COMMITTEE AGAINST EXPANSION OF AMPUGNANO AIRPORT – SIENA


Demonstration

10th November 2007

Siena

  Opening speech by Fernando Giannelli

 

My first thought on seeing so many of you here today is that somebody, some time ago, added up the bill without the host.  I want to tell these gentlemen that the host has arrived.  Let us sit down and do the sums again!

Yes, because we have done our sums:  we have read the project, we have taken it to pieces and put it back together again, we have consulted experts, and we don’t like it.  This is not the type of development we want, the development that this town and this area needs.  Sorry, I’ll correct that, I was about to fall into a trap:  the truth, the point, is that what is proposed is not development.

Why did I say a trap?  Because transformation of Ampugnano airport into a commercial airport is passed off as progress, development, it is made out to be an opportunity.

These are high-sounding words:  who can be against development and progress?  Who is mad enough to pass up an opportunity?  Not us!

Not us, simply because this commercial airport at Ampugnano is not development, it is not progress, it is not an opportunity:  it is a wrong choice, in the interests of a few, it is a choice that not only sacrifices Sovicille on the altar of business, but also the tranquillity and identity of Siena.

We are accused of prejudice and ideology!  No sir, we are talking about numbers.

Let us have a look at these numbers.  On page 4 of the Galaxy project we read that thanks to the new commercial airport, two million tourists will come to Siena in 2015, an increase of 600,000, more than 40% more than now.

So this is the plan:  not fast connections for the people of Siena, this is not development!

The idea is to apply the industrial principal to tourism:  constant growth without worrying about the physiological limits of the town, its social structure, its spaces, the needs of its citizens:  this idea will bring Siena a dismal future, it will become a tourist machine, it will no longer be a town to live in, only a product to sell.

They accuse us of ideology, prejudice and political stakes.

Lies!  Our objections are solid, we have written them, printed them, put them on internet, but we continue to note an absolute, paradoxical absence of concrete replies.  In the press releases of proponents of this project, there is unconditional acceptance of the package, there is dangerous superficiality, they talk about something they do not know.  How can they defend a project they haven’t read?

Our protest is supposed to be manipulated by occult political forces.  This is ridiculous and offensive.

As I look at this square, I see a multitude of people of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life.

What is it that unites us?  I think I can tell you two things that keep us together.

The first is freedom:  the freedom to think with our own heads, to criticise, the freedom to change the course of events, the freedom, or perhaps the luxury, of not being bought!

The second is a simple word that may not make a big splash, but it is the most important principle that should inspire those who make decisions for us:  it is common sense, something that prevents us from becoming megalomaniacs, from biting off more than we can chew, of going down a blind alley.  That is what unites us.

I am not one of the founders of this committee.  I came later and was welcomed with open arms.  As one of the last to join, I say to all of you who wish to join us and work with us, that you will be welcome, whatever your age, work or political persuasion.  You will be welcome to come an experience freedom and awareness with us, for our town, our area and our future.