the Diaz group of victims here in london have decided to respond and demonstrate against fini in Pall mall at 11am by st Georges steps. Assemble at 10.30am at Carlton Gardens, SW1. apparently, the cops have realised the sensitivity of the visit and have set aside a space on Pall Mall for protesters at st georges steps to protest.

The Diaz trial is about to start on april 6th in Genoa with 73 police on trial. it is important to protest against this top fascist because he ordered the raid which beat and tortured 93 globalisation protesters. The Diaz lawyers are attempting to get Fini questioned over Diaz (since he lost his immunity). even if lawyers cannot get him questioned, the Diaz trial will be enoumously damaging him

the diaz group are asking that this protest be peaceful otherwise the police will hit back. worse there will be right wing italian journalists present who would love to publish violent pics on the eve of the trial. so, everyone please be peaceful if you come.( alot of shouting required and loud:))

for more information read below:

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1436034,00.html

Queen to greet Italian in football and fascism row

John Hooper in Rome
Saturday March 12, 2005
The Guardian

The Queen risks being embroiled in a row over fascism and football when she shakes hands next week with Italy's foreign minister, Gianfranco Fini, leader of the hard right National Alliance.

Claims that his party has ditched its fascist heritage were this week undermined when some of his leading followers offered their backing to Paolo Di Canio, the Serie A player fined for giving the straight-arm salute.

Two National Alliance MPs proposed a collection to pay the €10,000 (around £7,000) penalty imposed on the Lazio forward by Italian football's disciplinary authority.

Among those who endorsed the whipround was Mr Fini's wife, Daniela, who is due to join the Queen at a banquet in Buckingham Palace on Tuesday evening.

Ms Fini said the collection for Di Canio would be "an act of solidarity".

She complained that leftwing players and supporters had been given less onerous penalties for political gestures and added: "If politics has no place in the stadium, then it should have no place there for anyone." Ms Fini and her husband are coming to London on a state visit with Italy's president, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. Mr Fini will be introduced to the Queen at Horse Guards Parade in London on Tuesday morning.

Their handshake will be the biggest victory so far in his campaign to win international respectability for himself and his party, which is made up largely of former neo-fascists. The Alliance, the second biggest party in Silvio Berlusconi's rightwing coalition, grew out of the Italian Social Movement (MSI), which was founded after the second world war to perpetuate the ideas of Italy's former dictator, Benito Mussolini, and his black-shirted followers.

British officials said yesterday they believed Mr Fini would be the first ex-MSI leader to meet the Queen.

Di Canio, who played in Britain for Celtic, Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham and Charlton, gave a straight-arm salute to Lazio's notoriously far right supporters after their side's 3-1 victory over arch rivals Roma on January 6.

His claims that it was merely a "victory gesture" were swept aside by the Italian football federation's disciplinary commission. It ruled this week that his gesture was "unequivocally interpretable as a 'Roman salute'."

The sport's disciplinary watchdog imposed a fine of €10,000 on Lazio as well as demanding the same amount from Di Canio personally.

The decision prompted fury among National Alliance leaders. Francesco Storace, one of Mr Fini's leading lieutenants and governor of the Lazio region, which encircles Rome, called it "a true scandal".

Romano La Russa, one of the National Alliance MPs who launched the collection, said Di Canio had merely made "a friendly gesture towards fans who were celebrating in the stands". He added: "Instead of tackling serious problems, like clubs going bankrupt, crooked bookkeeping and the use of slush funds, they punish a great player like Di Canio."

Another National Alliance MP and former Lazio player, Gigi Martini, said he opposed the collection, but only because "it would mean recognising Di Canio had done something really serious". He called the decision to fine the player "very wrong".

There has been periodic speculation that Di Canio himself could go into politics as a National Alliance candidate after he retires.

In London, Weyman Bennett, joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism, said: "Gianfranco Fini has a long history of association with fascist organisations.

"We think it is a disgrace that the monarch should shake the hand of someone who previously supported the politics of Mussolini. We would expect higher standards.

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1394586,00.html

Now, the reckoning

In the summer of 2001, Italian police launched a brutal raid on protesters at the G8 summit in Genoa after they had returned to their sleeping quarters. Among 62 injured were various Britons, some of whom have still not recovered. Finally, more than 60 officers are being called to account in court. Rachel Shabi and John Hooper report