President Sergio Mattarella called on
"friendly" countries to help Italy finally get to the bottom of
the 1980 Ustica plane crash on the 44th anniversary of the
incident that killed 81 people in one of Italy's biggest
mysteries.
The crash has been the source of almost endless speculation and
theories, and most recently former Italian premier Giuliano
Amato said he believed one of the main theories, that a French
missile meant for then Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi - who was
not in the air thanks to a tip-off form his friend and prime
minister Bettino Craxi - caused the disaster.
"In the skies over Ustica, 44 years ago, a massacre of immense
proportions took place. All 81 people on board the DC9 flying
from Bologna to Palermo were killed, said Mattarella at a
commemoration ceremony Thursday.
"The Republic was profoundly scarred by that tragedy, which
remains an open wound also because a full truth is still
lacking, and this goes against the need for justice that fuels
democratic life.
"The Republic will not tire of continuing to seek and ask for
cooperation, also from friendly countries, to fully reconstruct
what happened".
Amato said in September the most likely explanation for the
downing of the plane of the
now-defunct Itavia line was that it got in the way of a French
missile aimed at a Libyan jet believed to be carrying Gaddafi.
Amato also suggested that Gaddafi was not aboard because he had
been tipped off to France's plans by then Socialist premier and
Amato mentor Craxi, who was later downed by the Bribesville
scandals and ended his days a fugitive from Italian
justice in Tunisia.
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