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06/15/2008: "We won't be Berlusconi's scapegoats, say Gypsies"
The eviction, against the advice of Rome's police chief, was the latest sign of the disturbing groundswell of resentment building across Italy against the 150,000-strong Roma population. In Naples, a camp was recently firebombed. Near Venice, well supported demonstrations have mobilised locals against a proposed new camp agreed by the council. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's promise to get tough on the perceived lawlessness of Gypsies and foreigners earns him huge approval ratings and gives the green light to right-wing allies, such as Rome's mayor, Gianni Alemanno, to take drastic action.
The tide of ill-feeling against the Gypsies has become so strong that, for some, Friday's Euro 2008 match between Italy and Romania, which ended in a 1-1 draw, became an opportunity to offer support for the beleaguered minority. Some government critics declared they would support the Romanians as an expression of solidarity with the geographical roots of many of Italy's Gypsies. A group of protesters also took to the streets in the capital, including Roma women dancing in traditional dress, Italian intellectuals and slow-marching Jewish survivors from Germany's death camps.
Marking the first such demonstration in Italy, the protesters wore the same black triangle bearing the letter Z as worn by Gypsy inmates at the camps.
[ Hopefully that makes more Italians say: " well I still don't like gypsies, so maybe the nazi's had a solution." ]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/15/italy.race