Published by Traprock Peace Center

Published by Traprock Peace Center

August 13, 2004

AN ITALIAN OCTOBER SURPRISE

by Matt Bojanovic

In April 2004, in Fallujah, hundreds were being buried in backyards and soccer fields. In Baghdad, thousands were lining up to give blood and money for Fallujah; there was rage at what was generally viewed as the collective punishment of that city, and even the usually compliant Iraqi authorities were beginning to raise objections. At that point, some Iraqi insurgents had a novel idea: they would grab the attention of public opinion in the West by detaining soft targets from the countries involved in the occupation.

On April 12 came the capture of four Italian "contractors." That's what soldiers of fortune are called in polite society. They work in distant lands for remarkable wages, sometimes as high as $1000 per day. They are former soldiers, provided opportunities in outfits owned by well-connected retired officers. The major advantage of using "contractors" is that they must provide for their own lodgings, protection, and transportation, and are not counted as Coalition casualties when they die. The four Italians were on their way back to Amman, when they were stopped at an American road block and relieved of the assault rifles they were carrying. The four Italians went back to the hotel and secured two handguns and an automatic pistol, that they hoped to keep hidden at the next road block. They took off again for Amman, and were captured. (Corriere della Sera, April 18, La Repubblica, May2)

The Sunday Telegraph of London, on May 2, interviewed Paolo Simeoni, former leader of the Italian security team to which the Italians belonged. He is quoted as saying: "We do not know exactly why the soldiers confiscated the weapons. The Iraqi interior ministry does not issue weapons permits to Westerners - they say that normally all you need to do is show an ID card, such as a passport. All my men had Italian passports on them, and Fabrizio had a pass for the Coalition Provisional Authority headquarters in Baghdad's Green Zone. Normally that is more than enough proof that they were working in security for the coalition, but in this case the soldiers wouldn't accept it... If they had been British or American, I think it would have been fine. It may be that because they were Italians and their English was not quite perfect, the soldiers did not trust them." Another security consultant explained: "Four men with powerful assault rifles in a car might have stood a chance against these guys. Four men with just one MP5 and a couple of pistols between them would probably not have."

They were Italy's first POW's since WWII. They were not POW's in uniform, but to Italians that made no difference, their lives were at stake, they had mothers and sisters and wives, and that was enough. They had gone to Iraq for exactly the same reasons why Italian uniformed men are there: trust in their political leaders, esprit de corps, career opportunities, adventure, and combat pay. After all, the origin of the word soldier is the Latin "solidus", which was coinage paid Roman soldiers.

According to Il Manifesto of July 29 and July 30, being on mission abroad can involve a four-fold increase in pay, and it was not uncommon to have to bribe officers to insure being sent to Iraq. Italian soldiers would gladly shell out a month's salary or more, for the honor of being selected for the crusade. A colonel was arrested for taking some $8,000 from a lieutenant. He was accused of taking a total of $50,000 from seven men. On May 5 he was given a two-year suspended sentence, but he had managed to retire, at the grade of general, in advance of sentencing,. For an officer, Iraqi duty means more than combat pay, it also offers rapid promotion. In another case, a soldier gave $2000 to a colonel in exchange for foreign assignement, and had a money order receipt to prove it. Interviewed in Peace Reporter, Antonio Savino of the Carabinieri National Union, confirms that there was a lively market for assignments to Iraq--until it was all but ruined by heavy casualties in Nassiriya, where 20 Italians perished.. When it became known that soldiers were contracting cancer after serving in areas contaminated by depleted uranium, the Iraqi career market just dried up.

On April 13 the four Italian POW's were seen on Al Jazeera. For their release, the following demands were made: the establishment of a timetable for the withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq, the release of all detained Muslim clerics, and an apology for some intemperate remarks made by Premier Berlusconi about Islam.

Italian Foreign Minister Frattini answered that "negotiation with guerrillas is contrary to logic." Other notables of the ruling right wing coalition were equally determined. Cicchitto said that blackmail is "unacceptable since our soldiers are in Iraq on a peace mission." Schifani spoke against "weakness". Bondi said that the kidnapping "shows the inhuman character of terrorism, as denounced by the Holy Father." Anedda said that the "kidnappers are showing all their cruelty and rudeness." Minister of Justice Castelli closed the discussion with the remark that "those who do this kind of work make lots of money but run very high risks." (Adnkronos news agency, April 13) The four were being abandoned by the leaders who had encouraged them to go do their part in the War on Terror.

The patriot section of the Italian press responded by railing against "the civilization of Koran-inspired camel herders." There were warnings that "the patience of good democrats" has limits, and that "in Italy there are 800,000 Muslims, potentially 800,000 hostages." Should the hostages be killed, Moslems might no longer be safe in Italy, wrote Vittorio Feltri, editor of the liberist dailyLibero, on April 14.

