- It is one of the Second World War's forgotten disasters,
a disgraceful episode that is almost completely unknown.
-
- When Mussolini took Italy into war on the German side,
Italians living in Britain were rounded up and dispatched to internment
camps overseas.
-
- The first batch to leave, crammed into a luxury cruise
ship, the Arandora Star, set off for Canada from Liverpool, with heavy
weapons visible on deck but with no escort. On 2 July 1940 it was torpedoed
by a German U-boat. Of 734 Italians on board, 486 died.
-
- Now the president of a Tuscan province from which many
of the victims originated is to write to Tony Blair asking him to make
a formal admission of British responsibility for the tragedy, and to consider
financial compensation for survivors and families of the victims, too.
-
- "If guilt is acknowledged there may be financial
consequences according to British law," said Andrea Tagliasacchi,
the president of Lucca province.
-
- "Many of the people on the ship were innocent civilians
who had been living in Britain for years," Mr Tagliasacchi said. "This
is a forgotten disaster."
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- ©2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd. All rights reserved
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=560516
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