As the Italian hostage crisis deepens, opposition to Italy's military involvement in Iraq is growing, reports Samia Nkrumah from Rome Images of three Italian hostages, Umberto Cupertino, Maurizio Agliana and Salvatore Stefio, taken in Iraq three weeks ago, beamed by Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabia TV stations -- from the earliest video clip just after their capture, to the latest images of them looking well but thinner -- have provided a strong and sobering reminder of Italy's involvement in Iraq. This is the second time, after the Nassiriya suicide bombing that claimed 19 Italian lives last November, that Italians have been brutally reminded of the cost of their government's stand in the Iraqi crisis. Recently, most Italian dailies have been emblazoned with another set of images from Iraq: pictures of American and British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners. The combined effect of these two sets of images has been unsettling, particularly as the fate of the Italians remains far from certain while negotiations for their release continue. At this stage, the keyword is silence. After much speculation about negotiations to secure the release of the hostages, Italian government officials have been tight-lipped about the affair. The unresolved hostage affair has certainly put the government in a difficult position, according to analysts. Luccio Caracciolo, editor-in-chief of LIMES, a respected geopolitics periodical, told Al-Ahram Weekly that the government "will probably pay politically for its pro-Washington position in the upcoming European parliamentary elections in June". In Italy, just like in Spain, there has always been very little public support for the war in Iraq. The Vatican added weight to public opinion by opposing the war, just as it did the 1991 Gulf War. "At the beginning of the war the government attempted to steer public opinion to its side, banking on a quick American victory and end to the war. When this failed to happen, and particularly after the capture of Saddam Hussein when the situation worsened, the government went on the defensive," said Caracciolo. The hastily arranged peace march in the heart of Rome last week in compliance with one of the demands of the Iraqi captors -- a group calling itself the Green Brigades -- was as sombre and subdued as it was spontaneous. While the march attracted around 10,000 protesters, the procession led by the families of the hostages lacked the feel of the boisterous, well-organised trade union marches. Nevertheless, hundreds of the trademark rainbow-coloured peace banners and flags of the anti-war protesters were visible. Some banners had slogans urging, "Italy: Get out of the war!" and "Get the war out of Italy!" and "Immediate withdrawal from Iraq!" The now famous 20-metre long peace banner was in view, held by scores of alternating volunteers. Towards the end of the procession, a dozen Italian Disobbedienti (disobedient ones) could be seen carrying the Iraqi flag, with its black, white and red colours and the words "God is great" written in Arabic at the centre. The short walk ended in Saint Peter's Square, the marchers' final destination, from which the Papal office window can be seen. Pope John Paul II did not put in an appearance, perhaps in deference to political advisors. The Pope's message however, delivered by the Vatican's foreign minister, spoke for most marchers. Its political import did not go amiss. The Pope's prayer was for "the safe return of the hostages and for an independent Iraq". One protester agreed, summing up the dual motive for turning out to protest against the war last week. "I'm here in a personal and political capacity: to help the hostages and to declare my opposition to the war and the presence of 3,000 Italians in Iraq." The imams of the main mosques in both Milan and Turin were among the marchers and so was a delegation from the Union of Muslim Communities in Italy. Conspicuous by their absence from what the hostages' families called the "humanitarian march", were the party leaders from the government coalition and the main opposition figures who cited their refusal to be used as pawns in the hostage affair. Only a smattering of leaders, mainly from the communist party, such as Fausto Bertinotti and Oliviero Diliberto, were visible. From the governing coalition, Mirko Tremaglia, minister for Italians abroad, also took part "in a personal capacity". While the government continues to reiterate its commitment to keep the Italian contingent in southern Iraq, there is a growing trend within the centre-left main opposition coalition, the Olive Tree, which is beginning to favour the withdrawal of troops. The centre-left is growing bolder in its opposition to the war in Iraq. A recent Olive Tree flyer showing its candidate for the next elections, European Commission President Romano Prodi, contains the slogan "Iraq; a wrong war. Europe; the power of peace." Some efforts for peace are being pursued on grounds other than the political. Former special advisor to Iraq's Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), Marco Calamai, who resigned from his post a few days after the Nassiriya attack, is currently busy putting shape to a project involving cooperation between some universities in southern Italy and Nassiriya University. "The goal is to initiate and sustain a cultural dialogue between the Iraqi people and us, involving different sectors of society independently of governments," Calamai told the Weekly. The project, involving various academics of centre-left tendencies but essentially non-partisan and backed by a cultural association known as Il Campo (the field), hopes to introduce scholarships, an exchange programme for students and lecturers, and launch new research projects, among other activities, to help Nassiriya University grow and break the isolation of its staff and students. The Italian NGO, Un Ponte Per (A Bridge For), which continues to be active in other parts of Iraq, will collaborate with the project by receiving funds and buying computers for Nassiriya University. The idea for the project was born during a meeting between the rector of the Iraqi university, Riadh Shantra, and Calamai himself, just a day before the November attack on the Italian base. Nassiriya University is relatively new, two years old, with around 5,000 students. Most of the students are female and aspire to become teachers, one of the few good prospects for women with a university degree. As for the men, until a few years ago, Calamai was informed, the only available jobs were in government offices, the army or the police.
