Extreem-rechtse terreur, Gladio en de strijd tegen het communisme gingen in Italië hand in hand. In dat opzicht is onderstaande informatie uit het CIA Terrorism Review van februari 1986 een interessante aanvulling:
Italian Rightwing Terrorism
Though often overshadowed by violence from the left, rightist terrorism remains a problem for Italian authorities. Since the train bombing in December 1984 that killed 15 passengers and wounded more than 100, most activity by rightwing groups has consisted of low-level armed and incendiary attacks against domestic targets. We expect this trend to continue throughout 1986 unless a number of exiled rightist terrorists return to Italy - and we have no indication that they will. In the past we have detected no particular pattern to periodic upsurges in Italian rightwing terrorism, although in some cases these appear to have been in response to intensified leftist activity.
Background
Rightist violence in Italy has a long history dating back to the 19th century and exemplified by the activities of Mussolini’s Black Shirts in the early 1920s. The most recent resurgence began in the late 1960s as a response to a leftward national political drift and escalated to the point that rightwing violence was responsible for the majority of deaths and injuries attributed to terrorism in Italy during the 1970s. Although rightwing terrorism is not as active today as it was in the last decade, it remains a serious threat to Italian society.
Since rightwing terrorism reemerged in the late 1960s, six groups apparently have been responsible for most violence: the New Order, the National Vanguard, the Black Order, the Third Position, the Armed Revolutionary Nuclei (NAR), and the Popular Revolutionary Movement. (1) Most of these rightwing groups borrow their symbols from Roman and Fascist mythology and history and claim to represent nationalism, anticommunism, anti capitalism, and rigid order. Just as Italian Fascists did in the past, these new groups seek to create an atmosphere of tension in order to make the government appear impotent and thus provoke popular demands for the restoration of law and order.
At present, terrorists on the right appear to have neither the organizational structure nor the support network of their counterparts on the left. [gecensureerd] it is widely alleged that they have ties to the Italian Social Movement (MSI), a legal political party. There are also indications that some MSI members engage in rightist terrorism or are in close contact with those who do.
Het is belangrijk om te weten dat er contacten waren tussen MSI, het Front de la Jeunesse en WNP. Ook Calmette had contacten met MSI, Calmette (in gezelschap van rijkswachter Martial Lekeu) heeft op een bepaald moment ingestaan voor de veiligheid van Giorgio Almirante, de toenmalige voorzitter van de Italiaanse neofascistische MSI.
Until recently, the targeting and tactics of rightist terrorists have been neither as selective nor as sophisticated as those of their leftist counterparts. The most spectacular rightist terrorist operations during the previous two decades involved the indiscriminate use of explosive devices in public spaces and on public conveyances. Five high-casualty bombings - train stations in Milan in 1969, Bresilia in 1974, and Bologna in 1980; and express trains in 1974 and December 1984 - were attributed to the right, although neither police investigations nor judicial procedures have succeeded in positively identifying or punishing the perpetrators. Rightist groups in Italy have not been know to target US persons or interests.
Since the early 1980s however, with many of their old-line leaders in jail or exile, rightist terrorists have increasingly come tot resemble leftist terrorists in their modus operandi. They are now targeting more selectively, expanding their use of firearms, and claiming responsibility for their attacks more routinely. Over the last several years, most of their attacks have been carried out by the NAR, primarily against students, journalists, leftists, police, and magistrates who have acted against rightists. Right now, [gecensureerd]
Dangerous prospects
In large measure, the new wave of Italian rightwing terrorists consists mainly of youths who are fascinated with the doctrine and trappings of the Fascist movement and are responding to the perceived cultural and political challenge posed by their more radicalized - and publicized - leftist peers. This younger generation, however, suffered a severe blow in May when 53 rightists - mostly in their early twenties - received sentences of 18 months to 23 years in prison.
More serious is the potential threat that could come from "old guard" rightists - those active in the late 1960s and 1970s - many of whom are now living abroad as fugitives. Members of this older generation have recently been reported in France, Ecuador and Paraguay. If the old guard were to return to a action and assume leadership of the new recruits, the tempo of rightist violence could increase dramatically in Italy, especially if leftist violence were present to serve as a catalyst. We have no indication that this scenario will occur in the near future. In the meantime, the rightists will continue to take lives, and the current pattern of sustained low-level violence - periodically punctuated by unpredictable bloody bombings - is likely to persist.
The aftermath of Rightwing Terrorism
The unsolved 1980 Bologna railway station massacre that killed 85 people is still a sensitive topic in Italian politics five years after the event. In August 1985, thousands of people attended an annual demonstration in Bologna to protest the unsuccessful police investigation. Although there is no solid evidence in recent years linking Italian security services to rightwing terrorists, two former military intelligence servicemen are now under indictment for obstructing the judicial investigation into the bombing. Similar accustations by politicians and newspapers have fueled the Italian people’s frustrations.
Voetnoot:
(1) Many of the same individuals revolve through various neofascist groups, most of which tend to discard old names for new ones or operate simultaneously under several names. For example, the New Order apparently created the National Vanguard before becoming the Black Order, which in turn gave life to the Armed Revolutionary Nuclei. The latter group has also conducted terrorist attacks under the name of the Popular Revolutionary Movement.
Italian Rightwing Terrorist Organizations
Armed Revolutionary Nuclei (Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari)
Third Postion (Terza Posizione)
Popular Revolutionary Movement (Movimento Popolare Rivoluzionario)
Black Order (Ordino Nero)
New Order (Ordino Nuovo)
National Vanguard (Avanuardia Nazionale)
Armed Revolutionary Movement (Movimento Armato Rivoluzionario)
Compass Card (Rosa dei Venti)
National Front (Fronte Nazionale)
Mussolini Action Squads (Squadra d’Azione Mussolini)
The Phoenix (La Fenice)
Tolfa Brigands (Briganti della Tolfa)
Italians’ Protection Association (Associazione Protezione Italiani)
Aryan Brotherhood (Fratellanza Ariana)
Executioners of Italy (Giustizieri d’Italia)
Fascist Revolutionary Nuclei (Nuclei Fascisti Rivoluzionari)
Popular Revolutionary Opposition (Opposizione Popolare Rivoluzionario)
South Tyrolean Homeland League (Suedtiroler Heimatbund)