San Francisco Bay Area Italians Against the War

Care amiche e amici / Dear friends,

On Sunday morning, February 16, a group of Italian citizens living in the Bay Area will gather in front of the Italian consulate in San Francisco to express their opposition to the Italian government's support of a U.S.-led war in Iraq.

We will be accompanied by American friends interested in Italian society and politics, who share our strong disagreement with the Berlusconi government's pro-war position.

The event will take place at 10 a.m. at 2590 Webster Street (@ Broadway), the building which serves both as the consulate and the consular residence. The consul general has been informed about the demonstration, and will report on it to the home office in Rome.

We are planning this action to make it clear that Italy's "official" endorsement of the war goes against majority public opinion in Italy.
According to recent polls, the vast majority of Italians are strongly opposed. Last December an estimated 450,000 people participated in a mass antiwar march and rally in Florence. Similar protests have taken place, and more will be held in Italy's major cities on February 15.

We want to let people in the Bay Area and elsewhere in the U.S. know that, just as George W. Bush does not represent the majority opinion or the best
interests of citizens here in the U.S., Berlusconi does not speak for us.
We are joining with millions of our compatriots who say "NO" to President Bush and to the warmakers in Washington.

After our peaceful, nonviolent gathering, many of us will join the mass march and rally scheduled to start off from Justin Herman Plaza at 11 a.m.

PLEASE JOIN US!