Rival migration rallies draw thousands in Rome
Police kept opposing demonstrations apart as a far-right migration petition reached the threshold for parliamentary debate in Italy.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Tens of thousands of people rallied in Rome on Saturday in opposing demonstrations over Italy’s migration policy, AFP and The Associated Press reported. The protests came as a far-right petition calling for tougher measures against migrants reached the signature threshold needed for discussion in parliament.
AFP and AP reported that several thousand people joined an anti-migration march in the Prati district, while a separate pro-migration demonstration elsewhere in the capital drew tens of thousands. Authorities deployed thousands of police officers to keep the rival groups apart, according to the agencies.
Petition heads toward parliament
The anti-migration campaign, called “Remigration and Reconquest,” gathered the 50,000 signatures required to bring its proposal before parliament, AFP and AP reported. The petition calls for measures aimed at foreigners, including forced returns to countries of origin.
The term “remigration” has been used in far-right politics to refer to the removal of ethnic minorities, Al Jazeera reported. The campaign has moved that idea from fringe circles into a formal political debate in Italy, according to AFP and AP.
Luca Marsella, a spokesman for the neofascist group Casapound, told the anti-migration rally that supporters wanted to force undocumented migrants out of Italy. He also said legal migrants who, in his view, had not assimilated or integrated should be sent home.
AP reported that some participants in the anti-migration march made fascist salutes and shouted “Duce,” a reference to Benito Mussolini, during the demonstration.
Counterprotest rejects deportations
The pro-migration march opposed the government’s security and migration measures, including a repatriation bonus plan that opposition parties and legal groups have criticised, AP reported. One banner at the march read: “Skin and sweat have the same colour, no deportation,” according to AP.
The dispute has put pressure on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition, AFP and AP reported. The League, a coalition party with a hard line on migration, supports bringing the petition into parliamentary debate, while Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and centrist allies have been more cautious about backing a proposal associated with extremist groups, according to the agencies.
Opposition politicians and legal experts say the proposal would breach constitutional and international protections against discrimination by targeting people on ethnic grounds, including naturalised citizens and their descendants, AFP and AP reported.
Angelo Bonelli, a left-wing politician, told Italy’s la Repubblica newspaper that the “so-called remigration bill” relies on exclusion based on ethnic and cultural background and is incompatible with Italy’s constitution and the rule of law.
The clash over the petition comes while Meloni’s government is also expanding legal labour migration, AFP and AP reported. The government has approved a multiyear plan to admit hundreds of thousands of non-EU workers to help fill shortages in key sectors of the economy, according to the agencies.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.