"THE LADY" IN ROME

Yesterday a heroine of mine and, I am sure, of many readers of this blog, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, arrived in Rome for a series of meetings as part of her European tour.  "The lady", as she is often called, is a heroine here, too and I would like to add my voice to the many that have welcomed her to Italy.

Aung San Suu Kyi first travelled to the Campidoglio where she received, 19 years late, the scroll that makes her an honorary citizen of Rome. This honour was awarded to her in 1994 but, as she was under house arrest at the time, she was unable to accept it in person. At last, yesterday, it was presented to her by Mayor of Rome Ignazio Marino and one of his predecessors, Francesco Rutelli. In her acceptance speeech, Aung San Suu Kyi remembered visiting Rome as a student 40 years ago, when she had been very impressed by the friendliness of the people. She had enjoyed the gelato, too! Mr Marino told her that Rome would always be with her and that the world needs people like her. 

"The lady" also received the Rome Peace Prize and Roberto Baggio, who had accepted it on her behalf in 2007, was visibly moved.  He said that Aung San Suu Kyi's battles for freedom had not only changed the destiny of her own people, but also the everyday lives of others.

This morning Prime Minister Letta received Aung San Suu Kyi at the Palazzo Chigi and assured her of his full support in her work to advance Burma's transition to democracy, particularly with regard to the constitutional reforms that will be necessary.  Mr Letta thanked "the lady" for her tireless fight for democracy and freedom and invited her to Expo 2015 as food security, one of the themes of the festival, is of interest to her. She accepted the invitation with pleasure.

Later "the lady" discussed human rights and religious freedom in a private audience with Pope Francis and afterwards met President Napolitano, Foreign Minister Emma Bonino, President of the Senate Pietro Grasso and Laura Boldrini, President of the Chamber of Deputies.

The Eternal City loves you, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Please come again soon!

THREE TYPES OF DEMONSTRATIONS - PART 2

Image: Wikimedia Commons

On Monday it was the turn of Italy's police unions to demonstrate, which they did peacefully in many towns including Rome, where they held a sit-in outside Parliament. They were protesting against government cuts which, police say, make it impossible to guarantee public safety as they do not even have sufficient funds to purchase the petrol they need for their vehicles.

Unions involved say that their members also lack office supplies, computer upgrades and maintenance, uniforms and the funds to pay for maintenance work on the buildings where they work.   For the first time, the police unions asked for donations from the public so that they can buy petrol.

Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza police did not demonstrate as they are military and therefore banned by statute from doing so.  Representatives of Italy's non-military police forces, Fire Service and Forestry Commission are planning further demonstrations in the near future.

As Rome burned on Saturday, a very different kind of demonstration which did not make the headlines was taking place along the route to Catania's Fontanarossa Airport:  after ten hours of torrential rain, residents found their homes flooded for the umpteenth time, despite recent maintenance work which had been carried out in the area.   Some of the residents took to their rooftops to protest against the authorities' lack of action, whilst others blocked access roads to the airport.  

Several flights were delayed as their crews could not reach the airport and a crew-carrying bus which tried to force its way through the barricade had a window broken whilst a stewardess travelling in it was slightly injured.  Passengers travelling to the airport by bus had to alight on the approach roads and wade to the departures terminal with their luggage.

The residents' action seems to have worked as the Mayor of Catania went to meet them on the same day and he later called an emergency meeting of municipal engineers and maintenance staff with a view to satisfying their demands. 

I sympathise with the residents but I am glad I was not airport-bound that day.

SABATO MUSICALE PER I TRENI DELLE DONNE

I am dedicating this week's sabato musicale to the women who have travelled to Rome by train today from Bologna and Palermo in order to demonstrate in defence of the Italian Constitution.

The founder of the movement, Sicilian architect Nella Toscano, points out that the country's recent troubles have hit women, who comprise 51% of the population, particularly hard and feels that it is time for Italy's women to join together to defend the Constitution, in particular Article 1, which states that "Italy is a democratic republic,  founded on work", Article 11, which repudiates war and Article 41, which states that public and private economic activity should be coordinated to social objectives.

The two trains converging upon Rome from the North and South of the country also symbolise the unity of Italy.

Sergio Endrigo - Il treno che viene dal sud

FERRAGOSTO: A MOMENT FOR "THE LADY"

As this day of celebration draws to a close in Italy, I ask you, if you can, to spare a thought for one who has had no holiday and no freedom in 14 years: Burma's pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was, in a sham of a trial, convicted last week of breaching national security and sentenced to a further 18 months of house arrest. The regime, of course, knew that the eyes of the world were upon them and had this not been the case, I fear that the sentence would have been harsher, as it would have been and has been for others in Burma whom we must not forget.

This shows that we who live in freedom can make a difference and we can do so at this juncture by joining the call for a global arms embargo on Burma. Countries which have already called for this include the UK, the USA, Australia, France and Italy. Countries which have not yet done so include New Zealand, Canada and Switzerland. [This information is, as far as I can tell from several sources, correct at the time of writing; please correct me if I am wrong.] You can find out more about the arms embargo campaign here and how to get involved, wherever you are, here.

"The Lady" and the National League for Democracy are asking only for those freedoms which most of us take for granted:

"When we ask for democracy, all we are asking is that our people should be allowed to live tranquilly under the rule of law, protected by institutions which will guarantee our rights, the rights that will enable us to maintain our human dignity, to heal long festering wounds and to allow love and courage to flourish. Is that such a very unreasonable demand?"

- Aung San Suu Kyi, Letters from Burma [1996].

