ghedi and is also the biggest arms-producing zone in Italy. Second came the Province of Vicenza, where popular opposition to the planned new US base has revived a widespread culture of peace and disarmament. Well over half the signatures came from only 3 out of Italy’s 20 Regions: Veneto, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna.
The Italian organisers delivered to Parliament 12 boxes of forms. But the signatures of ordinary citizens were also accompanied by the support of over 30 Parliamentarians and almost 200 Municipalities and Provinces. Most of them had approved a Council Resolution in support of the Campaign. Interestingly, while the majority were administered by centre-left coalitions, there were also some centre-right administrations: in the city of Alba, for example, where an opposition councillor submitted the resolution asking for a vote of conscience, the text was approved without a single vote against.
The bill is now required by law to be put on the agenda within 60 days of the inauguration of the new Parliament. There are general elections scheduled in Italy on 13-14 April. A lot of work will be needed to build a broad coalition of Parliamentarians supporting the bill. Meanwhile the organizers shall continue to collect the support of local governments. International support would also be welcome.
