(ANSA) - Magistrates on Sunday impounded a site in the Italian Alps near Turin where demonstrators protesting against the construction of a high-speed rail link have violently clashed with police.
Magistrates said the 35,000-square-metre zone near the remote Alpine village of Venaus in the Susa Valley would be entrusted to Lyon Turin Ferroviare (LTF), the Italo-French company which tasked with building the link.
Police moved in on December 6 and used force to break up the protests at the site, where work on the project had been due to kick off with the excavation of a seven-kilometre service tunnel.
A dozen protesters were injured during the police operation along with several policemen.
Two days later, some 30,000 protesters returned to the construction site and demolished it, damaging vehicles, machinery and drilling equipment as well as protective fencing set up around the area.
Dozens of people were injured during the subsequent clashes with police.
The demonstrators also disrupted transport across the entire west Alpine area by blockading key roads and railway lines.
In a bid to defuse the escalating violence, the centre-right government agreed on Saturday to carry out a study on the environmental, health and economic impact of the rail link, which involves the construction of a 53-kilometre tunnel through the Susa Valley.
After talks with local government representatives, the government agreed to suspend work on the link until the study has been carried out. The Susa Valley link will be part of a railway line connecting Turin to the French city of Lyon and ultimately part of a pan-European transport system to connect Western and Eastern Europe with a freight line stretching from Kiev in Ukraine to Barcelona in Spain.
But residents of the local communities say the valley tunnel will create an environmental disaster and destroy the area's natural beauty.
They stress that the tunnel will take at least ten years to complete and argue that the money would be better spent on boosting existing transport infrastructure in the region. They also say they fear for their health given that the mountains to be drilled through are suspected to contain both uranium and asbestos.
Supporters of the project, including most Italian political parties and the European Commission, say the line will actually reduce pollution by cutting the amount of goods transported by road. They highlight the economic benefits of the link and say it is vital that Italy be a part of the pan-European rail system.
Champions of the project also say that new technology will be able to deal safely and effectively with any health risks caused by the possible asbestos or uranium content in the mountains. The EC has agreed to appoint two independent experts to assess the protesters' concerns.
Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said on Sunday that the tunnel must be built. "The government believes this project cannot be abandoned. It is in the nation's interests and is essential for the surrounding region of Piedmont and for Italy in general. Europe is asking for it and it will be terrible for Italy if it doesn't do it," he said.
But the opposition Green party renewed its call for the government to boost existing infrastructure in the area rather than investing in a new tunnel. Other critics of the project said the government was momentarily trying to appease the protesters to avoid problems during the upcoming 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. They said that once the February games were over, the
government would push ahead with the project regardless of any protests.
The protesters are due to hold a major rally in Turin next Saturday.
Turin officials fear the demonstrators could disrupt the Olympics. The Susa Valley connects Turin with a number of mountain resorts to be used for the Winter Games.
