(By Sandra Cordon)
Italy vowed Tuesday to pull out
all the stops in pressing India to deal rapidly with the case -
once again delayed - of two Italian marines accused of killing
two fishermen while on anti-piracy duty.
Officials and the families of marines Salvatore Girone and
Massimiliano Latorre were frustrated when India's Supreme Court
announced the latest in a series of delays in the case that has
been percolating without charges for two years.
Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said she would be urging a
range of allies, from the NATO military alliance to the United
Nations as well as the European Union, to press the Indian
government to deal with the situation.
The case is "not bilateral" but has international
importance and thus, requires a coordinated response, Bonino
said in an interview with Rai News.
"We can't go and get them by military force" but "several
initiatives" are open to the incoming government, she added.
She said she was even considering asking the Commonwealth
group of countries to take an interest.
Formerly known as the British Commonwealth, the body
includes more than 50 nations, most of which were former
colonies of the British empire, including India.
The marines "cannot be victims of delays and complexities"
amid continued uncertainty whether India will press terrorism
charges, said Bonino after the Supreme Court announced it was
postponing until February 24.
The court said that it wanted to give the Indian government
time to deliver a written response about whether to prosecute
the marines on the basis of a harsh anti-terrorism, anti-piracy
law in the case.
The idea of using such a law caused additional outrage in
Italy, as Rome said it would equate the country with a terrorist
state.
Bonino immediately recalled to Rome Italy's ambassador to
New Delhi for "consultations" and to show Rome's bitterness at
the handling of the marines, who continue to live and work in
India pending action in the case that has strained relations
between the two countries.
Italian Defence Minister Mario Mauro said Indian
authorities have hit "the limit" of Italian patience in the
case.
"This measure is the limit and what's even bigger is the
indignation that has hit the whole nation and cannot fail to
spread to the entire international community," said Mauro.
"There is no justice in this case. We are faced with
ambiguous, unreliable behaviour on the part of the Indian
authorities".
Latorre and Girone are accused of killing fishermen
Valentine (aka Gelastine) and Ajesh Binki after allegedly
mistaking them for pirates and opening fire on their fishing
trawler while guarding the privately owned Italian-flagged
oil-tanker MT Enrica Lexie off the coast of Kerala on February
15, 2012.
The EU is backing Italy and has said the case threatens the
future of anti-piracy operations.
As a result, there was speculation India's justice ministry
would ultimately bow to the pressure and choose to proceed under
the country's penal code.
Italy has already said it will consider international
arbitration and Bonino said other options "are up to the new
government" of Matteo Renzi, expected to be sworn in as Italian
premier at the end of this week.
Those may include freezing bilateral accords with India and
pulling soldiers from anti-piracy missions, observers said.
Senior EU officials have said that the case has important
implications for the fight against piracy.
On Tuesday, it repeated its warnings.
"We have stated clearly that we are very concerned, because
if charges are brought under the anti-terrorism law as is
currently expected, there will be important consequences for our
fight against piracy," a spokesperson for the High
Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton said.
The marines' partners called on the new government to bring
them home.
"We have never lost faith in Italy's institutions," Vania
Ardito, wife of Girone, told journalists gathered for the
opening of an annual national musical event in Sanremo.
She and Paola Moschetti, partner of Latorre, were invited
by the local authorities to attend a pre-competition press
conference in order to raise awareness of the plight of the
marines.
Said Ardito: "Our trust remains: they are the ones who must
bring Salvatore and Massimiliano home".
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