Another Racist Mayor in Italy

Location

By RRN Staff

The Venice attorney opened a file for insitgation to racist hatred against Northern League’s Giancarlo Gentilini, former major of Treviso. On September 14th , Gentilini pronounced several sentences against Roma and Muslims. In particular, he accused Roma children of stealing elderly people and invited the audience to kick off a revolution against them. Anyway, Gentilini does not seem very worried about the accusations. He said that he pronounced those sentences because he doesn’t want “Roma to beg or Muslims to commit illicit acts”. He believes Roma and Muslims to be a national problem. He claims to have just reported the fears of his fellow citizens and promises “to keep on fighting for discipline, order and the rule of law”. 1

Giancarlo Gentilini has a long history of racist statements. He was quoted at the Festival of the People of Padania in Venice on September 14th 2008 as saying: (Translated from Italian) "I want the revolution against the illegal immigrants. I want streets cleaned of all these [ethnics] that are destroying our country. I want the revolution against the nomads, against the Gypsies. I have destroyed two camps of nomads. I want to eliminate all the children of Gypsies that go and [steal] from the old people [...], Maroni says." 2

He is known as the Sheriff of Veneto. He told some reporters that immigrants come from a "razza piave" (loosely translate "alien race") and proposed that "tracks sealed with led" repatriate them. In addition to the fingerprints of immigrants, he would take "nose prints and footprints" and "bury alive those priests who serve meals to the 'extracomunitari'.
3

Tragically, too many in Italy are following Gentilini's lead. "For the things I've said and done, I've been called the biggest racist, the biggest fascist, the biggest Nazi of all time," said Gentilini, 78, now deputy mayor after term limits prevented him from a third stint as mayor. "But now I see everyone following the gospel according to Gentilini." 4

1. 1. http://erionet.org/site/upload/pubblications/enews/e-news,%2002%20Octobe...
2. 2. http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=_WCZNQJkV3E
3. 3. http://books.google.com/books?id=pMwe7INji-MC&pg=PA91&lpg=PA91&dq=mayor+...
4. 4. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/oct/19/world/fg-backlash19