"Seventy-nine years ago, the Italian people decreed, with their vote, the birth of the Republic, at the culmination of a long journey that began with the Liberation War.
With the referendum of June 2, 1946, the Italians chose to continue on a path toward the affirmation of values of freedom, democracy and peace, transfused into the Constitution that would soon see the light of day.
Values on which our civic community is founded and to which all institutions called upon to work on behalf of the community turn."
The President of the Republic wrote this in a message to Defense Chief of Staff Luciano Portolano on the occasion of June 2.
On June 1, speaking to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Italian Republic, he had said:
It is my pleasure-along with the Presidents of the constitutional bodies of the Italian Republic-to welcome, on this festive occasion for Italy, the Ambassadors accredited to the Quirinale.
Your presence manifests the ties and intense dialogue that unite our respective countries within an international order based on a network of positive relations among nations around the world.
Tomorrow, June 2, we celebrate the birth of our Republic, the result of a choice of peace, freedom, and independence, under the banner of repudiation of violence among nations.
From that vote of the Italian people emerged our Constitution, "ambitious" in identifying peace and cooperation as the vocation of the Republic in international relations. A choice that the path of European integration has strengthened and consolidated.
The rejection of the category of the "enemy," the vocation for dialogue, the repudiation of war as an instrument of offense against the freedom of other peoples, and the promotion of international organizations aimed at peace and justice, have marked and mark the choices of the Italian Republic in these 79 years of its life.
The issue of peace is the focus of our common attention.
So many sad scenarios of conflict are open.
Our thoughts turn first of all to Ukraine, which has been putting up strenuous resistance to the aggression of the Russian Federation for more than three years. In confirming our firm and unwavering support for Kiev, we continue to work so that a peace can be achieved that is just, comprehensive and lasting.
The Middle East, after Hamas' bloody attack on unarmed Israeli victims-with hostages obnoxiously kidnapped and still held, and who must be freed immediately-is experiencing the ongoing drama in the Gaza Strip.
The refusal to apply the norms of humanitarian law to the citizens of Gaza is unacceptable.
A ceasefire is imposed, immediately.
Whatever the case, it is imperative that the Israeli army make the territories of the Strip accessible to the action of international bodies, making it possible to resume full humanitarian assistance to the people. For an entire population, from children to the elderly, to be starved is inhumane.
The erosion of territories allocated to the Palestinian National Authority is serious. Palestinians have a right to their hearth within secure boundaries.
This perspective and Israel's security-indispensable elements-appear seriously threatened by the sowing of suffering and resentment produced by what is happening.
Added to this is the high level of concern about manifestations of anti-Semitism resurfacing around the world.
From the territory of Europe to the Middle East - as everywhere, on any continent - the illegal occupation of another country's territory cannot be presented as a security measure: one risks advancing into the terrain of the will to dominate, of barbarism in international life.
Theaters of instability facilitated by violence and confrontation emerge in so many places around the world that seem, for some, to have become the measure of international relations.
Peace is not an ideal for naive souls, crushed later by the harsh judgment of history.
Peace is an experience that far-sighted statesmen have been able to patiently build: it needs to be continued. One should not - and cannot - merely evoke it.
Efforts must be made to ensure that the principles of loyal international cooperation, peaceful coexistence, realized through dialogue, building increasing measures of mutual trust, prevail.
The world order we have known for decades appears compromised. Rules are bound to evolve but a framework, a global order, based on mutual respect and recognition, is essential to avert conflict and thus allocate forces and resources to address the great epochal challenges facing humanity and to achieve sustainable, shared development.
On this day of celebration, I would like to share the hope that each of our countries will do its part to restore a future of serenity to the peoples of the world, for the benefit of the younger generations in particular.
With this commitment I extend the best wishes of the Italian Republic to all.
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