Home > THE DRAMATIC THIRST STRIKE OF MARCO PANNELLA, AT ITS SEVENTH DAY, FOR THE UNIVERSAL MORATORIUM FOR DEATH PENALITY
THE DRAMATIC THIRST STRIKE OF MARCO PANNELLA, AT ITS SEVENTH DAY, FOR THE UNIVERSAL MORATORIUM FOR DEATH PENALITY
The request was directed to the Italian Government, that starting from today is a member of the Security Council of the United Nations. The first response of the premier Romano Prodi was considered unsatisfactory.
Rome, January, 2nd 2007
The hunger and thirst strike of the radical leader and eurpean MP Marco Pannella arrived to its seventh day. The last medical report deals with “sudden and serious deterioration of the parameters and kidney's funcionality”, and with “possible sudden cardio-circulatory complications” and recommendes “to stop the fast and to rush him to hospital”.
Marco Pannella, through its thirst strike, addresses the Italian Government, that from January, 1st is non permanent member of the Security Council, requesting him to present – in the United Nations' consess – the resolution for the universal moratorium for the death penality. Among the different options pointed out by the radical leader, the extraordinary convocation of the UN General Assembly, in accordance with the articles 8 and 9 of the Charter, with the aim of launch the moratorium of capital executions, as was already requested several times by the UN Commission for Human Rights.
According to the assessments of the association Hands off Cain, that has been fighting for years against the death penality, a resolution proposed to the UN General Assembly would surely pass.
In a press release published today, the Italian Premier and the whole Government “commited themselves to start the formal procedures, involving firstly the nations supporters of the December declaration, so that the UN General Assembly put in its agenda the issue of the universal moratorium for the death penality”.
Marco Pannella replied by asking to the Government which one is the Assembly he is talking about, if “the one currently in progress through the Third Committee, or the others, whose report has still to be discussed and voted, or an extraordinary Assembly in accordance with the articles 8 and 9 of the UN Charter”.
And also: “if i would be in Prodi's position – explains the radical leader – I would, even personally, concern about talking with the highest leaders of International Community. It is just an example. Whenever, he could count immediately on the committed and tangible cooperation of the Transational Radical Party and the whole italian radical world”.
The thirst strike of Marco Pannella had begun on December, 27th after the request addressed to Government of undertaking an international initiative with the aim of avoid the execution of the death sentence of Saddam Hussein. An appeal in this sense was lauched by the association Hands Off Cain, which was subscribed by more then 200 MP and 3 Nobel Prizes for Peace.
After the execution of Saddam Hussein, Pannella's initiative, within the First Great World Satyagraha for Peace, launched by the Non-violent Radical Party, aims, by presenting the resolution on the universal moratorium for the capital executions to the UN, to avoid that the worldwide situation comes to a head, in Iraq but not only, spreading into a bloodbath and further death penalities, in a twist of violence and war that could evolve in a widespread conflict with uncalculable consequences.
