TESTO INGLESE

THE PRESS MUST NOT BE SUBJECT TO AUTHORISATION OR CENSORSHIP
Art. 21 of the Italian Constitution, 1948


THE POLITICAL FORCES OF THE OPPOSITION AND THE MEDIA SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO HARP ON ABOUT DEFEAT AND CATASTROPHE, AND YOU, TOO, SHOULD DO YOUR BIT BY REFRAINING FROM PLACING ADVERTS WITH THOSE WHO BEHAVE LIKE THIS
Silvio Berlusconi, addressing a meeting of young entrepreneurs, 13th June 2009

With this statement, made before an assembly of young Italian entrepreneurs, Silvio Berlusconi invited those in attendance to boycott all the independent newspapers that tell the truth about the economic crisis and to refrain from placing adverts with them. He went on to launch a blatant attack on respected broadsheet La Repubblica, accusing it of being at the forefront of a subversive plot. This was the first time that a Western Head of State has ever encouraged anyone to distort the market by boycotting newspapers that do not agree with his point of view.

We consider this form of pressure to be unacceptable. Berlusconi's behaviour is reminiscent of the approach typically taken by non-democratic governments.

This appeal is not aimed at those citizens who fear for the survival of La Repubblica – not least because we are convinced that the majority of businesspeople to whom this invitation was extended have a far deeper sense of the purpose of the State and of democracy than our current Head of State does. Rather, we are appealing to those who believe that this sort of interference is shameful, illiberal and anti-democratic. We take issue not with the government per se, or its choices or policies, but with the aberrant way the person entrusted with the responsibility of running our country wields the power vested in him.

We beseech you,

Angela Merkel, Taro Aso, Gordon Brown, Stephen Harper, Dmitry Medvedev, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy...

LET THIS TRAVESTY BE KNOWN AND DO NOT ABANDON US!

This page has been paid for by a group of citizens of different political persuasions who have decided to pool their resources in order to express their outrage at the increasing restrictions placed on the freedom of the press and at the attempts to compromise its ability to serve as the guardian of our democratic rights.