[icheerthebull]

Authorities release footage of 'tank' they say would have been deployed in St Mark's Square on eve of European elections

Italian special operations units have arrested 24 secessionists who were allegedly planning a violent campaign aimed at gaining independence for the wealthy north-eastern Veneto region.

Police said in a statement on Wednesday that the group had built an armoured vehicle that they intended to deploy in St Mark's Square in Venice – reminiscent of the seven-and-a-half-hour takeover of the piazza's famed bell tower by secessionists in 1997. TV footage revealed the "tank" to be a modified tractor that had been armed in some fashion.

Italian media reported the secessionists intended to deploy the vehicle on the eve of European parliamentary elections in May – a poll anticipated to express growing anti-Europe sentiment following the harsh austerity measures applied during the economic crisis.

Prosecutors allege the secessionists had planned a two-pronged approach of violence and consensus-building.

The crackdown comes days after politicians in Veneto started formal proceedings toward independence, despite constitutional prohibitions.

Veneto's regional governor, Luca Zaia, promoted an online survey that purportedly showed overwhelming support for secession. However the Venetian daily Corriere del Veneto this week reported that of the more than 2.6 million votes in favour of secession, most were generated by computers abroad.

One of the survey's organisers, Gianluca Busato, said the police crackdown was a "ridiculous" overreaction by the state. "We are peaceful democrats," Busato told Sky TG24. "We have the people on our side."

The Veneto region, centered on Venice, helped transform Italy into an industrial power in the 1960s and 1970s. The community of small, family-run businesses that had been the backbone of the region's success have been hit particularly hard by the economic crisis. Secessionist sentiment is rooted in anger that vast sums of money are appropriated by Rome in the form of taxes.

Reports claim that those arrested include two people involved in the 1997 St Mark's takeover, the founder of the secession-minded Liga Veneta and organisers of the so-called "Pitchfork Protests" that sprang up last December aimed at ousting the entire political class.

Police say they have seized numerous weapons in raids that were extended to secessionist movements in other regions, including Lombardy and Piedmont in the north and the island of Sardinia.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...ists-plot-tank

[gatagato]

Police say they have seized numerous weapons in raids that were extended to secessionist movements in other regions, including Lombardy and Piedmont in the north and the island of Sardinia.

...including one gun that has been seized NOT far away from my home, an helicopter's noise woke me up yesterday @ 5 o'clock, my gato was freakin' out
There were more cops than ordinary people in my town, and not just standard cops, these dudes

At the end of the day, they all were singing that song by U2

But i still ♫ haven't found ♪ what im looking for... ♫♫♫

Secessionist movements are coming back, many of them are a joke BUT some of them should be taken very seriously.
This one was somewhat funny, but others are not. Some regions in Italy want and DESERVE independence, and since they have everything they need for being independent i don't see why they must stick under Roma Ladrona (Rome the big thief). Do you want to know how much money i'm litterally WASTING in taxes? The 65% of my earnings. Do you know how much i'd pay if Sardinia was independent? No more than 15% in the worst case. Do you think this is a good reason to start loading my rifles & guns? I think so, because there's something VERY wrong with this. Sardinia has nothing to do with the rest of Italy, we're one of the most genetically isolated populations in Europe, we are the ONLY pre-Indo-European population surviving in Europe from the Paleolithic period along with the Basque, in Spain), our civilization started somethin' like 20,000 years ago, we speak totally different languages, if i speak in sardo, an Italian wouldn't understand a fuck, while a Corsican would get it all (and a Corsican is supposed to be a FRENCH), 'nuff said.
"Constitutional prohibitions" means nothing, it's just shit written somewhere, independence will come: it's up to Italy to decide HOW, be it the good or the bad way, but it will come for sure.

[icheerthebull]

Good post from the small amount i have read Sardinia seems to be unique in that the nationalists seem to be rather left leaning ( a bit like the nationalists in Ireland )as opposed to a lot of the nationalists on the mainland who are fascists, again I'm not very well educated on the subject, I have to do some more reading. Off topic but I'm in Sardinia for a wedding in September but am sticking around for a while after to see the place. Any 'must see' recommendations in terms of places to visit

[icheerthebull]

Will take you up on that offer mate I should have time to do some exploring I'm probably going to fly in on a Friday, the weddings on the Saturday, then stay until the following Saturday. Looks like they picked the right time for the wedding if its a big month for wine