"[Speech delivered on 16 March 1978, on the occasion of the general strike following the ambush] But on this day of mourning, a dramatic moment in the life of the nation, on this day the turmoil of emotions must not overwhelm us; we must oppose inhuman violence with reason, with the resolute determination not to bow to the blackmail of the murderers, the enemies of democracy and the freedom of our country. There is talk of civil war. We have known such things, but in this case we are not facing a struggle between one, albeit small, section of the people against another. That is not the case. We are facing a handful of professional terrorists who are waging a relentless campaign against our institutions and our freedoms; we are facing a small group of murderers who are attacking the institutions of Italian democracy; it is true, however, it is true and we must take advantage of this circumstance to reflect on this reality: that surrounding this tiny, ferocious gang of criminals there is a certain stratum of acquiescent, passive people, people who, if nothing else, morally disengage or even show solidarity with the criminals, with the terrorists, or who simply stand by and watch. This is not the time to stand by and watch, friends of Rome. We cannot, at this moment, in this trial, stand by passively in the face of the torment being inflicted upon our country’s institutions, democracy, freedom, and the fundamental values of civil coexistence that we have won through our struggle."