Colorful banners, moments of silence, torchlight processions, Peace marches, speeches by representatives of civil society organizations, chants, sit-ins and flash-mobs. These are the initiatives that enlivened the squares of the 75 Italian cities that took action for Peace in the first of the days of mobilization promoted by the Europe for Peace Coalition to call on politics (starting with the Italian government and parliament) for a peace effort for Ukraine and for all war situations in the world. Street events convened on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24, 2022-a violation of the UN Charter and international law demanding immediate justice.
The response was significant, as expected after the success of the preparatory initiatives held in the days leading up to Feb. 24 [2023]: more than 40,000 people gathered at the events organized by the local structures of Europe For Peace member organizations. Thousands of activists but also ordinary citizens took to the streets in Milan, Palermo, Turin, Padua, Verona, Bologna, Genoa, Cagliari, Sondrio, Mantua, La Spezia, Modena, Reggio Calabria… and in many other medium and small towns scattered throughout the Peninsula; to relaunch the shared demands for Peace and listen to the reflections and proposals of “Europe For Peace”: “Wars and weapons aim at victory over the enemy but do not lead to peace: they tend to become permanent and only cause new suffering for populations. Instead, we must let peace win, restore violated law, ensure shared security. There is no just war; only peace is just. War is made by armies, peace is made by peoples.”
Also on Saturday, February 25 [2023], more than 40 cities [planned to be] involved in collective mobilization initiatives for peace, with the main events in Ancona, Bari, Caserta, Catania, Como, Florence, Lecce, Naples, Turin, Trento, Treviso, and Udine; not forgetting the event promoted in the afternoon in Rome by the national coalition: a torchlight procession for peace that [planned] to end at the Campidoglio with speeches by representatives of “Europe For Peace”
