A bus carrying 19 asylum seekers
and escorted by police in riot gear pushed past protesting local
residents and extremists from the far-right Casapound political
group to arrive at the doors of a migrant reception centre in
Rome's Casale San Nicola district Friday.
The refugees were spotted inside the bus, curtains drawn as
the bus was pelted water bottles and other objects thrown by
anti-immigrant protesters, some of them shouting "You have to
get out of here".
Police at one point baton-charged the protesters after
coming under a barrage of objects including sun umbrellas and
chairs.
Protesters also torched rubbish bins and bales of hay,
while others tried to block a street.
Rome Prefect Franco Gabrielli was adamant that the
protesters would be cleared.
"We won't take any steps back," he said.
Later in the day he said the violent anti-immigrant
demonstrations were "indecent and unseemly".
"I hope law enforcement will cite these people so their
records will reflect the things they have stained themselves
with," he said.
The prefect added "I sincerely hope the temperature will
go down".
Police said later that 14 of their own were injured in the
violent clashes and they arrested two protesters, cited one
offender, and identified 15 more.
Investigators are still going over video material to
identify further suspects, police said in a statement.
Also on Friday, similar protests broke out in northern
Italy, where governors from the anti-immigrant, anti-euro
Northern League party have been inciting mayors to fight the
arrivals of migrants into the region.
Among them was Veneto Governor Luca Zaia, who complained
about the "Africanization" of his region through the admission
refugees into his area.
Some 100 migrants whose presence in a hotel in a small
town near Treviso sparked two days of protests from local
residents and rightwing extremists from the Forza Nuova group -
including the burning of mattresses meant for the asylum seekers
- were bused to a former barracks located between the
municipalities of Treviso and Casier.
Their respective mayors, Giovanni Manildo and Miriam
Giuriati, met with area residents prior to the transfer and
explained that authorities would guarantee security and keep the
peace. The area is manned by law enforcement and local police
patrols.
Treviso also saw leftists from the ZTL collective go into
action in defense of the refugees, occupying parts of the
prefecture and calling for the prefect to step down after he
bowed to violent pressure from anti-immigrant residents and
rightwingers.
Police arrested 38 ZTL members in the course of that
protest.
The Northern League has stepped up its anti-immigrant
rhetoric in recent months, as a growing migrant crisis fuels
political divisions in the country, which is struggling to
emerge from an economic slump that has thrown many people into
unemployment.
"Instead of giving protesting mayors and citizens a hard
time, prefects should do their job and stop coddling thousands
of illegal immigrants," said League chief Matteo Salvini.
Khalid Chaouki, an MP for the ruling centre-left Democratic
Party (PD), slammed Salvini in response.
"Salvini's instigation to violence is shameful! Trying to
pick up votes on people's misfortune is disgusting," he said on
Twitter following the protests in Rome and Treviso.
Italy has seen a wave of migrants and asylum seekers from
the across the Mediterranean as thousands flee war and violence
in Africa and Middle East.
New figures suggested about 170,000 migrants arrived in
Italy by sea in the first half of this year alone.
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