Eight people have been reportedly injured during clashes between police and demonstrators taking part in an anti-NATO march in the Italian city of Naples, after police attacked with batons and teargas.
According to the sources demonstrators made an effort to breach police lines en route to the San Carlo opera house, where a concert commemorating the 75th anniversary of the alliance was scheduled.
Reports also note a pro-Palestinian procession along Naples’ Via Toledo, featuring participants displaying banners opposing NATO and Palestinian flags.
Around 50 people tried to break through the police cordon and were met with repression by the state. Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian protesters occupied the premises of the University of Naples Federico II, demanding that NATO cease support for their client state, the Zionist regime occupying Palestine.
“We consider it unacceptable that such a method of violence is used against those who loudly condemn the barbaric war and the participation of NATO and our governments in the genocide committed by the state of Israel. While people are dying in the Gaza Strip, in Naples they are breaking the heads of those who dare to disturb high officials who have closed for celebrations in theaters,” the protest organizers were quoted as saying.
Late last month, mass group demonstrations took place on March 30 in several European countries as part of the weekly ongoing protests since the beginning of the Zionist war on Gaza. However, that week it coincided with Land Day.
The demonstrations showcased unprecedented high momentum and a wide scope across Europe, extending to many cities, including London, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Aarhus, Oslo, and others.
Naples is home to NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command and Defense College.
NATO was founded on the basis of the North Atlantic Treaty signed on April 4, 1949 to provide collective security against the Soviet Union, serve as an counter-revolutionary force internationally, and notably included Nazi’s in its leadership.
The treaty was signed in Washington initially by 12 countries – Belgium, England, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Canada, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United States and France. Currently, the bloc has 32 members, almost all European countries except the United States, Canada and Turkey.
Anti-NATO sentiment has grown worldwide, including in member countries over the alliance’s policy of aggressive interference in other countries’ affairs, and due to its imperialist expansion internationally. The issue of NATO expansion is currently at the forefront of international politics due to its policies leading to the war in Ukraine.