Still waiting for farmers' statement for Sanremo - Rai

(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 9 - State broadcaster Rai said Friday lunchtime it was still waiting to receive a joint statement from protesting farmers that it has said it will read out during the televised Sanremo Song Contest underway until Saturday in the Ligirian riviera resort.
    "We are still waiting for the farmers' statement; so many emails have arrived that we don't know who we can answer: we are waiting for one to arrive that Amadeus will read on stage," said the head of the Rai press office Fabrizio Casinelli.
    "Rai is willing to bring their problems, difficulties and requests to the general public, we are ready to do it," he added. "When we have (a statement), (host Amadeus) is ready to read it," continued Casinelli.
    "I repeat, we have given ample availability to read the statement: if the farmers, who have my total solidarity - my grandfather was a farmer - bring us a joint statement, we are ready to read it," he concluded.
    Earlier on Friday the Alessandria-Asti autonomous farmers' collective said it had prepared a statement together with the group Agricultural Redemption from Melegnano (Milan) that would be read out at the Ariston Theatre hosting the festival.
    Both groups have sent farmers and tractors to Sanremo, with Agricultural Redemption initially hoping it would be allowed on stage.
    However, on Thursday Rai said this was "impossible" and that Amadeus would read a statement instead.
    Farmers in Italy are staging fragmented protests up and down the country under different groups and banners.
    However, the reasons for the protests are all the same and concern European and Italian agricultural and environmental policies and general hardship in the sector. (ANSA).