Istalia

[XanderOne]

Government reacts to counter the Ndragatia

Immediate emergency measures and full support for the Congress' Anti-Mafia Commission for structural Reforms

A vigil in Padura in honor of Salvo Picone and against the Ndragatìa

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March 5667 (OOC: backdated)

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ROMULA - The murder of journalist Salvo Picone, a symbolic figure in the civil struggle against the Ndragatìa, has shocked the country and forced institutions to respond immediately. Amidst national mourning, the Government has launched an emergency security package and confirmed its full support for the Anti-Mafia Commission, established by Congress last week and tasked with developing broader structural measures.

The State Council has approved a series of measures that will take effect within a few weeks:

Strengthened patrols and an extraordinary state of alert: increased police and security units in the areas considered most vulnerable, with mobile reinforcements sent from the main cities.

Strengthened the Police investigative division against organized crime: immediate increase in resources and staffing, with the granting of emergency powers of action and investigation.

Immediate protection for at-risk individuals: rapid assignment of security guards to journalists, magistrates, and businessmen under threat.

Extraordinary deployment of Armed Forces personnel: deployed to support the Police, with priority given to units of the Military Gendarmerie Corps. The military will have limited powers: they will be able to carry out roadside checks, especially in large-scale screening and patrol operations, always under the direction of the police force and obliged to refer to the latter any case requiring judicial intervention.

Regarding the Armed Forces, however, the Government has already prepared a measure of historic significance: the decree reestablishing the Imperial Gendarmerie as the Fourth Arm of the State’s Armed Forces and other main police force in Istalia, with full judicial powers and a widespread network of local offices, as it has been in Istalia for centuries. This measure will require more time to implement, but it demonstrates the political will to restore the State's constant presence in every municipality.

Minister Secretary of State Moccia clarified that the emergency measures "are an immediate signal of the State's presence", but that the battle requires deeper political commitment, which will be addressed through the Anti-Mafia Commission.

As part of parliamentary proceedings, some of the proposals that the Commission will be called upon to discuss and finalize have already been circulated:

• Rapid dissolution of infiltrated municipal councils with extraordinary procedures and immediate appointments of commissioners.
  

• Strengthening protection programs for journalists, witnesses, and magistrates.
  

• New financial tracking tools to identify and block suspicious flows of money.
  

• Seizure and social reuse of confiscated assets for the benefit of local authorities, cooperatives, and associations.
  

• Extraordinary oversight of public procurement with centralized audits to prevent mafia infiltration.
  

• National anti-racketeering hotline, a single, toll-free number available to citizens and entrepreneurs to report intimidation and extortion.
  

The Commission's work promises to be long and complex, but, sources within the ruling party emphasize, "it will be the heart of the strategy to combat organized crime in the coming years".

Vigils and demonstrations organized in memory of Salvo Picone have drawn thousands of people in all major cities. Civil society and the media are demanding concrete responses from the State.

Minister Secretary Moccia reiterated this morning to the press:

The 'Ndragatìa has raised the level of conflict, but the State will react with firmness and unity. Our commitment, the willingness of political forces to work together, and the reestablishment of the Imperial Gendarmerie symbolize the return of legality to every corner of the country.

The message the government intends to convey is clear: no Istalian citizen will be left alone in the face of organized crime.