The Sardinian Armed Movement was a short-lived

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

movement advocating

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and political

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

for the island of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

. It mainly operated in Sardinia, but also in the Italian mainland, from 1983 to 1985. The group has been inactive ever since.

Ideology

The group wanted to merge the

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

class struggle In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...

, elements of local banditry and the separatist aspirations on the island, calling for a "Sardinia for the

Sardinians Sardinians or Sards are an Italians, Italian ethno-linguistic group and a nation indigenous to Sardinia, an island in the western Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean which is administratively an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special st ...

"; they were also against the Italian and American military installations on the island, that were to be sold to the highest bidder. Everything was actually in accordance with

Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Giangiacomo Feltrinelli (; 19 June 1926 – 14 March 1972) was an influential Italian publisher, businessman, and political activist who was active in the period between the Second World War and Italy's Years of Lead. He founded a vast library ...

's ideas, who made a failed plan to turn the island into "the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

" in 1968. Some argue that, despite the declared political goals, the group may have been actually common-crime oriented.

Criminal activity

The group claimed responsibility for a number of homicides, bombings and also kidnappings for ransom,Giovanni Ricci, ''Sardegna Criminale'', Newton Compton, 2008 although it is believed it operated even more fiercely against the

Italian Armed Forces The Italian Armed Forces (, ) encompass the Italian Army, the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force. A fourth Military branch, branch of the armed forces, known as the Carabinieri, take on the role as the nation's Gendarmerie, military police an ...

, accused of colonizing the island and destroy the "morality, way of living, and noble traditions" of the Sardinians. Some murders, however, were also performed against some natives besides the so-called Continentals. To name some of their claimed activities, for instance, on 15 June 1983 some bandits barged into a pub in

Mamoiada Mamoiada () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region of Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about southwest of Nuoro. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,582 and an area of .All demogra ...

and killed with a handgun the owner Claudio Balia, brother of Pietro Balia (later assassinated in 1984) and Alberto Balia (blown up in a bombing attack carried out on Marsaille in 1991); some days later, Gonario Sale (married with a cousin of Balia) was also murdered nearby his sheepfold. On 5 July Giovanni Bosco, a mainland priest from

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

, had been found dead by a gas station in

Dorgali Dorgali () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northeast of Cagliari and about east of Nuoro in the Seaside Supramonte mountain area. Economy is mostly based on the vine and wi ...

. They would also carry out a few attacks on the mainland, like on 19 November 1983, when they kidnapped Anna Bulgari and his son Giorgio Calissoni in

Latina Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer ...

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

References

Bibliography

*Paola Sirigu, ''Il codice barbaricino'', La Riflessione (Davide Zedda Editore), 2007. *Giovanni Ricci, ''Sardegna Criminale'', Newton Compton, 2008. *Il Messaggero Sardo. Sardinia History of Sardinia Separatism in Italy Defunct organisations designated as terrorist in Italy Years of Lead (Italy)