The tragedy of Ustica was determined by an air war in the Italian skies. Responsibility for the death of 81 innocents must be sought in the maneuver of the French Air Force, with the accomplice of the USA, to kill Gaddafi. He was saved by a tip from Bettino Craxi who warned him and the Libyan dictator. Julian Amato reveals to La Repubblica, interviewed by Simonetta Fiori, his reconstruction of that terrible night of June 27, 1980. And asks the French president Emmanuel Macron to tear the veil that has covered the truth in recent years and to apologize to Italy and to the families of the deceased.
The tragedy of Ustica: France's responsibilities
«The most credible version - says Amato in the interview - is that of the responsibility of the French Air Force, with the complicity of the Americans and those who participated in the air war in our skies on the evening of that June 27th. , flying on a Mig of his air force. And the plan was to simulate a NATO exercise, with many planes in action, during which a missile should have been launched against the Libyan leader: the exercise was a staging that would have allowed the attack to be passed off as an involuntary accident ».
Giuliano Amato was a protagonist of Italian politics, minister and premier several times. In 1986 he was vice president of the Council of the Craxi government and was tasked with clarifying the massacre, after the misdirections on the "structural failure" of the aircraft had failed and attempts were made to replace them with the thesis of "internal failure due to the device".
The role of Bettino Craxi in the story of Ustica
«It was the Prime Minister Bettino Craxi – recalls Giuliano Amato in an interview with La Repubblica – who asked me to take care of it in August 1986. The solicitation came from the President of the Republic, Francesco Cossiga, under pressure from parliamentarians and intellectuals. At that time we were still sailing in the dark.' It is said that Craxi was annoyed by Cossiga's request: but how, you were prime minister in 1980, when the plane was shot down, and now you come to ask me about it?, asked Simonetta Fiori. «I remember that Craxi – is the answer – was intolerant of my perplexities about the generals' theses. I went to him for support on the facts that in my opinion belied them and he told me in no uncertain terms that I had to avoid annoying the military. Then he made me do it, because that was our relationship. But he wasn't happy."
The reason for Bettino Craxi's intolerance is explainable: «I would have known later – but without having proof of it – that it was Bettino who warned Gaddafi of the danger in the Italian skies. He certainly had no interest in such a truth coming out: he would have been accused of infidelity to NATO and of espionage in favor of the adversary. After all, that's always been the part of him. Friend of Gaddafi, friend of Arafat and of the Palestinians: a transgressive statesman in foreign policy».
The tragedy of Ustica: the appeal to Macron. "Apologise"
This is the most interesting part of the interview given by Giuliano Amato to Simonetta Fiori and published by La Repubblica. From the interview emerges clearly the "reason of state" or states that kept everything in silence and better still, says Amato, the "reason of NATO" that prevented the truth from being ascertained. The consequences of these statements will be seen in the next few hours and days. Amato explicitly asks the French president Emmanuel Macron, also by birth a stranger to the tragedy of Ustica to «remove the shame that weighs on France. And he can only remove it in two ways: either by demonstrating that this thesis is unfounded or, once its validity has been verified, by making the most profound apologies to Italy and to the families of the victims in the name of his government. Protracted silence doesn't seem like a solution to me."
The first reactions to Giuliano Amato's statements
“Important words that deserve attention.” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni intervenes on the merits of the interview given by former prime minister Giuliano Amato. You specify that "no act concerning the DC9 tragedy is covered by state secrecy and over the decades a long work has been carried out by the judicial authorities and parliamentary commissions of inquiry". And he concludes: "I ask President Amato to know whether, in addition to the deductions, he is in possession of elements that allow us to go back to the conclusions of the judiciary and Parliament, and to possibly make them available, so that the government can take all possible steps and consequent".
The Elysée chooses silence: “Nothing to comment” says Emmanuel Macron's staff.
The voices of the victims' families are being heard: the president of the association Daria Bonfietti asks that "We put an end to the tragic lie of the States".
Last updated at 16pm on 17 September 2.
