The director of the Confocommercio trade confederation, Celso Cioni, barricaded himself in one of the BankItalia's toilets in the city of Acquila, taking matches and a gas canister with him.
A radically-minded man threatened to go on a hunger strike and douse himself with flammable liquid and set fire if the government urgently does not revise some of the nuances of the country's banking system, and in particular its individual regions. Chioni claims his protest is "a cry for help from private entrepreneurs in this life-beaten town."
The director of Confocommerchio explained that after the earthquake that occurred a couple of years ago in Aquila, the government allocated too small amounts to repair the damage caused by the disaster. Therefore, many entrepreneurs were forced to "get into" debt in order to keep their business afloat. Presenting his own wishes and interests of his colleagues, around noon, Chioni barricaded himself in the toilet cubicle of one of the branches of the Bank of Italy, thus declaring a hunger strike. The protester also warned that if they try to pull him out, he will immediately pour gasoline on himself and strike a match.
Fortunately, after several hours of persuasion, the local police still persuaded Chioni not to commit a demonstrative suicide.
An hour later, the hero of the day gave an interview to reporters, stating that “many entrepreneurs are so depressed by the current situation that they often turn to psychologists for help.” The director of the Aquila Trade Confederation also added that businessmen were in a very difficult situation, it’s almost impossible to get out of it , which prompted him to "convince" the government to reconsider some of the laws of the banking system, if not throughout Italy, then at least in this region.
“I protest, thereby supporting numerous businessmen who were forced to abandon their business, as it was no longer a source of profit, but brought only one continuous loss,” added Chioni.
“I know cases where desperate entrepreneurs committed suicide. Something needs to be done. We must have other laws, not as stringent as in the more prosperous regions of the country. We simply don’t have the means to restore Aquila after a devastating earthquake. ”
A few days ago, on suspicion of corruption and embezzlement on an especially large scale, the mayor of the city of Aquila, Massimo Cialente, was detained. He was put under house arrest, as were his four accomplices, by the way, very significant figures in the life of the city. According to police, Chalente, who relieved himself of the mayor’s responsibilities in connection with the scandal, appropriated part of the amount allocated by the state to restore Aquila after the earthquake. According to experts, the actions of Chalente actually "killed" 300 residents of the city, who did not receive any financial support.
Moreover, investigators calculated that the former mayor, as well as his intermediaries, had pocketed at least 700 thousand dollars, making illegal deals with developers. This scandal caused almost international resonance. The Italian government, as well as its residents, are simply shocked by the brutality of the mayor of Aquila: after all, from 2009 to 2011, he actually made money from the misfortunes of people left after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in the street without a livelihood.
Five years ago, a raging element hit Aquila and claimed more than 300 lives, destroying thousands of houses.
