ABSTRACT: The author expresses his astonishment over the interview that Nando Dalla Chiesa (2) gave to »L'Espresso in which the general's son accuses him, Sciascia, ("delirium, utterly outlandish, "braying") of having had relations with Michele Sindona (3) to whom he was even supposed to have given "advice", and of having written an article in »L'Espresso in order to start up a sort of "counteroffensive", perhaps due to pressure from the DC (Christian Democrats). Sciascia assures us that both cases are nothing but "insinuations" without any basis in fact.

(L'ESPRESSO, March 6, 1983)

(Introduction by the editors of »L'Espresso ) »Professor Nando Dalla Chiesa last year reproved intellectuals (in an open letter in "La Repubblica" (4)) of not doing enough to oppose the Mafia who had assassinated his father, General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa. (1) Then (in an interview in "Panorama" (5)) Nando Dalla Chiesa picked a quarrel with Leonardo Sciascia who in "Il Corriere della Sera" had discussed the Mafia, analysing its new aspects and suggesting that the general had perhaps not entirely understood them. Immediately taken up by Nando Dalla Chiesa, Sciascia wrote an article defending his position in "L'Espresso" No. 7 of February 20 (entitled "Even Generals Make Mistakes"). Prof. Dalla Chiesa replied with an interview in "La Repubblica" of February 20-21. This is Leonardo Sciascia's reply to the interview.

Last Sunday, before they brought me the newspaper »La Repubblica containing the interview with General Dalla Chiesa's son, I had received many telephone calls to tell me and comment about it. Everyone called it "delirious" and more than one person added "outlandish". Later when I read it I was able to confirm that it was truly delirious and said outlandish things - that is quite literally from the land of delirium and mania. And my first reaction was to let it pass and just to write to the editor of »L'Espresso to ask him please to reprint the interview in its entirety. That would have pleased me, but becoming aware of the reasons against doing so, I simply asked those who had not read it to look for a copy. It is to be found on page 9 of »La Repubblica of February 20. But this first reaction was followed by another caused by my automatically remembering a great, emblematic phrase from Don Quixote. Delirium, outlandish things; but Cervantes notices that when things which seem to be outlandish give o

ff a braying noise it is a sign that they are of this land. And the interview was almost totally a braying, an angry braying of this land of ours where one no longer analyses facts or discusses opinions.

But setting aside the brayings, to which obviously one cannot reply except by braying oneself, and I am entirely incapable of it, there is from time to time in the interview something that more unequivocally pertains to our land than the brayings, or at least to a certain part of our land: and that is lying, lying defamation and calumny, cold-blooded roguishness. This passage from the interview, for example, is worth being quoted: "I would not want that in all of this anyone should use the same reasoning as Michele Sindona did once with regard to Sciascia when he sent emissaries to him asking him to set up an opinion campaign in his favour, which Sciascia in the end did not do, but only limited himself to giving some advice."

Now, at the time I immediately told all my friends about a visit I had received from a hometown friend who was living in America and who only spoke to me of the innocence of his friend Sindona and how he was the victim of machinations. Without asking anything of me, he said he would let me have documents that proved the innocence and the machinations. Documents that I never received; and only during the summer of last year did I receive a memoir which I have not yet read. Later, from a letter of Sindona's published in a weekly, I knew what Sindona wanted of me, but which my hometown friend did not attempt to ask me to do. That I gave "some advice" is therefore a lie and a defamation. And if the general's son does not specify the source from which he learned that I gave advice to Sindona and what this advice consisted of, it is my right to consider him a little scoundrel.

Another bit of roguery is the final phrase of the interview when the general's son considers my article published in »L'Espresso as the possible beginning of a counteroffensive which he hopes "will stop with words". Not only does he forget - wants to forget and make others forget - that it was he himself who provoked my article, but he insinuates that it was - how can I say it? - commissioned by the Christian Democrats (DC) (and for him the DC is tout court the Mafia) and that from words, from my words!, deeds can follow. An insinuation of this kind could only be forthcoming from a being devoid of intelligence but full of abject ambition.

The fact is that this poor creature has been made to think that one must not and cannot speak ill of General Dalla Chiesa just as one could not (and perhaps still cannot) of Garibaldi. But the figure of General Dalla Chiesa belongs to the chronicles of these years and to history. Neither did I intend in a general way to speak ill of him. I spoke of facts and I expressed opinions: but the general's son refused to enter on to this terrain. As the saying goes, may he profit from it. And I think we will see the profit that he will be up to squeezing out of it.

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TRANSLATOR'S NOTES

1) Dalla Chiesa, Carlo Alberto - (Saluzzo 1920 - Palermo 1982) - General of the Carabinieri. Co-ordinator of investigations of the "Red Brigades" since 1978. Turned out to be enrolled, along with his brother, in Licio Gelli's Masonic Lodge "P2", but stated that he joined only to check on what was going on there. In 1982 he was nominated "Super" Police Chief of Palermo for the fight against the Mafia and was assassinated along with his wife in Palermo on September 3, 1982.

2) Dalla Chiesa, Fernando known as Nando - (Florence 1949) - Son of General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa. He was elected deputy of the "Rete" movement during the 11th Legislature.

3) Sindona, Michele - (Patti 1920 - Voghera 1986) - Italian financier. Between 1969 and 1974 he erected a financial empire. Implicated in suspicious operations and compromised with sectors of political spheres, he underwent a first crisis which led him to take refuge in the United States. Implicated in a new bank failure there, he was arrested and convicted. Extradited to Italy he died in suspicious circumstances in the Voghera prison on March 22, 1986.

4) La Repubblica - A popular Rome daily.

5) Panorama - A popular Italian weekly.