Sardinia, the committees launch the "revolt of the olive trees" against energy speculation

Planting olive trees against the indiscriminate and coercive expropriation of land.Return to the earth the plants eradicated by corporate interests.The roots as an emblem of the struggle.This is the meaning behind it popular uprising that arose spontaneously within a few hours in the countryside of Selargius, in Sardinia, immediately renamed "the revolt of the olive trees".Here, last Saturday, a citizen was the victim of a forced expropriation.He had refused to sell his lands to Terna, the company in charge of carrying out the work for the commissioning of the Tyrrhenian Link, the long cable that will connect Sardinia to the peninsula to transport the electricity produced by wind power to the island .In response, the company began to uproot the olive trees forcibly planted on the land.The reaction from the area was immediate:about a hundred people were on site to prevent the company from continuing.He was born like this a permanent garrison, which intends to resist against the "unheard of violence" and the "unparalleled arrogance" of those who are trying to take over these lands.

Terna's bulldozers began uprooting the olive trees in Gianluca Melis's land on 6 July.It is precisely in his lands, owned by his family for generations, that the final part of the Tyrrhenian Link.It is, as the site of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, of «a strategic work for the Italian electricity system within the energy transition objectives set by the National Plan».Through the construction of two underwater power lines, with a total length of 950 km, the Tyrrhenian Link will connect Sicily and Sardinia to the mainland, to allow the transport of energy produced by wind farms.Present in Terna's national electricity grid development plan since 2018, the infrastructure should become fully operational in 2028 - a first section should be operational as early as the end of 2025.

However, as often happens, the construction of large works in the name of a "superior" national need has heavy repercussions on the territories, where citizens find themselves facing real environmental devastation.The Sardinian population has long denounced how speculation is hidden in the folds of the energy transition that is plundering a territory already tormented by the presence (also imposed) of military bases and shooting ranges.«The energy transition must be ecological and fair.We want to make our contribution to the defense of the planet but we want to do it in an equal position, there are no citizens and territories of a lower category" they declared the committees during one of the countless protest demonstrations held in recent months.

So, when the expropriation of the lands of Melis began, the citizens immediately flocked to occupy the territories and stop Terna's action.From the outset, an attempt was made to protect what was left of the roots of the olive trees uprooted by bulldozers and purposely left in the sun, the citizens reported, to cause their permanent death.In the following hours the movement acquired increasingly larger dimensions, with people arriving from all over the island to make their contribution.Thus was born what was renamed la “Revolt of the Olive Trees”.Thanks to the help of agronomists, a series of plants capable of resisting the high temperatures of these days have been selected, from plant in front of the Terna station in order to make the place "the symbol of our Sardinian resistance".«Our struggle is symbolized by the roots», they write the citizens, «those Sardinians who cannot be eradicated.More reinforcements arrive today from everywhere.They come from all over Sardinia with trees and cisterns, with arms and determination, with pride and a gesture of brotherhood."

«There is no punitive intent towards the ecological transition which, I remember, must take place – ha explained the president of the Sardinia Region Alessandra Todde – The question is that we have to decide about our territory, where to build the systems, where to place them and how these systems must be useful with respect to the regional energy plan".Todde then continued:«We have a consumption of 1.5 gigawatts per year;the Tyrrhenian Link carries 3 of them and we have requests for more than 58 gigawatts, so the issue is truly worrying.It's about an outsized occupation.Therefore, we obviously want to respect European standards, we want to place ourselves in the context in which these plants must serve industry and citizens".Precisely for this reason, the Sardinian regional council has approved a bill in recent weeks which introduces a ban on the construction of new electricity production and storage plants from renewable sources which directly cause new land occupation for 18 months.

[by Valeria Casolaro]