By Baris Seckin and Asiye Latife Yilmaz
ROME/ISTANBUL (AA) – Ultra-right groups in Italy on Sunday marked the anniversary of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini’s October 1922 “March on Rome,” when he and his Blackshirts seized power, by giving the Nazi salute.
Around 1,000 people, including members of the far-right Forza Nuova group, gathered to commemorate the event in the town of Predappio, where Mussolini’s tomb is located, said local media reports.
Some participants performed the Nazi or fascist salute and shouted “Here!” with most of them dressed in black.
Mussolini’s family, which organized the commemoration at the tomb, criticized Forza Nuova’s participation. Orsola Mussolini, Mussolini’s great granddaughter, told reporters that the far-right group attended to make themselves visible, while the family’s gathering was meant solely for prayer.
Andrea De Maria, a lawmaker from the center-left Democratic Party (PD), condemned the salute, saying that these scenes “provoke anger and sadness” and praising fascism is a crime in Italy, and any form of glorifying fascism must be punished under the law.