Post by Tamrin on Sept 9, 2008 16:21:13 GMT 10
Propaganda Due or P2 was a Masonic lodge operating under the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient of Italy from 1877 to 1976 (when its charter was withdrawn), and a pseudo-Masonic or "black" or "covert" lodge operating illegally from 1976 to 1981. During the 1980s, when the lodge was headed by Licio Gelli, P2 was implicated in numerous Italian crimes and mysteries, including the nationwide bribe scandal Tangentopoli, the collapse of the Vatican-affiliated Banco Ambrosiano, and the murders of journalist Mino Pecorelli and banker Roberto Calvi. P2 came to light through the investigations into the collapse of Michele Sindona's financial empire.
P2 was sometimes referred to as a "state within a state" or a "shadow government". The lodge had among its members prominent journalists, parliamentarians, industrialists, and military leaders -- including the then-future Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi; the Savoy pretender to the Italian throne Victor Emmanuel; and the heads of all three Italian intelligence services.
When searching Licio Gelli's villa, the police found a document called the "Plan for Democratic Rebirth", which called for a consolidation of the media, suppression of trade unions, and the rewriting of the Italian Constitution.
Beside Italy, P2 was also active in Uruguay, Brazil and especially in Argentina's "Dirty War" (with Raúl Alberto Lastiri, Argentina's interim president from July 13, 1973 until October 12, 1973; Emilio Massera, who was part from 1976 to 1978 of the military junta led by Jorge Rafael Videla; José López Rega, minister of Social Welfare in Perón's government and founder of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance ("Triple A"), and Guillermo Suárez Mason, in charge of the Batallón de Inteligencia 601 as members).
P2 was sometimes referred to as a "state within a state" or a "shadow government". The lodge had among its members prominent journalists, parliamentarians, industrialists, and military leaders -- including the then-future Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi; the Savoy pretender to the Italian throne Victor Emmanuel; and the heads of all three Italian intelligence services.
When searching Licio Gelli's villa, the police found a document called the "Plan for Democratic Rebirth", which called for a consolidation of the media, suppression of trade unions, and the rewriting of the Italian Constitution.
Beside Italy, P2 was also active in Uruguay, Brazil and especially in Argentina's "Dirty War" (with Raúl Alberto Lastiri, Argentina's interim president from July 13, 1973 until October 12, 1973; Emilio Massera, who was part from 1976 to 1978 of the military junta led by Jorge Rafael Videla; José López Rega, minister of Social Welfare in Perón's government and founder of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance ("Triple A"), and Guillermo Suárez Mason, in charge of the Batallón de Inteligencia 601 as members).
