ROME (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Italians chanting “resign, resign” marched through Rome on Saturday demanding that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who they accused of corruption, step down.
The national demonstration, called “No B Day,” was organised by grassroots organisations from around the country which ran appeals on the internet and social networking sites for Italians to flock to Rome to participate.
“I have a dream – Berlusconi in jail,” the demonstrators chanted in unison as they marched the several kilometres (miles) from the capital’s main train station to a square in front of St. John’s Basilica.
The crowd, which police estimated at 90,000 but organisers said was larger, included actors and writers, among them Nobel Literature laureate Dario Fo.
“This a day of democracy, a day that shows that the country can come together to build an alternative and most of all to tell Berlusconi to go,” said Antonio di Pietro, a ex anti-graft magistrate who heads the opposition Italy of Values party.
“There are people from all over the country here, and even from abroad with one message: Berlusconi has to go!. Berlusconi has to be treated like every other citizen. He has to face trial,” Di Pietro said.
Berlusconi faces several corruption trials after he lost his immunity from prosecution in October when Italy’s highest court ruled that a law passed by his government was unconstitutional.
That law was one of several critics said were enacted to help him avoid corruption trials.
