Mayor Cacciari proposed Venice as a meeting place for the warring parties, so they could talk about possible peace terms.

The seven pacifists became known in the last few days for having violated the NATO military base in Istrana as a protest against the air strikes. For this reason they were interviewed by Serb TV Studio B, during a live broadcast on Orthodox Easter Sunday, 11th April, to three million viewers.

The four, deputy mayor of Venice, a councilor, a Parish Priest, and a leader of one of the anti-war social centers, used the occasion of their TV interview to speak out against ethnic cleansing. "We are against bombs, but are also against deportations from Kosovo," they said.

On their way back from Belgrade, a photographer and a journalist, also headed back to Italy, joined them. But when they reached the border, they had to pay the check.

They were detained for four hours, accused of espionage, and the films of the journalist for the Manifesto newspaper destroyed. The photographer was stripped and beaten for an hour. All were repeatedly searched, then the photographer was subjected to a fake execution (thankfully not real). The deputy Mayor of Venice was also threatened.

At this point, they used their mobile phones to call the Italian embassy in Belgrade, the Mayor in Venice, several Italian politicians, the ANSA press agency, the Italian Foreign Secretary, and the Serb Information Minister. They raised hell, so to speak, and they were released when two more officials arrived.