Paul-Félix Benedetti, representative of the independence movement Corse In Fronte at the Assembly of Corsica called on Tuesday March 22 on franceinfo “to find the paths to lasting reconciliation” between France and Corsica. Yvan Colonna died Monday at the age of 61, after long days of coma, following the attack by a fellow prisoner in Arles. He hopes this “drama” may “allow to be the stepping stone to a collective awareness”. Paul-Felix Benedetti “does not see in” Yvan Colonna “an assassin” even if he was condemned for the assassination of the prefect Érignac.
>> Follow the reactions to the death of Yvan Colonna live.
franceinfo: What is your reaction to the death of Yvan Colonna?
Paul-Felix Benedetti: Unfortunately, we were prepared for it. We are in meditation, in sorrow, in pain. We are horrified by what happened. We think it’s still a huge mess. We have been asking for the strict application of the law for years. The rapprochement in Corsica so that their families can visit the detainees and that the conditions of detention are more secure. There has been an internal security problem in French prisons for a while now. I have my brother who was detained for political reasons in Fresnes prison. There were moments of extreme tension.
“There was the permanent will at the highest level of the State, to exploit the detention of the members of the commando called ‘Érignac’ and to perpetuate a state revenge.”
Paul-Félix Benedetti, representative of the independence movement Corse In Fronteat franceinfo
And today, there is a phenomenon of resilience not possible of the whole of the Corsican people and the will, in spite of everything, to remain worthy and to want an efficient political solution and which is something that would end these fifty very difficult years .
What does Yvan Colonna represent for you?
An activist, a patriot. He has always maintained his innocence. We do not see him as an assassin. These are difficult convictions by an instrumentalized judicial apparatus. He was nevertheless dignified, he accomplished a detention in silence and in absolute acceptance. I remain in the idea that he is innocent, that he has been verbally implicated. There are no material elements that link it directly to the act.
Do you call on young Corsican people to take to the streets?
I call on them to remain worthy. We are faced with the death of a man. We are facing the pain of a family. We revive wounds. Today, time must do its job. But there must also be acceptance that there is a fundamental political problem and that it must be solved. I hope at least that this drama, because it is a drama, the drama of Corsica, the drama of the Érignac family, that it can allow to be the stepping stone to a collective awakening. Together, we can find the paths to lasting reconciliation. If both, and when I say both, for me, it’s France and Corsica. They take the notion of what to do. Today we need state behavior and not vengeful behavior. And we have to take responsibility for nurturing young people towards a better tomorrow, a better life, which is not the case in Corsica.