(Translation by Fabiana Noli)

Without being bad, it is absurd to block the civilian duties carried out by the objectors, as the Italian Minister of Defence, Mr. Scognamiglio, said during TG1 (television news) of monday, 9th August, claiming that 80 billions Lit. should need to the integration of the 120 allocated to the Financial program - integration, that was well-known insufficient.

When Mr. Scognamiglio asks for the army comprising with volunteers a rise of 2,400 billions a year for five years, and when the Members of Parliament had just risen their pay of 1,300,000 Lit. (and the salaries of the workers of Piaggio had an increase of hardly 70,000!) to reach a monthly of 20,000,000 Italian lire each of them (gross pay: 33,401,000 Lit.), how can anyone claim that it is impossible to scrape toghether 80 billions altogether, to start concretely the realization of the new law for the conscientious objectors that is approved since a year, and that interests 71,000 call-up young men?

We hope that you, Mr. D'Alema, will answer positively to the letter sent by the leaders of DS, Ppi and Verdi, asking you an urgent intervention through the Treasury. And this IMMEDIATELY, if you do not want to kill the civilian duties.

Evidently, when Mr. Scognamiglio calls "outrageous" the civilian duties instead of national service, as "fed by those who do not want to do one's military service", he shows a concept of defence exclusively military and different from what affirmed by the Italian Constitutional Court, that says that the "duty of defence of the native land" is "well done through adequate actions of social engagement non-armed also" (sentence n.164\85). The constitutional reserve of which you spoke about, as you can see, is well-founded and strong.

It is undeniable that the civilian duties are, on the whole - as Massimo Paolicelli of the Association of Non-violent Objectors (Associazione Obbiettori Nonviolenti: AON) says - "a school of active citizenship" (on <Il Manifesto> - an Italian daily - 10th August, 1999, p.14).

And there is all the speech about the POPULAR NON-VIOLENT DEFENCE, completely ignored by Mr. Scognamiglio and many politicians, in spite of the magnificient and not few historical pages already written, and in spite of the APPEAL OF TWENTY NOBEL FOR PEACE WINNERS for the whole first decade of 2000 millenium to be dedicated by UN to the education of people all over the world to the NON-VIOLENCE. At the present, the constitution of "White Crash-helmets" (non-armed), in Italy, in Europe and into UN, is operating.

It is constituted, in Italy, the association of the "White Berets", that organized and managed new "peace embassies" in some risky countries, and that is opening other similar ones. The new law about the conscientious objectors foresees explicitly, among the tasks of the National Office, to "arrange, in agreement with the Civilian Protection, forms of search and experimentation of civilian non-armed and non-violent defence" (Article 8 e). And some objectors went already to Kosovo on authorized civilian duties, and others are going to leave with the support of associations like Pope Giovanni XIII and GAVCI.

Besides, the civilian duties, as well says Massimo Paolicelli, "represents a full blown forge of critical consciences. If there was not the conscientious objectors to mobilize, also politically, against the constitution of a professional army, the reform would pass without too many problems". This does not depends on visceral and obtuse antipathy against the military service, but on a complete cultural and historical valuation that proves that the concept of national or regional army (for example an hypothetical european one) is absolutely surpassed, in the perspective of an UN more democratic and reinforced, also equipped with an International Police Corps, both armed and disarmed, to its direct dependence (see the enclosure "Anti-military campaign for non-violence").

And if you consider that the professional Army are thought functional to the NEW PATTERN OF DEFENCE, elaborated by NATO (London, 1990), and led ahead during successive meetings, my conscience shouts:

According to the "Features for the Development of Army in the 90s", introduced in the Parliament by the Defence Office in the October 1991, and according to similar assertions by the goverments of America, England, France, Germany..., the New Pattern of Defence looks as a WICKED AGREEMENT by the industrialized nations to the detriment of the South of the world.

In the better case, the Army comprising with volunteers looks like the mercenaries corps: men without scruples, at the disposal of those who pay more.

Such doubts come to light also in unsuspected environments as the Alpine troops or a general of Italian Air Force, Mr. Giancarlo Naldi, president of the International Apostleship , who is not a pacifist, but in spite of that said in a speech: "by now, the generalized passage, in the West countries, to the army comprising with volunteers, with the consequent abolition of the compulsory call-up, more than cancelling the cultural exchange between the external world and the military one..., risks to lead to a wrong conception (about such soldiers)... As a rule, they come from the poor... they run military service on behalf of the rich... We can also see that (the voluntary work) will inevitably bring the enlistment of excessively motivated and led to violence young people... Some recent episodes (Somalia...), that had the first page in the newspapers, and unfortunately came from nations with an high degree of civilization, show how true is what we are saying... In this <global village>, people feel the necessity to make a reference to over-national rules, already wished by the Vaticano II council... In the reality, UN had shown its incapability... also because in the Security Council seat the richer nations, that speculate in capitals. Therefore, UN should be completely changed...".

This long quotation can count as a confirmation of what recently affirmed on an article on <La Repubblica> - an Italian daily - 5th July 1999, by the Foreign Office Minister, Mr. Piero Fassino: "Also the militaries have some objections on the eventuality of the constitution of professional Army".

In conclusion, the project of the Prodi government and his Defence Minister, Mr. Andreatta, about an Army composed of both compulsory military service and voluntary call-up, should be at least recovered, with a proper law about the extended civilian duties, keeping the law about conscientious objectors; all the matter in a perspective of a new UN that really works for PEACE!