(Adnkronos) – Italy and its armed forces defend peace, freedom and uphold national and international institutions and law at home and abroad, president Sergio Mattarella said in a speech to mark National Unity and Armed Forces Day on Monday.
“November 4 celebrates National Unity and honours the Armed Forces, whose achievements helped make Italy an independent, free nation inspired by democratic values and peace, Mattarella stated in the message to Italy’s defence minister, Guido Crosetto.
November 4 has been an Italian national day since 1919, commemorating victory in World War I – an event which is considered to have completed the unification of Italy.
The date “evokes distant events, wars and bloody fighting that brought devastation to and inflicted wounds on the society of the time,” Mattarella noted.
From the 19th century Risorgimento to World War I, and the country’s from Nazism and Fascism at the end of World War II and “the choice of European and Atlantic solidarity”, Italy has built “united country that bears the values of peace in the international community,” Mattarella continued.
“Today, the Italian Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri (paramilitary police) and Guardia di Finanza (finance police) defend the freedoms of Italy’s society, the institutions favoured by its sovereign people to protect the rights of every citizen, operating on the national territory, in collaboration with its Police forces,” said the statement.
The armed forces face “an onerous task” in an international scenario riven by tensions that have escalated since the Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 “in an act of aggression against the country’s independence,” the statement went on.
The statement hailed Italy’s armed forces, “which continue to operate in distant lands”, taking part in numerous international missions.
“Their (the armed forces’) commitment underscores our country’s vocation for the creation and preservation of peace and respect for international law, ” the statement underlined.
“A special thought goes out to our military personnel deployed in the Middle East where as part of UN-mandated and bilateral missions, they continue to ensure their contribution to peacekeeping, alleviating the suffering of the defenceless populations facing dramatic humanitarian conditions, and promoting respect for international humanitarian law.”
The statement paid tribute to members of the armed forces “who have fallen, sacrificing their lives for Italy”, saying those who have died in the line of duty stir the country’s “civil conscience”.
“The younger generations, especially, should know how to follow the path of commitment to the defence of Italy’s constitutional values,” Mattarella wrote.
“Soldiers, sailors, airmen, Carabinieri, finance police and civilian defence personnel, your service to the Italian Republic, to which you swore allegiance, deserves the applause and gratitude of our fellow citizens,” the statement concluded.
