specific legitimate human and civil rights of the citizens of the Free Territory of Trieste were published on the internet by some citizens who happened. They were suddenly available to the general population, which began to protest. What could the reaction of the political and media establishment, to thousands of Triestines asking for their right of citizenship, rights of development, and so on, possibly have been? Faced with an issue they were completely unprepared about, they didn’t really know what to do. At first, as some early damage control, some heavy repressive measures were taken, such as some unorthodox accusations of “seditious gathering” made by Italian authorities towards dozens of peaceful protestors [6], with the sole purpose of discouraging more to join the protest. Yet, incredibly, in the long run the only answer that the citizens are receiving is silence. No precise and convincing answers are given, while at the same time their rights are being – now openly – violated every single day. It is clear that the administrating governments are now pretending that the issue does not exist, hoping to see the questions of thousands of citizens of the Free Territory of Trieste just spontaneously fade away. It doesn’t work like that. Nor will it in the future, now that large-scale communication has, for the first time in human history, been in part democratised by the Internet. Answers to the legitimate concerns of citizens should be given in a honest, timely, and exhaustive manner. This is clearly not happening under the current administration of the Free Territory of Trieste, and those who pay the highest price for this are the youngest ones who, being their rights of development systematically broken every single day, face many troubles that could mostly be avoided just by the application of the current International Law; such as a higher suicide rate than the average of neighbouring countries [7] [8], and mass emigration [9] due to the systematic lack of jobs caused by the illegal condition of the Free Port of Trieste, the economic engine of this Territory. The responsibilities of the United Nations Without correct information at all levels, there can be no functional democracy. And without democracy, citizens’ rights are of no value. In Trieste today, under an administration that forces children to raise flags and sing the Italian (foreign) anthem in public [10], this is definitely being the case. Sources: 1. Official statistics from Trieste city council (1978-2012), http://statistica.comune.trieste.it/demografia/movimento-della-popolazione/ 2. Roberta Gandolfi, GiraMondo 5, Giunti del Borgo (2015). Used, for instance, at Istituto Comprensivo Divisione Julia, Trieste (2017). 3. United Nations Security Council resolution n.16 (1947): http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/ RES/16(1947) 4. Triest NGO, The Free Territory of Trieste: http://www.triest-ngo.org/the-free-territory-of-trieste/ 5. Demonstration for the Free Territory of Trieste with approximately 8.000 participants (15/9/2013): https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=vb7UG5qMrs8 6. Triest NGO, “Diritti Umani, processo a 19 triestini manifestanti per l’applicazione dell’all.VIII Porto Libero di Trieste”: http://www.triest-ngo.org/it/diritti-umani-processo-a-19-imputati-manifestanti-per-applicazione-dellall-viii-porto-libero-di-trieste/ 7. Il Piccolo: “Suicidi, a Trieste il doppio rispetto alla media nazionale” (26/11/2014). 8. Autonomie locali e servizi sociali, 2/2005 August, “Il fenomeno suicidario: il caso di Trieste”. 9. Il Piccolo: “Oltre 17mila i triestini emigrati” (11/3/2008). 10. Trieste city council, official press release: “Giornata unità nazionale, costituzione, inno e bandiera” (17/3/2017): http:// www.retecivica.trieste.it/new/Default.asp?tabella_padre=sezioni&ids=12&tipo=-&pagina=cstampa_leggi.asp&comunicato=15265 Fig.1: It is worth mentioning that the United Nations is not just an external observer to the Question of Trieste, but it is an essential element of it, from UNSC Resolution 16 onwards. For this reason, we ask the Human Rights Institutions to be aware and supportive of the rights and status of the citizens of the Free Territory of Trieste, which are currently being violated with impunity, and we recommend for the governments of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, which already have recognised such rights on paper, to apply them immediately to each and every citizen’s life. --- TRIEST NGO info@triest-ngo.org www.triest-ngo.org Fig.2: