Susanna Thomas spoke out against what happened in Italy after riots broke out following protests surrounding July’s G-8 summit meeting in Genoa, Italy. Thomas, 21 years of age, was imprisoned for three weeks in an Italian jail, after what she describes as being a “terrible brutality” in the riots that left one protester dead and hundreds injured.
Thomas, who is originally from Warren, New Jersey, attends Bryn Mawr College located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She is part of the Australian Pulbix Theatre caravan, a theater group that deals mainly with issues that are political in nature. She was arrested on July 22nd, after the Italian police alleged that the theater group, to which Thomas belonged, had conspired with a violent radical group known as the Black Bloc. Many considered the Bloc to be responsible for instigating the riots. She was held prisoner in Voghera outside of Milan until her release on August 14th.
The riots in Italy where some of the most brutal and violent since the anti-globalization movement erupted at the World Trade Organization in Seattle, Washington in 1999. The Italian police have been criticized of engaging in acts of brutality and using unnecessary force against protesters. The events hat occurred on July 22nd left many people severely injured and beaten and at least 92 people were arrested. Police shot one man, Carlo Giuliani, to death during the assault. He was the only fatality during the assault, Thomas, “Thankful I was never beaten or assaulted,” and that she prays for all those who where injured. As of the previous week 20 of the Italian police force, including a man named, Arnaldo La Barbera, the then head of Italy’s anti-terrorist force had been placed under a criminal investigation.
“The work of the Pulbix Theatre caravan of, freedom and of the movement and rights of migrant and refugees is never more important than now,” Thomas said on her personal website dedicated to the incident. “As capital crosses borders with ever-increasing ease, people as well must reach across boarders with ever-increasing bonds of friendship and trust.
As Thomas said, “I pray that the Italian authorities remember their democratic heritage and honor that right, and honor the continued political dissent that is so vital to any democracy. This is my prayer for all nations.”
For more information regarding the incidents in Italy and for an update on the Pulbix Theatre caravan log onto http:/home.att.net/~su.support. If anyone is interested in contacting the Pulbix Theatre for more information they may write them at: Publix Theatre Caravan, PO Box #31 Gillette, NJ 07933
