2012 Sicilian protests

2012 Sicilian Crisis
2012 Sicilian Crisis
"Operazione Vespri Siciliani"; Part of European debt crisis
Date	January 16, 2012-January 21, 2012
Location	Sicily, Italy
Methods	Protests, Blockade
Resulted in	Much damage to the Sicilian, Italian and Maltese economy
Parties
Italy	Comitato Forza d'urto; Movimento dei Forconi; AIAS
Casualties
Death(s)	1 victim
Injuries	Two confirmed injuries (There were probably more)

Last updated September 09, 2024

The 2012 Sicilian protests, also code-named by its organizers as Operation Sicilian Vespers (in Italian: Operazione Vespri siciliani), was a 5-day blockade of roads and seaports that brought Sicily and its economy to a standstill in January 2012. Similar protests affecting wider areas of Italy broke out in December 2013.^[2]

Organizers

Shock Force (in Italian: Comitato Forza d'Urto) is a Sicilian political grouping, which organized Operation Sicilian Vespers, the 5-day blockade of roads and seaports that brought Sicily and its economy to a standstill in January 2012.^{[ citation needed ]}

Under the Shock Force umbrella other organizations are also represented,^[3] such as the Pitchforks Movement (in Italian: Movimento dei Forconi), an informal grouping of farmers, shepherds and breeders, as well as the Sicilian Trucking Association (in Italian: Associazione Imprese Autotrasportatori Siciliani, AIAS), an association representing truck drivers and small logistics business interests. The founder of the Pitchforks Movement was Martino Morsello, a 57 year-old former Socialist councillor of Marsala.

From the very first day, the blockade was strengthened and widely supported by workers and small businesses in other sectors, such as the fishing industry, the building industry and also by Sicilian students.^{[ citation needed ]}

The Pitchforks Movement presents itself as "non-political" and "against party politics." Unusually, the protest was joined by members of both far-right and far-left political organisations.^{[ citation needed ]}

Goals

Blockade events

The blockade started on 16 January, when roads, motorways and the gates of the major ports all around Sicily were blocked. A strategic target for the protesters were Sicilian refineries, which are responsible for 42% of Italian fuel production. A fuel shortage on the island soon followed.^[4]

On 16 January 2012, the Pitchforks Movement joined Operation Sicilian Vespers, which, while blockading most of the main roads and seaports of the island, led to the suspension of most economic activities in Sicily.

There are reports of the blockade gaining a foothold in mainland Italy, in Calabria and even as far north as Pescara. The blockade is having a negative impact also for the economy of the neighboring Malta.^[5]

The other main association involved in the blockade, the Sicilian Trucking Association (in Italian Associazione Imprese Autotrasportatori Siciliani, AIAS) must suspend the blockade after the fifth day, January 21, as per the Italian law, but the Pitchforks Movement, as other members of the Shock Force, may decide to continue indefinitely.

Accidents

On January 17, in Lentini a protester was slightly injured in the face by a small truck driver who was not joining the blockade.
On January 19, near Catenanuova, one protester was left with his foot stuck under the wheel of a truck that had tried to break the blockade.
On January 24, near Asti, during the blockade of the Pitchfork movement, a truck driver hit a protester participating in the blockade, killing him instantly.^[6]

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References

↑ Rivolta dei Tir: Ci scappa il morto
↑ BBC News
↑ Iozzia, Giovanni (5 January 2012). "E' nata "Forza d'Urto"" (PDF) (in Italian). Comitato Forza d'Urto. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
↑ "The Pitchforks Movement in Sicily". Struggles in Italy. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
↑ Xuereb, Matthew (17 January 2012). "Truckers caught in Sicily blockade". Times of Malta. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
↑ "Rivolta dei Tir: ci scappa il morto". www.alvolante.it (in Italian). Retrieved 5 September 2024.

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[1] Rivolta dei Tir: Ci scappa il morto

[bbc13dec13-2] BBC News

[3] Iozzia, Giovanni (5 January 2012). "E' nata "Forza d'Urto"" (PDF) (in Italian). Comitato Forza d'Urto. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.

[4] "The Pitchforks Movement in Sicily". Struggles in Italy. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.

[5] Xuereb, Matthew (17 January 2012). "Truckers caught in Sicily blockade". Times of Malta. Retrieved 21 January 2012.

[6] "Rivolta dei Tir: ci scappa il morto". www.alvolante.it (in Italian). Retrieved 5 September 2024.

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