FOR THE SAKE OF DEMOCRACY

I am very late tonight and it is because I have spent most of the afternoon and evening finding out more about this, to which I was alerted by this twitter friend. The situation has both upset and appalled me: upset me because brute force has been used against peaceable women and appalled me because it is happening in the 21st century; appalled me, also, because feminist groups in the west have apparently paid little attention to the case.

To sum up the relevant events as briefly as I can, the journalist Lubna Ahmed Hussein was arrested in a Khartoum restaurant in July, along with 12 other women, including non-Muslims, who were "indecently" attired in trousers. Some of the women were prosecuted immediately , lashed and fined. Lubna insisted on calling a lawyer and wants her case to go to full trial. Later she resigned her UN status, which would have given her immunity from prosecution. She feels that she is fighting for all Sudanese women. If convicted, Lubna could be flogged 40 times. Her trial today was adjourned. I understand that only the French Govenment has condemned the initial floggings.

Lubna's "indecent" or "disrespectful" attire was this:

As I understand it, this is perfectly acceptable female attire to most Muslims. But even if it were not, men cannot dictate to women what they may and may not wear and I don't care whether the man in question is The Pope, a Muslim cleric, a fashion designer or Joe Bloggs down the road. Interestingly, the US Embassy to the Holy See seems to think the Vatican has a "no pants" rule for women, whereas the Vatican itself claims it doesn't!

When men impose dress rules upon women and mix these up with their own ideals of "purity", or of a "woman's place", using "religion" or political doctrine to justify them, nothing but unhappiness for both sexes can ensue.

What is the first thing an extreme right-wing faction does after taking power by violent means? It gains control of the media. And what is the second thing? It attempts to control its nation's women. Women are told in no uncertain terms that they cannot wear trousers [Chile], that their place is in the home [Mussolini, Franco] and from there it becomes clear that they have no rights. Dictators fear the power of words and they also fear women.

Why? Long before 9/11 and its consequences I read a book called The Harem Within by Fatima Mernissi. Much of this book consists of charming tales of the author's childhood in 1940s Fez but always she is questioning the concept of the harem and wondering why it is the men, not the women, who walk freely. In a footnote she explains that "domestic" harems were really extended families who continued the tradition of secluding women. She writes:

"What defines a harem is not polygamy, but the men's desire to seclude their wives."

Be secluded or completely cover yourself: women have to be hidden in some way and all this, the men would have us believe, is done to "protect" women. Think about it for a minute: how can a state defend polygamy and claim to be protecting women? Mernissi writes:

"The fundamentalist press's defence of polygamy and divorce is in fact an attack against the right of women to participate in the law-making process. "

[Bear with me, reader - I'm getting there!]

And:

"But that historical heritage [that of early Islam's anti-slavery stance] did not influence the position of some of the conservative Arab leaders who resisted the slavery ban by camouflaging it as an attack on the 'umma', the Muslim community, which is exactly what they are doing today with women's rights. They know too well that they cannot promote democracy without liberating women. Their resistance to women's rights is in fact a rejection of democratic principles and human rights." [My italics.]

I have thought that that was the key since I first read it in 1994. Therefore it is for democracy and for human rights that I ask you, today, to support Lubna Ahmed Hussein. There is a campaign on facebook and advice on other measures you can take here.

Finally, do take a few minutes to listen to this interview with Lubna. I am quite proud that it was a BBC woman journalist who asked the $64,000 question!

Thank you.

ITALY - MUSINGS ON A DEMOCRACY

"So Italy reverts to type", a BBC World presenter commented disparagingly last night after announcing that the Prodi government had just resigned. Yes, it does seem that way sometimes to people outside Italy and I meet many Italians who are concerned about the image of their country abroad generated by the constant changes of government.

But reserve your judgement for a moment, as if you look at the parliamentary system it should be perfect: both Chambers in the Italian Parliament have equal rights , the Senate or upper Chamber is elected [apart from former Presidents and up to five members appointed by the Prime Minister sitting as life senators] and a proportional representation system which the British Lib-Dems might envy, on paper, operates. So why doesn't it work? Largely because the proportional system leads to the election of many smaller parties, which in itself gives rise to a need for coalitions. The Prodi Unione coalition included eleven parties when I last counted and these were as far apart, ideologically, as the Greens and the unreformed Communists. So it was always going to be a difficult group to hold together and few people here expected the government to last a year!

Another factor is that Italians are anything but apathetic politically [ with voter turnout at 83.6% in the 2006 general election]. If there is a burning issue, few here would profess themselves as an "I don't know" on it. Rather, they are out in the piazze demonstrating and making their feelings felt very quickly, so last week's protests at the planned expansion of the US base at Vicenza have had an impact. You see this political commitment in schools, too; perhaps because some of Italy's freedoms have been won relatively recently, people are not complacent about them, and young people are willing to make their voices heard, participate in a school strike or demonstrate in a way that would be unimaginable in the UK. All this, in my opinion, is healthy.

This is a country that elected Berlusconi in full knowledge, or almost full knowledge, of the former Premier's faults; yet someone like Blair would not last one, let alone ten years here. There would have been so many hard-hitting demonstrations against him by now, and certainly a vote of no confidence.

No one could pretend that these constant changes of government are good for the country or a recipe for stability, yet they do show democracy in action. And for all its faults, let us not forget that this country of very diverse regions, unified only since 1861 and ununited by a common language until the advent of television in most homes during the 1960s [ prior to this, the majority spoke dialect] has remained a democracy since the end of World War 11. That, I believe, is a proud achievement.

As I've said before, here it is accepted that politicians are fallible and governments are expected to fall - "pazienza", as they are saying in the cafés and out on the streets right now.