A Letter from Aldo Moro

The former Premier sends a poignant message from captivity

Dear Francesco,

While sending you a friendly greeting, l am obliged by these difficult circumstances to present to you some realistic thoughts, fully aware of your responsibilities, which I respect ... I am considered a political prisoner and being tried, as president of the Christian Democrats, for my responsibilities of the last 30 years ... Weigh your actions carefully in order to avoid further evil... In the given circumstances, besides humanitarian reasons, what becomes apparent is the reason of state. Most of all this reason of state means that in my present condition I find myself under full and uncontrolled domination. There is the risk that I will be induced to talk in a manner that could be dangerous ... May God enlighten you for the best ... With most affectionate regards, Aldo Moro.

That signed, handwritten, five-page letter was purportedly from kidnaped Christian Democratic leader and former Premier Aldo Moro. Addressed to Italy's Interior Minister Francesco Cossiga, it was delivered simultaneously last week to newspaper offices in Rome, Milan, Turin and Genoa. The grave, poignant message never said so directly, but the suggestion it contained was unmistakable: it was an appeal to Italian authorities to bargain with the Red Brigades terrorists who had abducted Moro two weeks earlier.

Police said the signature and handwriting appeared to be authentic. According to Luciano Infelisi, the chief judicial investigator on the case, the letter also seemed to show every sign of having been written under duress. It was accompanied by the Red Brigades' third communiquee, but once again the kidnapers failed to specify any demands for Moro's release. Typed on the same IBM electric as the first two communiques, it merely gave another menacing progress report: "Moro's interrogation is proceeding with the complete collaboration of the prisoner."

Moro's letter argued that "the doctrine according to which advantage must not accrue to kidnaping does not apply to political circumstances where a sure and incalculable damage is done not only to the person but to the state itself." It pointed out that all other countries, except Israel and West Germany, had saved kidnap victims "in a positive way." It referred to past political exchanges between the Soviet Union and Chile, "many exchanges of spies," and the expulsion of dissidents from the Soviet Union.

In addition to pleading in this oblique fashion for his own life, Moro warned authorities to consider the consequences to the government if he should be forced to disclose state secrets. Moro suggested that the Vatican could be useful in the case.

He did not explain how, though the implicit thought was that the Church might be used as an intermediary--as indeed it has offered to be in several terrorist cases before. The government kept a strict official silence on the letter. But after deliberations, the ruling Christian Democrats, as well as the Communists and other parties, agreed that the answer to negotiating with the kidnapers must be no.

Even as Italians puzzled over the letter and awaited the terrorists' next message, the country seemed to have recovered its nerve after the initial shock of the kidnaping and the murder of Moro's five bodyguards. The trial in Turin of 15 Red Brigades defendants resumed as scheduled, and the government intensified its effort to strengthen its legal recourses against terrorism. Following new measures introduced the week before--life imprisonment for kidnap-murder and wider discretionary powers for police--the Justice Ministry announced a $94 million plan aimed at improving the judicial system and prison facilities.

Premier Giulio Andreotti made a deliberate effort to show that the government was operating as usual. He conducted meetings on the economy and distributed a promised economic policy report. This week he will receive Greek Premier Constantine Caramanlis in Rome, then travel to a Common Market summit meeting in Copenhagen. Said a Cabinet official: "The greatest danger of the kidnaping is that the normal activity of the government might be diverted. To forget the economy would be to play into the hands of the terrorists."

At the same time, the exhaustive hunt for Moro and his captors continued. Police threw everything into the search, including dogs and helicopters. Military and police roadblocks created long but patient queues on the autostrade. Not so patient was the tone of a message sent to Rome's daily Il Messaggero. Italian underworld bosses, supposedly annoyed that the intensive police presence was hurting business, issued an "ultimatum" demanding Moro's release by 4 p.m. last Thursday --or else the boys from the mob would see to it that their colleagues behind bars would bump off Red Brigades members who were in prison.

The warning was believed to be a hoax, but criminals nonetheless had good reason for wanting Moro found. Common crime in the capital has dropped 60%. Car thefts, which total as many as 150 a day in Rome, have declined dramatically. Police are recovering between 40 and 60 stolen autos a day: the thieves abandon them for fear of being caught at a roadblock.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.