Over 80,000 people take to the streets to say “Stop the war, the time for peace is now”
The Italian National Peace Mobilization Day, organized by Europe for Peace, Rete Italiana Pace e Disarmo, Fondazione Perugia Assisi per la Cultura della Pace, Assisi Pace Giusta, Sbilanciamoci, and over 400 associations, movements, and organizations, including CGIL, concluded with broad participation.
The event took place across seven Italian cities — Rome, Palermo, Milan, Cagliari, Turin, Bari, and Florence — bringing together more than 80,000 people united in the call to silence weapons and restore diplomatic dialogue as the sole means of resolving conflicts.
In Rome, hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Piramide waving flags of peace, ANPI, and CGIL, and marched in a procession to the Colosseum, calling for an end to all wars. In the front lines, alongside numerous pacifist associations, CGIL reaffirmed its commitment to peace, urging a ceasefire in conflict areas such as Gaza, the Middle East, and Ukraine, and calling for a UN peace conference to uphold international law and recognize the State of Palestine.
CGIL General Secretary, Maurizio Landini, addressed the crowd during the mobilization, stating: “The appeal of this square is ‘stop the wars,’ immediately cease fire, and convene an extraordinary peace conference. We are not willing to accept that war has once again become the instrument regulating relations between states and nations. With a crisis of diplomacy and politics of this nature, it is time for the people of peace to raise their voices. War is driving inflation up, which in turn is worsening social conditions.
Only peace can establish social justice, creating a new social and economic model. The social bitterness we are witnessing, the rise in interpersonal violence, is also a product of the culture of war. War sends a message of violence and strength, the exact opposite of solidarity, cohesion, and social mediation. We are working to organize a global trade Union Day during the upcoming Jubilee, one that unites the struggle for peace with that for rights, work, and freedom. The labor movement is heading in this direction.
The Italian government is increasing military spending, which I believe is absolutely wrong. I would point out that, absurdly, this country is shutting down assembly lines that produce cars and public goods, while expanding production lines for Leopards and other weapons. It seems absurd to me. The notion that to ensure security we must increase armaments is nonsense, because sooner or later, the weapons get used. In this way, you are throwing away resources and, above all, sending a devastating message that brute force alone determines relations”.
CGIL reiterates its commitment to building a society founded on peace, social justice, and solidarity, firmly rejecting all forms of violence and oppression.