“But what comments, it was violence”- Corriere.it

Yesterday’s courtroom shorthand transcript in the House of when Aboubakar Soumahoro spoke, ha s
raised the protest of Soumahoro himself today. Davide Faraone of Italia viva was the first to complain about it hotly, asking publicly to interrupt the howls addressed to his colleague elected with the Alleanza Verdi and Sinistra and then moved on to the Misto group following the story of the cooperatives for migrants managed by his wife and mother-in-law. But now, the next day, having read the official report, it was the Ivorian-born trade unionist himself who said: «I ask that the shorthand report contain a qualitative description of what happened yesterday in the Chamber. You cannot ape in this House! You can’t howl in this House.”

Yesterday, during Soumahoro’s explanation of vote on the Prime Minister’s communications relating to the EU Council, the deputy was in fact interrupted, with shouts and epithets, from the centre-right benches. A tussle. Too little reporting in shorthand, according to the trade unionist. «Referring to the voices and shouts that came from the benches of the majority, in the shorthand report we just mention “comments”: it is generic with respect to the seriousness of what happened. Let’s talk about the highest place that represents our democracy. I ask that there be, not just a reference – if it is possible -, but a qualitative and substantial description, going into the merits of these comments », she said.

Solidarity has arrived towards Soumahoro of opposition groups. “If this is the case, I think that not only should the thing be stigmatized, but whoever is responsible for sentences of this type must be pursued exactly like those who have done other things in this Chamber and have been prosecuted», is the opinion of Roberto Giachetti of the Third Pole, while Federico Cafiero de Raho (M5S) underlined: «Behind these interventions one can even remotely read racial discrimination. ..». Also for Angelo Bonelli of Avs: «It is unacceptable, I invite the Presidency of the Chamber to exercise control over behaviour out of any civil confrontation in the Chamber”. From the majority, Sara Kelany of FdI is of the opinion that: «Clarity means give prestige to a Chamber for which the relevance of skin color, of ethnicity, is absolutely irrelevant”.

Instead, Deborah Bergamini (FI) sees it this way: «Yesterday there was no racism. In my opinion, sometimes it happens that those who want to necessarily see racism he goes to look for it even where it isn’t there and it wasn’t there yesterday». And for the Northern League Edoardo Ziello: «Every time Soumahoro intervenes he turns his fingers and arms towards the majority rather than, as required by the regulation, towards the presidency, and this provokes and instigates reactions». To which Salvatore Caiata (FdI) joins: «Wanting to exploit an attitude of dissent to insinuate other things is not a symptom of maturity. There is no racism here, but there is respect and we are in the cradle of democracy and dissent can be expressed”. Vice-President Sergio Costa closed the matter: “I will refer the requests and any decisions that will be taken on the specific case to President Fontana”.

“I’m not asking this for myself,” added Soumahoro, «I ask for our students and our children, for the responsibility that we all have to leave to the country, to society, a place of which we can say “cwe tried, we failed, but we tried with conviction and sincerely”. We representatives of the people must first of all be an example. Hearing the same screams of the stadiums I don’t think is a violence to my personis a violation of our Constitutional Charter behind which there are hopes and sacrifices of millions of people”. In solidarity with my colleague, also Laura Boldrini (Pd), he stigmatized the “howls coming from the majority, an attitude reserved for all those who express a thought that does not please them”.

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