Neo-fascists mount vigilante patrols in Rimini

ROME – Unofficial security monitoring is on the increase; Italian and Polish neo-fascists have mounted patrols in Rimini where a young Polish woman tourist was gang raped last year, regional officials said on Thursday.

 The extreme right party Forza Nuova (FN) organised a vigilante patrol on the beach at the Adriatric resort town of Rimini, waving photographs and chanting, in the place where a Polish tourist was raped last August. The party collaborated with representatives of the National Radical Camp, a Polish party inspired by a thirties fascist movement. The initiative, organised by the local section of the New Force in Rimini, was publicised by spokespersons of the extreme right on social media accounts.

 The incident has been strongly criticised by the mayor of the democratic party Andrea Gnassi, who dismissed the group in the Fattoquotidiano as “an absurdity in black clothing that have put themselves in a line for a fascist selfie”. A clear message also arrived from the police headquarters; after the director Mirco Ottavani from FN claimed “we were not pleased by the distress brought about by having the police follow us,” the police commissioner Maurizio Improta retorted that “it is the State that is in charge of security, not the citizen that decides to take on that role.”

 These black patrols are the culmination of a long five days of conferences organised by the New Force, politically twinned with the Polish counterpart Onr (Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny) that stayed in the city from the fifth to the ninth of July. “The first European security operation was concluded with great success,” FN wrote in a press note; “our beaches, our parks and our public transport methods have seen a constant presence of Polish and Italian patriots.”

 The political initiatives have been contested by various antifascist associations, but it was the photos of the militants dressed in black in a line at the beach, with a patrol-like attitude, that made the biggest impact.

 “The council is aware and authorities will be in action from today to proceed with the case,” said mayor Gnassi, dismissing the party’s right to enact the role of the military; “they are a group that have escaped from their house and they know nothing of the history of this city. They are soldiers of an intolerant Italian climate.”

 The initiative is certainly not a novity for Rimini. In the city, FN have organised patrols regularly since 2015, with small armed militant groups. The security assessor Jamil Sadegholvaad spoke of worrying run-ins with the spokespeople of the far right; “we went to discuss with these people, but we were threatened… they are liars and love to celebrate themselves.” The council member then added that he “was at the side of the girl raped last year for half an hour when she arrived in hospital. We have no place for Polish neo-Nazis nor of FN.”

 The New Force, however, are not the first in trying this form of so-called ‘DIY’ safety; the Northen League party, led by Roberto Maroni, fought for this right in 2009, but after around 70 walks in Lombardy and Veneto the attempt failed. In this way, the idea of ​​patrolling cities in a private way has not disappeared; initiatives flaunted by organisers on social networks and accompanied by symbols of the movement, just like in Rimini, continue to occur.

 One of the most controversial and well-known cases occurred in Bologna; tension has been rising since 2016 after a group of unidentified armed men carried out a raid against a group of African drug dealers. Compared to the New League party, FN have broken through geographical limits and have even appeared in Palermo, where last winter a group of militants went on board buses heading to the station with the aim of ensuring the safety of everyone on board.  

 cb