Forty-six years have passed since the massacre above Ustica. On this day of reflection and remembrance, our thoughts of closeness and solidarity go first and foremost to the families of the victims, torn apart by an unacceptable event and a profound pain that time cannot heal. The mark of that catastrophe on the history of the Republic will never be erased.
On the anniversary of the June 27, 1980, massacre, which killed 81 passengers and crew on an Itavia DC-9 plane that had taken off from Bologna and was headed for Palermo, President Sergio Mattarella reiterated that reconstructing what happened that day 46 years ago "remains an essential duty."
"Many bodies were left unburied," the head of state added, "and the reconstruction of what happened remained unclear for a long time. The search for the truth, however, was undertaken and led to significant results."
And this is why "reconstructing what happened on the Tyrrhenian Sea" is a duty that Italy cannot shirk.
Even though the difficulties are enormous. The last investigation opened, in 2008 following Francesco Cossiga's statements that the French were responsible for the downing of the DC9 , is nearing closure, as Daria Bonfietti, president of the association of relatives of the Ustica massacre, recalls. A request that, Palazzo Chigi announced in a statement, "the government, through the State Attorney's Office, will oppose."
"At this time," the government continues, "it is not yet possible to file a civil action, as the proceedings are still in the preliminary investigation phase."
The next hearing, with the participation of the civil parties, is scheduled for September 30th and the decision is expected by the end of the year.
The request to shelve the case, Bonfietti emphasized, "is a request that we view as a defeat for the judiciary, for justice, for truth, for the very history of our country. The judiciary, the Roman prosecutors admit and declare that the 'weapons' of justice, the investigations, the rogatory letters, have not been sufficient to identify the actual perpetrators of the event. What a disgrace for a civilized country."
