PHOTO | That time Minister Roccella was challenged at the Turin Book Fair
It happened one year, and even then a storm arose. The minister was supposed to present her book 'A radical family', but some activists from Non una di meno and Exctiontion rebel attacked her on the topic of abortion
BOLOGNA – It is not the first time that Minister Eugenia Roccella has ended up in the crosshairs of protesters during a public meeting. An episode similar to today’s practically exactly one day ago – it was May 20, 2023 – at the Turin Book Fair, where she went to present her book “A Radical Family”. Even in that case, as is happening today, there was shouting about “censorship”, “squadist” methods and the political world (starting from the centre-right) was outraged by the objections received from the minister, who had been ‘prevented from speaking‘. That time, even the presentation of the book in question was cancelled. Today, however, at the States General of the birth rate, the minister chose to leave the stage after being challenged.
On May 20th a year ago the protests started from a group of feminists from Extinction Rebellion and Non una di meno, who were in the audience: at the time of the protest, some of them undressed and remained in their bra and showed “Free abortion” writings drawn on the body to contest Roccella’s words (at the time they were a few days fresh) on abortion, which, the minister had said, “unfortunately is a right“. Today, around forty students (mostly females) were whistling and shouting ‘Shame’ in some Roman high schools and universities.
WHAT HAPPENED ONE YEAR AGO
On May 20, 2023, Roccella was at the literary event in Turin to present his book “A radical family” in the space dedicated to the Piedmont Region. The protest came from activists partly from Extinction rebel and partly from the feminist collective Non Una di Meno. After the protest, Digos intervened and identified and reported around twenty activists. The minister commented at the end of the day, saying she was saddened by the fact “women prevented other women from speaking“. The minister also said she regretted the fact that Roccella intervened on Facebook at the end of the day saying that she was struck by the fact that the director of the Book Fair Nicola Lagioia, called to intervene on stage at the time of the protest, “had nottaken a strong and clear position to protect freedom of expression“. The writer said that “in a democracy protests are legitimate as long as they are not violent” and invited the activists to have a discussion with the minister, which however did not happen.
In the evening, then, harsh words from Lagioia also arrived against the Fratelli d’Italia deputy, Augusta Montaruli, who took to the stage in an attempt to calm the protest in Roccella and mediate. Montaruli would have lashed out at him shouting “Shame” for his words regarding the “legitimate as long as they are non-violent” protests.
The protesters wrote on social media: “We are at the book fair in the Piedmont Region pavilionto contest Minister Roccella who declares that “unfortunately ‘abortion is a women’s right‘. The minister she is the perfect guest of the Region which allocates 2 million euros to anti-abortion associations while day after day it proceeds to dismantle public healthcare and universal welfare”.