On April 16 the insurgents killed, on camera, Fabrizio Quattrocchi. In his pocket he had a pass to the Green Zone, the seat of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad. That pass had not been good enough to protect his little war party from being disarmed by the Coalition, but convinced the insurgents that the poor guy was somehow well connected to Proconsul Bremer.

The murder of Quattrocchi was announced on a TV talk show, and that is how his family heard about it. The families of the surviving hostages became an important pressure group. Some of the relatives became celebrities. They exposed the rainbow banner of the Italian peace movement from their balconies and joined peace marches, including one to the Vatican. The father of one of the hostages, who for two months carried a large Italian flag on a staff wherever he went, became a familiar figure on television. One day he led his relatives to blockade the railroad tracks near his home.

THE CONNECTION

The Italian Red Cross (CRI) is a reputable and effective organization, which brought two of its hospitals to Iraq. On April 18, Maurizio Scelli, special commissioner of the CRI, delivers a brand new emergency room to the Iraquis. Contacts are made with the Council of the Ulemas, the Muslim scholars previously involved in the negotiated release of a couple dozen hostages, including the Japanese. On April 19, Scelli leads a CRI humanitarian convoy to the besieged city of Fallujah.

Negotiations are openly discussed in the Italian media and no denials are issuing from Rome. On April 20 the Italian governor of the province of Dhi Qar, which includes Nassiriya, is interviewed in La Repubblica. Governor Barbara Contini is a significant personage. A few days before, she had taken part in a meeting on the hostage situation with Premier Berlusconi, Vice Premier Fini, Foreign Affairs Minister Frattini, Minister of Defense Martino, Minister of Interior Pisanu, and the heads of the secret services. Governor Contini is quoted saying : "Is ransom the way out for the Italians? Everyone pays ransom. It's been so for centuries."

Indeed, when an insurgency holds foreigners as prisoners, there are four choices for the occupier: negotiated withdrawal, abandonment of the men to their fate, exchange of prisoners, and ransom. The Coalition leaders do not dare to admit defeat and withdraw. A prisoner exchange is problematic, since it would give belligerent status to the insurgents. Moreover, the Americans are in control of prisons and oppose any negotiations. An exchange for guerrillas held by the Kurds is proposed, but falls apart when it transpires that out of nine wanted prisoners, five have already been killed. (Corriere della Sera, June 9, paper edition, p.6)

Still, Premier Berlusconi has to do something: he had taken Italy to war against the will of the great majority of Italians, presenting the adventure as a "peace mission," and now he cannot afford appearing so heartless as to abandon his own men. The original inflexible attitude against negotiations had strengthened the opposition. Ransom is the only choice left open.

Corriere della Sera, on April 21, opens with the line, "It appears that ransom has been paid for the Italian hostages. Or not." Barbara Contini had told L'antipatico, on Channel 5, "Yes, a price has been paid. Now the Italians are out of danger." Later that day, she explains that it was all an "unpleasant misunderstanding". Through her spokesperson, Paola della Casa, she says that "there is always a price to pay, but I was not referring to money. I do not have the foggiest idea about any ransom demand."

On April 22, various sources openly speak of ransom. La Repubblica reports that payment of ransom is being considered.Panorama, a weekly owned by the Berlusconi family, declares that the office of the Premier has approved ransom, to be delivered after the men have been freed. The Italian news agency ANSA has a report in which an unnamed member of the Italian secret services recognizes that negotiations are taking place and that they have "para-political and economic aspects." He adds, "What we had to do, we did."

On April 22, Il Tempo of Rome, a business-oriented daily, thought to be close to the government, prints an article under the signature Fosca Bincher, said to be the alias of the director of Il Tempo, Franco Bechis. Quoting "important banking sources" the article reveals that Premier Silvio Berlusconi had arranged for ransom payment from his own personal fortune, not from state treasury. Former Italian president Francesco Cossiga is also quoted as saying, on Radio Padania: "I would not be surprised if Silvio Berlusconi had paid the ransom from his own pocket. I am not saying that Berlusconi paid, I am only saying that, knowing his generosity, I would not be surprised if he had paid the ransom from his own pocket. He sure is as wealthy as Uncle Scrooge, but unlike the one of the comic books, he is very generous. If Barbara Contini says that the three are out of danger, it means he made out a pretty big check."

Il Tempo thus continues: 'When it seemed to be all done, and the liberation of the hostages was expected yesterday, new obstacles emerged. "The process is not blocked, it's only delayed," said Berlusconi. He added: "The timeline has lengthened in respect to what we expected. Perhaps because they [the Americans] have delayed the permit for the Italian humanitarian aid column to Fallujah." '

Abdel Salam Kubaysi, of the Council of the Ulemas, is quoted in La Repubblica of April 22, denying "direct communications" with the hostage takers. However, he can say that if there is not an end to the fighting in Fallujah, the release of "those poor three boys" might be slowed down. Kubaysi added: "The Italian government, obviously, can pressure the White House so that Fallujah may return to life. After all, are you or are you not the best friends of Bush?" On April 19, Premier Berlusconi had proudly announced that with the departure of Spanish troops from Iraq, Italy was now "the closest ally of the United States in continental Europe."

