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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The following is a statement written by Toni Negri
in refutation of the allegations made against him by Keith Windschuttle in _The
Australian_ (16 March 2005):</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="http://theaustralian.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12556881%255E7583,00.html">http://theaustralian.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12556881%255E7583,00.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Negri isolates nine points in Windschuttle's
article that he claims are totally false. He is angered by the need to rebut a
series of scandalous accusations that contradict the truths established by
Italian judges who convicted him of some crimes but found him totally
innocent--and therefore definitively absolved--of another series of
charges.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The nine points are as follows:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>1. I never had anything to do with the Red
Brigades, neither as leader, member, nor sympathiser. These charges were dropped
after some months (in late 1979/early 1980). Even Cossiga, who put me in jail at
the time, has now repeatedly rejected these allegations. I have been totally
absolved of these charges. As a matter of fact, when I was in prison the Red
Brigades even condemned me to death for disassociating myself from 'armed
struggle,' along with many other friends in Rebibbia prison.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>2. I never had anything to do with the kidnapping
and murder of the Hon. Moro by the Red Brigades. The court records hold me
completely innocent of this accusation.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>3. The murders for which I was initially accused
were all revealed to be false accusations. I was absolved of all 17! I was
convicted for 'crimes of association' and never for 'crimes of
blood.'</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>4. I was initially accused of being the person who
telephoned the Moro family. The first expert declared my voice to be 80%
compatible with the voice of the caller. Another expert demonstrated the
contrary, since the voice of the caller had an accent from Marche. Subsequent
trials--and the role of the penitents from the Red Brigades--revealed the truth;
it was Mario Moretti who made the call (he is in fact from Marche). I was
completely absolved because I had nothing to do with this. When Espresso
published the disk about which _The Australian_ article speaks (with my voice
from a lesson, and the voice of the caller during the days of the kidnapping-a
way of inviting public opinion to judge by itself), I should have taken them to
court for defamation. Unfortunately I was in a high security prison. But I was
absolved nonetheless.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>5. I was elected a member of parliament of the
Radical Party of Marco Pannella, which, contrary to what _The Australian_
article says, is not a an extremist neo-marxist party but a party that has
become ever more liberal. It was already liberal in those days (although more in
the 'libertarian' mode) and today tends almost to the position of Bush. In any
case, the party fought for civil liberties and due process in an era of
emergency laws, which is nothing to be ashamed about either yesterday or
today.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>6. I did not use my liberty as a member of
parliament to escape to France. I escaped only when they decided to remove my
parliamentary immunity (by a majority of only 4 votes in the lower house ... the
votes of the Radical Party). I had already served four and a half years in a
maximum security prison. My conviction of 30 years (1983) was reduced by appeal
to 13.5 years (1986), only for 'crimes of association.' The judges removed the
charge of insurrection against the state, contrary to what The Australian
article affirms. When I returned to Italy in 1997, I did in no way bargain for a
reduction of the sentence. In fact, after my return to Rebibbia, a sentence of 3
years and 4 months was added for 'fatti di piazza' (protests in Milan during the
1970s). The total sentence was 17 years and I served it all.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>7. The publication of _Empire_ in the USA does not
seem to me a phenomenon of 'radical glamour' and the mention of my imprisonment
in Rebibbia on the book cover was simply the truth. _Empire_ was published by
Harvard University Press and cited among the seven 'next big ideas' by _Time_.
Neither Harvard nor _Time_ seem to me suspects of 'radical glamour' or to have
sympathies for political extremism.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>8. I am not in my sixties. I am 71-almost 72-years
old. I was 64 when I returned to prison in 1997. I was not put under house
arrest. I did one year of full imprisonment (with common inmates), two years of
'external work' (permission to exit only for work, with interdictions against
change of plans and not respecting the required hours, constant surveillance,
and return to jail after work); two years of semi-liberty (nights in jail, days
at home for studying with interdictions against leaving the vicinity of the
house and constant surveillance); and one year of 'guarded liberty' (days and
nights at home with interdictions against leaving the vicinity and going out
between 10pm and 7am, with regular surveillance). I was definitively
released-after having served all of my sentence-on 25 April 2003. I am free to
travel and to hold courses, conferences, and seminars throughout the world. This
is precisely what I have done for the past two years in major world universities
(Cambridge, London, Berlin, Frankfurt, Madrid, Barcelona, Beijing, Shanghai,
Buenos Aries, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Paris, where I teach
now).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>9. I do not need an entry visa for Australia since
the process has been simplified to require the issue of an electronic travel
authority at the time of purchase of the ticket. If a visa was necessary I don't
see why I should not obtain one, given that I have never been convicted of
terrorism.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Conclusion: the article is false from beginning to
end. It is a scandalous and vulgar act of historical revisionism.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Toni Negri<BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>