ITALY: Few hundred mourners sing, chant and applaud as the body of Vittorio Arrigoni arrives at a Rome airport

Record ID: 789128

  • Title: ITALY: Few hundred mourners sing, chant and applaud as the body of Vittorio Arrigoni arrives at a Rome airport
  • Date: 21st April 2011
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) PRO-PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST ALBERTO FROM TUSCANY, ITALY, SAYING: "It is sad because this event has created a lot of pain, also because of the way he was killed. But there is also a great desire to continue his work, to reinvigorate the struggle and support for the Palestinian resistance. I think this is an important message and I think up there, Vittorio appreciates this, also the fact that everybody seems to be quite moved and that there is much more attention on the freedom flotillas, also in the media that we are forced to speak about it and that is very important." CAR CARRYING COFFIN ARRIVING / MOURNERS APPLAUDING MOURNERS APPLAUDING CAR CARRYING COFFIN MOVING / CROWD CHANTING "VITTORIO, VITTORIO" VARIOUS OF GIRL CRYING
  • Embargoed: 6th May 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy, Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVAES6F8ZB2527NGHZQ0WPL8J91U
  • Story Text: A few hundred mourners and activists gathered at Rome's Fiumicino airport on Wednesday (April 20) evening to honour Italian pro-Palestinian activist Vittorio Arrigoni who was abducted and killed in Gaza last week.
    The group of Italian and Palestinian mourners, armed with flowers, Palestinian flags and banners lined up outside an airport cargo terminal where Arrigoni's body was flown in from Egypt.
    Arrigoni was a blogger who had lived in Gaza since arriving in August 2008 aboard a humanitarian aid boat that Israel admitted despite imposing a blockade on the territory.
    His body was recovered in an abandoned house in the Gaza Strip on Friday (April 15) after his abduction by militants from a Jihadist Salafi group.
    Arrigoni had been in the Palestinian territories on and off for a decade and was a committed supporter of Palestinians and a strong critic of Israeli policy.
    The 36-year-old was among a group of activists from Europe and the United States who reactivated the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and had worked closely with Gazan fishermen and farmers.
    Arrigoni's death caused outrage among ordinary Palestinians in Gaza.
    President of the Palestinians in Italy Association, Hannoun Mohammad, paid tribute to the activist as the mourners waited for his coffin to be loaded off an airplane.
    "Today is an important day for us, Palestinians around the world, we are here to welcome the martyr, Vittorio Arrigoni who was assassinated by Palestinian terrorists. We Palestinians condemn this act," he said.
    The Hamas government, which is deeply hostile to Israel, had denounced the kidnapping and killing as an attempt to harm international solidarity with Gaza .
    But Italian activists, who plan to sail to Gaza in late May, said they hoped Arrigoni's death would bring more attention to the situation and added that the killing would not jeopardise more solidarity missions such as flotillas that have tried to circumvent the Israeli naval blockade on Gaza .
    "It is sad because this event has created a lot of pain, also because of the way he was killed. But there is also a great desire to continue his work, to reinvigorate the struggle and support for the Palestinian resistance. I think this is an important message and I think up there, Vittorio appreciates this, also the fact that everybody seems to be quite moved and that there is much more attention on the freedom flotillas, also in the media that we are forced to speak about it and that is very important," said Alberto from Tuscany.
    As cars carrying Arrigoni's body departed from the airport terminal, the mourners applauded, chanted slogans and sang songs.
    The funeral of Arrigoni is expected to take place on Sunday (April 24) afternoon in his northern Italian hometown of Bulciago.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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