Strasbourg, 10 December 1991

Dear editor,

1) the Radical Party's action relative to the shameful responsibilities of Europe and Italy on the occasion of the "former Yugoslav" conflict, has been expressing itself for at least 20 days also through nonviolent forms of struggle, such as the fasting of some of the members of the Federal Council, of the European Parliament, of the Parliaments of the Soviet Union, Russia, Ukraine, Czecoslovakia, Rumania, Italy and Croatia - the latter including representatives of Dubrovnik and Osijek. For my part, I have been fasting for over twenty days....

The ostracism of all the Italian press, with no exceptions, has been complete. Why am I talking about ostracism?

2) the Radical Party's action has focused on the adhesion to the Radical Party of the Prime Minister, of the Vice Prime Minister, of the President of the Republic, Mesic, of the President of the (dissolved) Parliament of Kosovo, of almost thirty Croatian parliamentarians, of the Vice Foreign Minister of Slovenia, of intellectuals and nonviolent militants, many of whom have had a first-hand experience in the "front".

I dare anyone to deny that these represent "news". I dare anyone to deny that the COMPLETE ABSENCE of interviews, debates and information is an alarming behaviour, which needs to be understood and known.

3) If we believed in "violence", or if we accepted to practice violent, "exasperated" forms of demonstration and struggle, we would no doubt have benefited of the privilege of having much publicity, reprobation but also information and debates for our evil actions. Our institutional, parliamentary actions, on the contrary, have been systematically denied, in all fora.

4) The Italian journalistic category once again demonstrates a form of culture and civil presence which succeeds in expressing itself with extraordinary accuracy and completeness: it is geometric, arithmetic, more than "historically" complete. Without contradictions. The flood of compulsory information on former Yugoslavia corresponds to a policy which aims at treating it as a sort of "natural catastrophe". Today those who remained awake at night and kept us awake last year, to comment different information and positions on the Gulf War, are massively engaged in preventing any political debate, any true cognizance of the events. The Tg3 stands out for this. The others do not even stand out for this.

Having said this, we will insist against this deplorable image of Europe and of Italy, which repeats that of the '30s, from the Left (the France of the Popular Front, Paris the communist, which is neutral vis-à-vis the military coup against the legal republic in Spain while the Nazi and fascist troops are officially in action there) and from the Right, confused with Nazism and fascism.

In particular, your attitude will force us to "go beyond", not to "let go".

This is why, AS PRESIDENT OF THE RADICAL PARTY'S FEDERAL COUNCIL AND MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, I HAVE DECIDED TO RELINQUISH THE FAST AND THE ONGOING ACTIVITY TO MOVE TO OSIJEK BY CHRISTMAS (and sooner if possible) WEARING THE CROATIAN UNIFORM FOR A "front line" UNARMED SERVICE, waiting for the Radical Party to take the same position as a Party, and no longer as a personal political initiative.

I do not thank you, Mr editor

Yours sincerely

Marco Pannella

P.S. I believe it will be rather easy to trace the direct inspiration of Gandhi, with the full assumption of responsibility during the war against the Zulus and World War I in my decision, which will be illustrated at 15:00 at the European Parliament during a joint press conference with Adam Demaci, 1991 Sakharov Prize.