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| Marines' return to India stirs anger in Italy | |
| 2013-03-23 | |
| A decision to return two Italian marines accused of murdering fishermen to stand trial in India stirred anger in Italy on Friday and calls for Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi to resign. Mario Monti's caretaker government on Thursday reversed a March 11 decision not to send the marines back from a home visit after Rome secured a promise from New Delhi that the two would not face the death penalty if convicted, officials said. The marines, part of a military security team protecting a tanker from piracy, are accused of shooting two fishermen off the coast of Kerala in February 2012. They say they fired warning shots at a fishing boat believing it to be a pirate vessel.
India and Italy have been embroiled in an escalating row over the marines, who had been allowed home for Christmas, and then again to vote in the Italian elections in February on condition they returned to India by Friday. "The good news is that the potential diplomatic crisis has been avoided," De Mistura told a news conference in New Delhi. But back in Italy the decision provoked an anguished response. Michele Emiliano, the mayor of Girone's hometown of Bari, said he had been comforting the marine's "despairing" family. "A hypocritical government is trying to end its embarrassment by sending the sailors back to India after exhibiting them as 'free' during the election campaign," Emiliano wrote on Twitter. Foreign Minister Terzi defended the move in an interview with La Repubblica daily on Friday, rejecting calls from centre-right politicians for him to quit. "I don't see a reason to" resign, he said, adding that the temporary stand-off with India had helped Italy ensure the marines would be treated well. The Supreme Court ruled in January that India had jurisdiction to try the marines. But Italy had challenged that decision, arguing that the shooting took place in international waters and that the two should face any trial at home. "We maintain our position on the marines and feel they should face trial in Italy," De Mistura said. "We now want the matter to be handled fairly and urgently." | |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #1 Bored Marines shooting at driftwood floating by, I can believe that. 'Bad War' movies and YouTube are full of similar events. An escalating international bruhaha over the loss of two simple fishermen, in international waters, that came (within lethal range) too close to a tanker carrying a piracy prevention force near the Indian coastline? And errant warning shots? Sounds like a fishing boat or smugglers adrift in a shipping lane. Or a deal gone bad when offloading contraband. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2013-03-23 21:04 |