Venice votes on splitting from Rome

by 88JM 4 Replies latest jw friends

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  88JM

  Seems unsurprising considering the way the Italian economy is going, but still interesting. Although the vote is an online poll and not legally binding.

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26604044

  Maybe Scotland next, who knows?

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  BBC news: Venice votes on splitting from Rome

  Voting has begun in Venice and the surrounding region on whether to break away from Italy.

  Recent opinion polls suggest that two-thirds of the four million electorate favour splitting from Rome, but the vote will not be legally binding. The online poll was organised by local activists and parties, who want a future state called Republic of Veneto.

  This would be reminiscent of the sovereign Venetian republic that existed for more than 1,000 years.

  A focal point for culture, architecture and trade, Venice lost its independence to Napoleon in 1797.

  Online voting is due to continue until Friday. The vote received very little coverage in Italy's national media but the organisers said they expected as many as two million people to take part.

  The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says the vote reflects a growing separatist mood in parts of Europe, such as Spain's Catalonia region and Scotland, which votes on whether to become independent in September.

  Moves towards independence often evoke more sympathy in wealthy northern Italy, where many resent what they see as the poorer south's waste and corruption.

  Luca Zaia, governor of Veneto, the Venice region, rejected suggestions that the Italian constitution would prevent secession. International law, he told Libero Quotidiano, allowed "the right to self-determination".
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  The Searcher

  In a few week's time it'll just be water under the bridge!! :)
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  88JM

  Something something ice cream, my window blinds are hard to clean
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  fulltimestudent

  Its an interesting trend, and probably a really good thing.

  The problems in many of the world's hot spots is often the result of linguistic/ethnic/religious difference. It the world fragmented into smaller political units that were more homogeneous in make up there may be much less tension in the world. And the break up of entities like Russia, the USA, China, Germany, the UK etc would certainly lessen the chance of huge damaging wars. It would certainly create some problems, as in more difficulties in doing business and finance etc. But quite possibly the overall affect would be beneficial.

  Another area to watch is Moldova's Russian-speaking Gagauz Autonomous Republic and :

  

  A Billboard in Tiraspol indicates local sentiment, "In the future, Together with Russia."

  Saturday, March 22, 2014 - Moldova

  Amid Russia-Ukraine Crisis, Moldova's Fault Lines Quaver

  By Valentina Ursu and Robert Coalson

  March 20, 2014

  C HISINAU, March 20, 2015 -- The similarities are too obvious to ignore.
  
  First, last month, Moldova's Russian-speaking Gagauz Autonomous Republic held a controversial referendum that overwhelmingly expressed support for closer relations with a Moscow-led customs union instead of the European Union.
  
  Then on March 17, the speaker of the parliament of the breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniester urged Russia to annex his region, which has been politically, economically, and militarily supported by Russia since it declared independence in 1991.
  
  On March 19, the Gagauz legislature passed a measure on "preventing the destabilization of the social-political situation in Gagauzia" that included plans to create armed security detachments.
  
  And, perhaps most ominously, Russia's nationalist Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin on March 18 declared that Transdniester was under "blockade" by Ukraine. He said the Russian government on March 20 will hold a "serious and large-format" meeting of all agencies to offer assistance.
  
  "The situation would be further complicated if Moldova signs an agreement with the European Union," Rogozin said in comments quoted by ITAR-TASS on March 18.
  
  At a press conference in Moscow on March 20, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov again repeated Russia's policy of "protecting" Russians anywhere in the world. "We will be defending the interests [of Russians living abroad] by political, diplomatic, and legal means," he said. "We will be insisting that the countries, where our compatriots found themselves in, respect their rights and freedoms in full." Reference: http://www.rferl.org/content/moldova-russia-ukraine-worries/25304033.html
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  Las Malvinas son Argentinas

  An online poll that is not legally binding. Why even bother?