“NO EXPLOITATION, THE GOVERNMENT HAS BETRAYED A DECADE LONG BATTLE”

Italian undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Margherita Bonniver, speaking on Wednesday at the senate’s human rights commission to explain the government’s decision for the non presentation of a resolution for a universal moratorium on capital executions at the ongoing General Assembly, said that the situation had been “exploited” by the opposition and, with obvious reference to Hands Off Cain, also by an “important non governmental organisation”. In reply, Hands Off Cain Secretary Sergio D’Elia states: “Exploitation on behalf of Hands Off Cain? For what purpose? I would like to remind Undersecretary Boniver that it was us who decided put our faith in the Berlusconi government for a victory in the campaign for a UN moratorium on executions.
From this point of view we were hardly a ‘non governmental organisation’, we were allied with the government and even offered, on behalf of Hands Off Cain and the Transnational Radical Party, the availability of Emma Bonino to the job of guiding the Italian delegation at the General Assembly as was given her by the Berlusconi government in 1994. The offer was turned down.
The Italian government had first solemnly and repeatedly announced its commitment in this campaign but then did nothing but accumulate excuses on a daily basis and take every opportunity to not go ahead with the initiative, going against is announced commitments. In the end, in order to masquerade its incapability and/or disinterest for this battle, the government hid behind the alibi that there were “divergences” on the matter within Europe.
The truth is that we offered the Berlusconi government a relevant and clear campaign that could have been won, but the government - notwithstanding the fact that, for once, it even had the backing of the opposition – brought it to failure. What were we supposed to say: bravo!? Have we been exploiting the situation to criticise the government? No, we feel betrayed, as was the decade long campaign that the whole of Italy – government, parliament, public opinion – could be proud of.”