In the end, the agreement was reached: on the evening of Friday 9th, tomorrow, Amadeushost and artistic director of 74th Sanremo Italian Song Festival, will read a statement from the farmers who are protesting throughout Italy and abroad against the European Union’s sector policies. Protesters from the agricultural sector set up principals and organize processions of tractors for over a week now. They won’t go on stage Ariston Theatretherefore, the representatives of Riscattoagricoltura, who arrived in the Ligurian city to “invade” the most important Italian television event of the year and bring their requests to the stage.
Arriving at dawn in the hamlet of Bussana, the seven tractor drivers left yesterday evening from Melegnano. After traveling 240 km, they stopped near the flower market. They then set off again and escorted by the police, towards the center, where the Ariston Theater is located. Now they reached the Trento and Trieste walk, in the presence of the Ercolina cow with the calf Giulia. Police and Digos are present.
“We have not reached an agreement with Rai, but now they can’t withdraw the invitation, they wouldn’t make a good impression” Filippo Goglio, one of the leaders of the Riscatto Agricolo movement, which left Melegnano last night, told LaPresse. “We aim to get on the Ariston stage” Davide Pedrotti, one of the leaders of the movement, confirmed to Adnkronos. “Only 5 minutes to explain our reasons to Italian citizens”. But precisely, as said above, the square was found.
But it is Rome the “still hot” front of the protest: “If we don’t have answers our tractors will leave the garrison and go free” for Rome. He says it Andrea Popeone of the leaders of agricultural redemption, speaking of a “ultimatum” to the Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida. “We want a meeting with the minister but so far no one has contacted us – adds Pope -, tomorrow’s demonstration in San Giovanni is the only positive result of these days and tomorrow morning our ten tractors will move from the garrison escorted by the police”. But if the minister does not respond to the ultimatum which expires on Saturday at 12, he concludes, the tractors “will go free for the city”.
In Potenza, one hundred tractors heading towards the Region. Tomorrow around a hundred farmers will reach Rome from Cagliari
About a hundred tractors set out this morning, a Power, from the meeting point adjacent to the Basentana state road towards the institutional headquarters of the Basilicata Regional Council. A very long caravan is crossing an important area of the Lucanian capital, inevitably affecting city traffic, which will culminate with the mobilization sit-in and the delivery of a document in which the requests to the Lucanian Assembly will be listed. Among them, the establishment of a technical table involving above all sector operators, to study suitable measures for the Lucanian agricultural sector; there reduction in the price of diesel agricultural and water for use in agriculture; suitable funds to compensate for lost income from agricultural production; the establishment of a protection body to determine the price of products.
They will leave tomorrow morning, however, with the first flight to Rome i shepherds they Sardinian farmers who will participate tomorrow in the large national demonstration in Piazza San Giovanni. “There will be about a hundred of us from Sardinia – Roberto Congia, one of the spokesmen of the protest on the island, explains to ANSA – and we will bring the voice and protest of our campaigns with our presence and our banners”.
Disruptions throughout Spain
On the third day of farmers’ mobilisations, protest spreads to Spain. Alongside independent farmers, the main professional agricultural associations Asaja, Coag and Upa are also joining today, having announced a calendar of events in various provinces of the country until February 27th, which was also joined by Union de Uniones.
TO Barcelonawhere they arrived yesterday 1,250 tractorsafter spending the night on the street, a convoy of about a hundred heavy vehicles blocks the central Gran Via and the Diagonal heading towards the Catalan Parliament, in the park of La Ciudadela, reports the traffic police.
From north to south of the peninsula, roadblocks continue. In Navarre (north), around thirty tractors concentrated in front of the house of the president of the regional government, Maria Civite, protected by a police cordon, as the images taken by TVE show. Columns of tractors impede traffic on the main highway connecting Barcelona to Madrid. And they paralyze nodal points of circulation in Castileon the eastern side of the peninsula, at Vall D’Alba, as well as in the region ofExtremadurain the province of Palencia, informs the traffic police.
Interrupted for the third day the highway that connects Seville, Andalusia, to Cadiz. The farmers’ aim is to block some of the main logistics distribution centers, such as the port of Castellon and Jerez airport. The main agricultural organizations are calling for unity of action to demand flexibility in European environmental legislation, fairer trade agreements with countries outside the EU and aid for the crisis caused by drought, Asaja reports in a note.