On April 23 Il Tempo reports from the Italian Chamber of Deputies that "the news of the 5 million euro ransom paid from the pocket of the Premier...did not surprise anyone."

La Repubblica of April 25, reported from Baghdad the rumor that a six million euro payment has already arrived, but that the fate of the hostages is tied to the fate of Fallujah. For the American command, it is important to smash the resistance in Fallujah, "but it is equally important not to lose, or risk losing, the Italian allies."

Roland Flamini of UPI thus explained the situation on May 7: "Keeping the hostages alive is considered vital for the continued deployment of Italian troops serving with the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq. The killing of a second man could create such a public backlash that it could force the Berlusconi government to pull out Italy's contingent."

THE PEACE PARTY'S EFFORTS

Emergency is an Italian NGO, organized in the early 90's by a surgeon, Dr Gino Strada, to establish hospitals in war zones. To give an idea of its reputation, Vauro tells this story on Il Manifesto of June 19: 'During the last war in Afghanistan I was...in a front line trench of the Northern Alliance, on the Bahgrahm front. A Mujaheddin commander called by radio his counterpart in the Taliban trenches, a few hundred yards away. "I have some foreign reporters here," he said. The Taliban commander, with a menacing laugh, said: "Send them here, I'll take care of them." He then added, "Where are they from?" "Italians." And the Taliban said, "Italia? Gino Strada, Emergency! For us they would be [honored] guests," and he said it without laughing, with respect.'

Emergency has had hospitals in Iraq for years, and it has an office in Baghdad. Emergency produces a video showing how the great majority of Italians oppose the war, how a million demonstrated against it. The video appears on Arab television networks. Gino Strada arrives in Baghdad on May 5 and soon concludes that there may be a division between the insurgents' military wing and their political wing: one wants ransom, the other would prefer to influence the Italian elections by releasing the prisoners to Italian peace movement leaders. Strada's contacts advise him that Salih Mutlak, a businessman who made his wealth in the smuggling trade, thanks to the U.S./UN embargo, has returned from Italy with five million dollars. They say that the balance of the 9 million dollar deal would be payable when the prisoners are released.

The Italian daily La Stampa reports on May 14 that Mohammed Al Kubaysi on April 30 has suggested to Italian Red Cross boss Scelli, that it would be a positive thing if seriously sick and wounded children in Fallujah were to be flown to Italian hospitals. A CRI jet brings dozens of patients to Rome on May 13.

The negotiations are slowed down by the arrest of an intermediary by American forces. The remains of Quattrocchi are delivered to the Italian Red Cross; Scelli brings them to Italy and returns to Baghdad. Cardinal Bertone says that negotiations are on course. The agents of SISMI, Italy's military intellingence, leave Baghdad, as if their work had come to a successful conclusion. (La Repubblica, June 10)

On June 2, Scelli leads a CRI humanitarian convoy into Najaf, the Shiite holy city that has seen heavy fighting, while anti-war demonstrations are taking place in Rome, against Berlusconi and the Bush visit, as demanded by the kidnappers. Demonstrations had already been planned and announced, when the demand was made. Al Jazeera shows the demonstrations. The hostage takers release a video in which the Italians make an appeal to the Pope.

On Friday, June 4, Foregn Minister Frattini cancels a trip to Japan "for family reasons." Pope John Paul issues a critical appeal against the war to the visiting President Bush, who answers that his own objective is to "spread peace and compassion."

On Saturday, June 5, Al Kubaysi of the Council of the Ulemas calls Scelli and tells him that the hostages will soon be freed. (La Repubblica, June 11)

According to Nicola Madaro, Mayor of Sanmichele di Bari, the TV crews return to Sanmichele, waiting to record the joyful reactions of the family of Umberto Cupertino, one of the hostages. (L'Unita', June 9)

According to Emergency's website, between Saturday and Sunday, Gino Strada receives the report from the Imam of Fallujah that the matter is solved and that the prisoners will soon be released.

On Sunday, June 6, in a clear reference to the Abu Ghraib torture situation, the Pope mentions the oppressed, "especially those who suffer the humiliation of prison and the oppression of torture."

According to La Stampa of June 9, Ignazio LaRussa, parliamentary leader of the AN party of Vive Premier Fini, mentions that "friends of AN in the Jewish community in Milan had given me for certain the liberation of the hostages within 48 hours."

ICN-News, an Italian Evangelical news agency, in an article praising the ecumenical spirit of cooperation between churches, publishes on June 9 the text of an interview with Sheikh Ahmad El-Shammari, who says: " On June 6, I was dining with the leader of the Zauba'a clan, who assured me that the case was closed and that the hostages would be released, in a matter of hours. At once I phoned Bishop Shlimon Warduni... and told him to inform the representative of the Vatican in Baghdad."