Carlo Giuliani

Carlo Giuliani (March 14, 1978 -- July 20, 2001) was an Italian anti-globalist who was shot and killed by police during the demonstrations against the Group of Eight summit that was held in Genoa from July 19 to July 21, 2001. Carlo Giuliani was born in Rome, the son of Giuliano Giuliani,cite web |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3002469.stm |title= Genoa protester case dismissed
date= 2003-05-05 |accessdate= 2008-02-04 ] a CGIL trade union activist, and Haidi Giuliani, a former Senator for the Communist Refoundation Party.

Genova 2001

He was killed on July 20 2001, during a violent clash between protesters and Italian Carabinieri in Piazza Alimonda, in the Genoa downtown. A Carabinieri vehicle became stuck and some protesters (wielding metal poles and wooden boards) attacked the car. In the midst of this clash, Carlo Giuliani, who was wearing a blue ski mask, picked up a fire extinguisher, intending to throw it at the officers inside the police Land Rover Defender, he was shot in the face at point blank range by one of the officers. The Land Rover then drove once backwards and once forwards over Giuliani's body.

Trial

All charges against the Carabiniere who shot him, Mario Placanica, were dropped, when the judge presiding over the case concluded that the fatal bullet that struck Giuliani was not directly aimed at Giuliani and had "ricocheted off plaster", [cite web |url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1012910,00.html |title= Genova officer in 'suspicious' car crash |author= John Hooper |date= 2003-08-06 |accessdate= 2008-02-04 ] and ruled that he had acted in self-defense, without taking the case to trial.

However, during a later trial in Genoa of some demonstrators allegedly involved in clashes the same day Giuliani was killed, the same forensic doctor, professor Marco Salvi, who had been a consultant to Silvio Franz, the prosecutor who led the case against Mario Placanica, testified that Giuliani had been the victim of a "direct hit", thus contradicting the decision previously made based on the alleged mid-air change of direction of the bullet. The conclusion of Judge Daloiso, which had already been subjected to strong criticism, was challenged by the press, as was the decision not to charge the driver of the Land Rover for running over Giuliani on the basis that he was already dead. Medics tending to Giuliani after he was run over testified that his heart was still beating [http://www.piazzacarlogiuliani.org/carlo/iter/piazzalimonda_eng/index.htm Piazza Carlo Giuliani] ] , and this was confirmed by professor Salvi during the trial in Genoa. Had it been found that Placanica shot Giuliani in self-defense, a trial would have been necessary, but the conclusion that the bullet was not fired directly at Giuliani removed the need for a trial.

To confuse the situation further, in late 2003 Placanica told the Bologna daily "Il Resto Del Carlino" that "I've been used to cover up the responsibility of others." He claimed that the bullet found in Giuliani's body was not of the caliber or type fired by the pistols of the Carabinieri, and claimed the deadly shot had come from somewhere in the piazza outside. [it iconcite web |url= http://ilrestodelcarlino.quotidiano.net/art/2006/12/02/5449677 |title= La verita di Placanica: "Il colpoè partito dalla polizia in piazza" |date= 2006-12-02 |accessdate= 2008-02-04 ] After making this statement, Placanica was involved in a "suspicious" car accident, days after allegedly observing someone tampering with his car. [ [http://travel.guardianunlimited.co.uk/italy/story/0,12576,1013120,00.html Guardian] ] Placanica was allegedly kept in seclusion following the incident, and his parents were not allowed to visit him in the hospital.

A symbol

Carlo Giuliani has become a symbol of civil unrest during the G8 summit in Genoa.

The anarcho-punk band Conflict released a song in his memory, titled "Carlo Giuliani". Spanish ska band Ska-P remembers Carlo through their song "Solamente por pensar" ("Only For Thinking") [http://www.letrascanciones.org/ska-p/incontrolable/solamente-por-pensar.php] and then translated its lyrics into Italian for a concert in Italy, calling it "Solamente per pensare" (same title translated into Italian) . The North-American "Outspoken Word Troupe" of political poets published a piece entitled "A Tale of Two Giulianis" contrasting Carlo to former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.

The English anarchist pop group Chumbawamba wrote English lyrics to the traditional World War II anti-fascist Italian partisans song Bella Ciao after visiting Genoa during the G8 summit meeting. The song was dedicated to Carlo Giuliani. [ [http://www.chumba.com/Chumbawambadownloadsound.html] Dead link|date=August 2008]

Italian singer-songwriter Francesco Guccini wrote a song about Carlo Giuliani and the G8 summit incidents, named "Piazza Alimonda" (the place where Giuliani was shot) and included in his album "Ritratti" of 2004. He is mentioned also in the new e-single Riot by Italian rapper/producer Nesli. The lyrics "Lascio in pace i morti come Carlo Giuliani" which roughly translated means "I leave the dead, like Carlo Giuliani, to rest in peace"

Piazza Alimonda, the plaza where Giuliani was killed, was unofficially renamed "Piazza Carlo Giuliani" by activists, who erected a memorial there for mementos, photographs, writings and flowers. This memorial has since been set on fire twice. Another memorial, instituted at the expense of his parents, features simply the words "Carlo Giuliani, boy." Another plaza, in Bern, Switzerland, has also been named "Carlo-Giuliani Platz" in memoriam; the renaming took place during a memorial art exhibition called The Geometries of Memory [ [http://www.memoria.ch/en/index.html le Geometrie della Memoria ] ] .

In 2007, the Communist Refoundation Party renamed its Presidential Office in the Italian Parliament after Carlo Giuliani. Giuliani's mother, Haidi, was elected Senator for the party in the 2006 election specifically to begin a parliamentary inquiry into Carlo's death. There were many problems with right-wing party. After the exit from the parliament of PRC by the result of 2008 election, the name was changed.

Giuliani has been described as "a Genovese hooligan" on p. 224 of Gary Shteyngart's novel "Absurdistan".

External links

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/globalisation/story/0,7369,525372,00.html "Guardian Unlimited" article "Violence Erupts Again in Genoa"]
* [http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/genova/pics3a.htm Photos showing the sequence of events in detail]
* [http://www.piazzacarlogiuliani.org/pillolarossa/index.php Counter investigation by Pillola Rossa in Italian]
* [http://www.piazzacarlogiuliani.org/carlo/iter/piazzalimonda_eng/index.htm Summary of the evidence by Lello Voce in English] ; [http://digilander.libero.it/fotogian/alimonda.html photographs]
* [http://www.carlo-giuliani.com/ Website dedicated to investigating Giuliani's death]

Notes