Free Trieste

Trieste, 21 May 2014: Free Trieste‘s stand for legality and political goals are attracting many questions.

 

Indeed, this is the year of both Municipal (in Repentabor, Dolina and Sgnonico – Zgonik) and European elections. Also, separatists are invoking a “referendum” for Veneto’s independence.

1) About separatism:

The supporters of the Free Territory of Trieste are not separatists: the Free Territory of Trieste – FTT is already an independent State. Italy and other States recognize it under International Treaties, domestic laws, and UNSC Resolutions. All are in full force: LINK).

 

Laws in force do not require some “referendum” to be respected.

Calling for compliance with laws in force is not separatism.

Legality is not a compromise.

 

Italy itself recognizes Trieste’s independence. First, under the Italian Peace Treaty (art. 21). Following on it, with own domestic legislation. Not that it has much choice: in 1943 Italy surrendered without conditions to the Allied and Associating Powers after causing World War II on the side of Nazi Germany.

 

Art. 21 of the Treaty of Peace requires only one condition for Trieste to become independent: the coming into force of the Treaty itself. The Treaty of Peace came into force on September 15th, 1947. On this date, the first British-US Government of the Free Territory declared it a new, independent State.

 

Trieste is a State under the UN Security Council’s own protection. So establishes UNSC Resolution S/RES/16 (1947). The document recognizes not only the independence of the Free Territory, but also its international Free Port.

 

In 1954 the Governments of the U.S. and of the U.K. sub-entrusted the temporary civil administrator of the present-day Free Territory of Trieste to the Italian Government’s responsibility. Not to the Italian State. This special trusteeship mandate’s source is the Memorandum of Understanding of London about the Free Territory of Trieste.

2) About Italian elections:

Trieste Libera – Free Trieste is not a political party. It does not participate in local, Italian or European elections. It does not endorse candidates, political parties, or ideologies.

 

Indeed, the current elections are illegitimate. This is because the Italian Government, instead of exercising its legitimate mandate of temporary civil administration, took advantage of the Cold War era tensions and of Yugoslavia’s dissolution to elude its administration duties. And its local officers simulate Italian sovereignty over Trieste.

 

This means that Trieste pays undue, enormous Italian taxes instead of its own. Also, its people are illegally denied their legitimate citizenship and all rights connected. Furthermore, they are missing many economic opportunities and jobs because of the international Free Port‘s mismanagement.

 

In 2013, Trieste Libera – Free Trieste denounced all those violations for the first time: LINK.

 

One of the violations denounced by Free Trieste is that Italian elections are summoned within the administered FTT instead of Trieste’s own elections.

 

A State cannot summon or hold elections outside its national territory. Italy has no sovereignty over Trieste. And the people of Trieste have the right to vote for their own representatives with their own legislation.

 

Since 2013, the Free Trieste Movement initiated a civil protest, the “NO ELECTION DAY“.

 

In 2013, hundreds of Triestines denounced at the polling stations that these were not elections of the FTT, but illegal elections of another State, summoned and held outside its jurisdiction. By doing so, they also called for the re-establishment of their own electoral and civil rights.

 

Again in 2013, 57 Triestines brought a case before the Regional Administrative Court (Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale – TAR), requesting the annulation of Regional elections. The legal action was dismissed, and the local Italian authorities attempted to intimidate the appellants, calling their action subversive. However, none of this can stop Free Trieste – Trieste Libera.

Calling for legality is not subversive, breaching the law is.

Our Movement is in no way associated with local politicians who, claiming to belong to it or support it, use the legal battle for Trieste’s independence to collect votes in the Italian elections. 

 

Free Trieste’s battle is, first and foremost, a firm stand for legality. We stand first in line for the legally established rights of the citizens, enterprises, and residents of the Free Territory of Trieste.

 

Compliance with the law is mandatory. It doesn’t depend on the outcome of some election. Claiming otherwise is simply false. Elections summoned by Italy, a foreign Country, in the Free Territory of Trieste are illegal. It is impossible respecting the law by breaching it.

 

In 2014, the “NO ELECTION DAY” campaign took once again the shape of an international complaint (LINK): the Free Territory of Trieste has signed no agreements with the European Union, nor did the Italian Government on its behalf. This means the Italian Government has no authority to summon European election in the FTT.

Free Trieste embraces a path made of absolute compliance with the law.

It would be contradictory expecting the re-establishment of the rule of law from a political compromise with the authorities that deny Trieste’s rights since long decades. Furthermore, even Italian laws recognize Trieste’s independence.

 

The law is simple, and respecting it just partially equals to breaching it.

 

Trieste Libera – Free Trieste is working to re-establish the rule of law in the present-day Free Territory of Trieste. It does it with legal actions and addressing Trieste’s legitimate guarantors. This is the only way to obtain a State worth this name, a State that truly represents us, a State that we can be proud of.

 

Free Trieste stands for legality and for the rules-based international legal order.