Italian president calls for end of spread of hate speech, prejudice

ROME - Politicians and the press must combat the spread of hate speech and prejudice or Italy might become like the "Far West", President Sergio Mattarella told reporters at Rome's Quirinal presidential palace on Thursday.

Mattarella spoke in reference to a July 24 incident in which an Italian man shot a little girl from the minority Roma ethnic group with a pellet gun, injuring her spine and leaving her at risk of paralysis.

"Italy cannot resemble the Far West, where a man buys a rifle and shoots from his balcony, wounding a one-year-old girl, ruining her health and her future," Mattarella said. "This is barbarism, and it sparks indignation."

Mattarella used the incident to warn against the spread of hate speech on the internet.

"We are all aware that the web is sometimes used in distorted, even alarming, ways," he said, pointing to "signals of rancor (and) brawling tones, which risk seeding society with the bacteria of division, of prejudice, of preconceived hostility, with the aim of subjecting our fellow citizens to constant tension".

The president told politicians and journalists that it is their job to fight the spread of hatred and prejudice among the public.

"It is up to those in political institutions and in the field of journalism to not let themselves be infected by this virus, but to fight it and to make all citizens perceive the serious damage it causes to the cohabitation of each and every one," Mattarella said.

"There is a duty to moderate (our) language," he said.

Mattarella also condemned trade wars, saying that "in the course of time, they have often led to another kind of war".

The president went on to speak of the world's 65 million refugees, saying that many people displaced is "an epochal phenomenon" and the European Union must "implement a plan of action in order to rule the phenomenon and not be subjected to it".

"Italy has repeatedly asked the European Union to take responsibility with respect to migration," Mattarella said. "Now we are finally seeing some positive signals coming from different countries within the Union."

Mattarella, whose job is to represent national unity and to safeguard the Constitution, made today's remarks during the traditional Fan Ceremony, in which the press corps gives the president a decorated fan to mark the beginning of the summer break.