Effects of Berlusconi's words on Chechnya in Italy

Berlusconi's incredible defense of Putin's genocidal policy is a shock. This man is not simply a gangster defending another criminal but has also shown to be an ignorant idiot apparently living on another planet.

What is even more incredible is that in few minutes Berlsuconi was able to achieve something humanitarian NGO's were not able to do in years: to transform his main political opposer, the cynical Romano Prodi, who never spent a word over Chechnya, in a defender of human rights!

Fortunately this went not entirely unnoticed from many sides (also in the international press, where Le Monde described Berlusconi as a shame for Europe and Prodi's much to slow reaction). Prodi's much too timid attack on Berlusconi became clear. What was the result of this? Now Berlusconi fires back and tells us that Prodi should have made the EU's position clearer and therefore it is not he who should resign from his post, but Prodi!! A ridiculous farce....

What is also somewhat disturbing is that the main objection against Berlusconi is not that he defended a murderous regime, but that he, as EU presidency, did not follow EU's official position. Which anyway is true of course. And in the frame of this idea, it seems now that he was not aware of the last EU's official position on Chechnya and Yukos (see msg. 34303), and in a very weak defense, he tried to deny its existence. Obviously Prodi had an easy task to show the inconsistency of his position. Moreover, apparently he didn't know that one of his own secretary signed an official document of the Italian parliament which asked to condemn Russia's action in Chechnya.

However, as impossible it might seem, all this produced at least some positive effects.

First of all, suddenly Italian opposition parties discover Chechnya. Berlusconi's "dilettantism and approximation" is criticized. (Tough it is a disgusting show of hypocrisy on the whole line: everyone plays the part of the one being worried on something they usually never talk about.)

Then, most Italian media report now about the war in Chechnya and human rights violations. But then one makes an interesting discovery. Those newspapers traditionally taking sides of the opposition parties tell us about human rights violations in Chechnya, print interviews with Politkovskaya, Gluecksmann, etc.

On the other ones, those nearer to Berlusconi, they tend to adopt two strategies. Pass the whole matter over silence (there is a parliamentary commission now inquiring on an apparent censorship of Tg1, the main TV news program). Or otherwise (especially "Il Corriere dell Sera") shifted the emphasis on the aspect of Chechen terrorism and....look, look....as a miracle... the myth of the "well established" Al-Qaeda/Chechnya connection pops out into secure existence from a void nirvana. What a strange coincidence!

Generally, however, the dissatisfaction with Berlusconi is at its peak, and I rarely could find anyone defending Berlusconi's position.

I'm perfectly aware that in few days everything will turn back to "business as usual", and no one will mention the Chechen tragedy anymore. But, after all, Mr. Berlusconi made a little gift to the Chechen cause: among most people all this produced at least a bit more awareness on Chechnya.

So finally I can say heart fully: thank you Mr. Berlusconi!