Red Brigades Guerrilla Party

Narrative Summary

The Red Brigades Guerrilla Party (BR-PG) was one of the three main offshoots of the Red Brigades (BR), Italy's largest terrorist organization, following the BR's split into beginning in 1980.[3] Like the Red Brigades and its other successors, it advocated the overthrow of the Italian state, but differed with the BR's other splinter groups over tactics.

The BR-PG split from the main group in 1981. It was mainly composed of  the Naples wing of the BR and the "Prison Front," a faction of the BR focused on freeing "proletarian" prisoners.[4] They argued that the BR had become too focused on militancy, and that the armed struggle should be viewed as only one component of the revolution.[5] The BR-PG was still quite violent, however, and killed close to 10 people over the course of its year-long existence.

Like the other successors of the BR, the BR-PG declined rapidly due to widespread arrests and former members' cooperation with authorities.[6]

Leadership

1. Giovanni Senzani, alias "Emiliano" (1981 to 1982): Senzani had been a criminology professor. He joined the Red Brigades in Tuscany in 1976. He founded the BR-PG after the arrest of the BR's historic leaders. He was arrested in 1982. [7]

Ideology & Goals

• Communist revolutionary
• Left wing

The BR-PG, like the Red Brigades and all of its other successors, sought to overthrow the Italian state and replace it with a dictatorship of the proletariat. The BR-PG also sought to liberate "proletarian" prisoners.[8]

The group differed with other BR splinter groups over the status of the revolution in Italy and the proper role of militancy in the political struggle. The BR-PG predicted an imminent civil war between classes and sought to ensure the victory of the proletariat.[9] 

Size Estimates

• 1982: 147 people prosecuted for involvement in the BR-PG (La Mappa Perduta.)[10]

Geographical Locations

Turin, Naples, Rome.[11]

Targets & Tactics

Like the BR and its other successors, the BR-PG targeted symbols of state power such as politicians, police, and the military. The group claimed nearly 10 killings in one year. However a large number of those killed were likely killed by accident, including security guards and drivers of intended victims. In one instance, the "Prison Front" Red Brigades members who would shortly form the BR-PG kidnapped and then killed the brother of an imprisoned former member of the Red Brigades who had cooperated with authorities.[12] Unlike other BR splinter groups with a stronger presence in industrial northern Italy, the BR-PG does not appear to have targeted factory managers.

The BR-PG did not advocate a "strategic retreat," unlike its main rival, the Red Brigades Fighting Communist Party (BR-PCC), which inherited the core of the Red Brigades.[13] The BR-PG predicted an imminent civil war between classes and sought to ensure the victory of the proletariat. At the same time, the BR-PG viewed the BR's other successors as too narrowly focused on the armed struggle to the exclusion of all other forms of political struggle.[14] The BR-PG was itself quite violent, however, and does not appear to have engaged in significant nonviolent political activity.

Major Attacks

1. April 27, 1982: The BR-PG killed a member of the Christian Democrat (DC) parliamentary party and his driver in Naples. (2 killed).[15]
2. July 15, 1982: Members of the BR-PG killed a high-ranking police officer and his driver in Naples. (2 killed).[16]
3. August 26, 1982: Members of the BR-PG attacked military vehicles in Salerno, killing one patrolling police officer and one military officer who intervened. They also wounded one police officer, who died of his wounds three days later. (3 killed).[17]
4. October 21, 1982: Members of the BR-PG killed two guards while robbing a bank in Turin. (2 killed.).[18]

Relationships with Other Groups

The BR-PG was one of several groups that split from the Red Brigades (BR) following the BR's decline after 1980. 

References

1. ^ Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 374
2. ^ Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 374
3. ^ Brigaterosse.org. "BRIGATE ROSSE 1970-1988: 18 anni di lotta armata." 2005. Available: http://www.brigaterosse.org/brigaterosse/storia.htm
4. ^ Brigaterosse.org. "Le Brigate Rosse - PG." 2005. Available: http://www.brigaterosse.org/brigaterosse/storia/pg.htm
5. ^ Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 195.
6. ^ Brigaterosse.org. "Le Brigate Rosse - PG." 2005. Available: http://www.brigaterosse.org/brigaterosse/storia/pg.htm
7. ^ Brigaterosse.org. "Giovanni Senzani - 'Emiliano.'" 2005. Available: http://www.brigaterosse.org/brigaterosse/personaggi/GiovanniSenzani.htm
8. ^ Brigaterosse.org. "Le Brigate Rosse - PG." 2005. Available: http://www.brigaterosse.org/brigaterosse/storia/pg.htm
9. ^ Brigaterosse.org. "Le Brigate Rosse - PG." 2005. Available: http://www.brigaterosse.org/brigaterosse/storia/pg.htm
10. ^ Curcio, Renato (ed.). La Mappa Perduta. Roma: Sensibili alle foglie, 1994. p. 201.
11. ^ http://www.brigaterosse.org/brigaterosse/storia.htm
12. ^ Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 373
13. ^ Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 194.
14. ^ Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 195.
15. ^ Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 374.
16. ^ Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 374.
17. ^ Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 374. and Associazione Italiana Vittime del Terrorismo. Schede/1982/BANDIERA. Available: http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/bandiera.htm
18. ^ Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 374.
19. ^ Drake, Richard. The Aldo Moro Murder Case. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1995. p. 134
20. ^ Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 201.