State officials emptied a long-occupied structure in Turin. Police vacated the social centre, ending three decades of autonomous presence.
The operation began at dawn. Armoured vehicles and water cannons reached the building on Corso Regina Margherita. Officers watched as workers secured every door. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi declared state sovereignty exists everywhere.
Transnational Symbolism and Identity
The collective selected the Basque word for freedom in 1996. The choice occurred years before the Spanish state ruled a specific Basque party illegal due to alleged connections to armed groups. Activists used the vocabulary of a distant struggle to build an autonomous identity.
The moniker persisted in Italy long after Europe added the original party to terror lists. Spanish authorities halted every group that attempted to register there, but the Turin site thrived as a local anchor.
Dissolution of Municipal Partnership
Turin’s administration previously recognised the site as a formal civic resource. A brief agreement offered legitimacy within city law. Mayor Stefano Lo Russo withdrew from the partnership after inspectors found people on restricted upper floors.
Occupants describe the cancellation as a convenient pretext for state pressure. The pact generated a paper trail that eventually made the space more vulnerable to state intervention.
Defence Interests and Stifled Dissent
The police action followed protests involving the arms industry. Student groups occupied Leonardo’s headquarters to protest military sales. During the building raid, officers raided the houses of individuals linked to the November protest.
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto labelled protesters as criminals. A spokesperson told reporters the eviction served to suppress solidarity with Palestine. Protesters accused the firm of supporting military actions abroad, noting Italy’s rank as a top weapons supplier.
Strategy of Accelerated Removal
The state’s current strategy targets autonomous sites across the country.
Milan’s Leoncavallo operated for fifty years before a recent eviction. The government introduced decrees to speed up such removals. Legislators also implemented rules against port blockades where workers refused to move weapons.
The tally of self-managed spaces shrank as sites in Bologna and Genoa closed.
Resilience of Collective Vision
Despite securing the physical site and March convictions for several members, activity persists. Thousands marched through Turin after the raid. Families and students walked with activists.
People announced a January assembly and future protests, stating that shared ideals remain whole. State force emptied the building, but the name echoes in the streets.
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