Italian Govt. wary of hosting meet

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, AUG 6. Shaken by the massive violent protests during the recent G-8 summit at Genoa, the Italian Government is reported to be reluctant to host the U.N. World Food Summit, scheduled to be held in Rome in November, putting it at loggerheads with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Media reports indicated that the move by Mr. Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing Government, which apparently wants the summit to be moved to a Third World country, was being opposed by Rome's Leftist Mayor, Mr. Walter Veltroni who told an Italian news agency that the food summit was ``very different from the G- 8.'' Rome, he said, was ready to be a venue for discussion and peaceful protests against ``inequality in the world.''

The FAO, which has its headquarters in Rome, was said to be ``embarrassed and surprised'' after Italy's foreign secretary- general, Mr. Giuseppe Baldocci told the FAO director- general, Mr. Jacques Diouf that the Government would wish to see the summit shifted out of Rome, preferably to a place such as Nairobi. According to The Daily Telegraph, the FAO has told the Italian Government that changing the venue at such short notice would entail ``huge difficulties'' and could mean delaying the summit. ``The Government was said to be planning to try to shorten the conference significantly if it could not be moved,'' the newspaper said.

While the Italian Embassy in London said it had ``no information'', reports from Rome quoted Mr. Berlusconi as telling his party that his Government did not want a replay of Genoa which resulted in the death of one protester and brought accusations of police excesses.

Italy, he was reported as saying, had already ``done its bit'' by hosting G-8. Fears about Genoa- type protests were also expressed by the Interior Minister, Mr. Claudio Scajola who said the groups which led the agitation in Genoa had warned of demonstrations at the food summit.

Analysts said the Berlusconi Government appeared to have been unnerved by the widespread criticism it attracted for the way it handled the Genoa protests even from those who did not approve of the violent means of a section of protesters. In Italy, the Opposition demanded the resignation of the Interior Minister over the use of ``Nazi tactics'' to control the riots. The killing of a young demonstrator by the police provoked condemnation from human rights groups across Europe and in Britain there was a public outcry after a group of British protesters complained that they had been victims of ``unprovoked'' violence by Italian police and carabinieri.

The Italian Government's move over the food summit came as magistrates investigating allegations of police brutality were reported to have found evidence of ``torture and real violations of human rights'' during Genoa riots.

The Italian media was conducting its own inquiry into reports that the Italian police infiltrated the demonstrators masquerading as journalists by wearing ``press'' passes.

Leading photo news agencies have refused to hand over their pictures and footage of the riots to the Italian police who say they need them to nail the rioters. News photographers argued that they filmed the riots as professionals and not as agents of the police.

The German Interior Minister, Mr. Otto Schily, meanwhile, suggested the setting up of a pan-European anti-riot police to deal with Genoa-type protests. The suggestion reflects Germany's concern that the Italian police over-reacted to the events in Genoa. Mr. Schily called for a trained force which would work in cooperation with European partners to combat violence with ``measured levels of force, where necessary.'' The reference to ``measured levels'' echoed the view that the police response in Genoa was far from ``measured''.

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Section  : International
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