“As the widow of Yvan Colonna, I would like to alert all nationalist sympathizers and activists that the demonstrations and other events organized in Yvan’s name to honor his memory are in no way organized with my approval or that of his children”, writes Stéphanie Colonna in this brief press release revealed by RCFM radio and consulted by AFP.
She married the independence activist in March 2011 in Fresnes prison (Val-de-Marne) and they had a son together born in December 2011.
Yvan Colonna, who was serving a life sentence in Arles prison (Bouches-du-Rhône) for the assassination of prefect Claude Erignac when he was fatally attacked by a fellow prisoner, had another son by a previous union.
These demonstrations and events “are, in fact, only pretexts for the initiative of ill-intentioned pseudo organizers wanting, or to gain notoriety (politics) or money”, she denounces without specifying at which events it refers.
“From this day on, Yvan’s lawyers will do what they have to do to ensure that the wishes of his children and myself are respected,” she adds.
Monday evening, Stéphane Colonna, the brother of the independence activist who had not shared a message for a week, tweeted in the Corsican language: “8 months…for some Christ is dead, the light has extinct”. He also shared a message from a young Corsican girl calling for “waking up fast” and “fighting for justice”.
The death of Yvan Colonna had provoked several weeks of often violent protests in Corsica in March and April.
Since then, the government has started discussions with the Corsican elected officials on the future of the island, in particular institutional.
Tags to the glory of Yvan Colonna bloomed everywhere on the walls of the island and this weekend, the initials “YC” were notably discovered on a house damaged by two explosions in Santa-Maria-di- Lota (Upper Corsica).