G8 police admit excessive force
(Filed: 09/08/2001)
ITALY'S national police chief admitted yesterday that his men used excessive force during the G8 summit in Genoa, when three days of violence left a protester dead and the city centre looking like a war zone.
Giving evidence to a parliamentary inquiry, Gianni De Gennaro said in a written statement: "The guerrilla-like conditions created by violent and criminal instigators in some cases provoked an excessive use of force by police units - that may be true.
"And in some other very isolated cases, there was [unprovoked] unlawful conduct, which will be rigorously looked into."
Politicians welcomed Mr De Gennaro's forthrightness. "It was a compelling report, quite broad and full of courageous self-criticism," said Renato Schifani, a senator from the conservative Forza Italia party.
But the Right-wing National Alliance party, a partner in the government, hinted that it might be time for Mr De Gennaro to go. "It's an hypothesis we will have to consider," said Luciano Magnalbo, a Forza Italia MP.
"There must be an assumption of responsibility for the problems caused at the G8 summit from the hierarchy in charge of commanding and co-ordinating, above all the head of police."
There has been a flood of allegations of police brutality, with many protesters saying they were beaten while lying on the ground.
Other concerns have focused on a midnight raid on a school that was a headquarters for protester groups, in which 62 people were injured and 90 arrested.
Three senior police officers have been transferred to more low-profile positions by the Interior Minister, Claudio Scajola, who has faced calls for his own resignation.