Imperious Italy tugs at India's long rope

Last week, three Italians reportedly tried to jump out of an Air India flight from Delhi when it landed in Kochi for a short transit. Booked till Thiruvananthapuram, the visitors who were from the Italian Embassy in Delhi, fought with the airline and security staff and even forced their way out of the plane. Finally the security officials had to push them back into the plane. Thanks to the Italians’ furious muscle flexing and shouting march, the plane was delayed for about 25 minutes. Had they been in Italy, they would have been in jail. Had they been Indians without influence, they would still be in custody with a few difficult cases slapped on them. No marks for guessing that the Italians were on their way to assist two of their countrymen: two naval guards, in the custody of Kerala police for killing two fishermen from the state. Nobody knows if it was the western stereotype of India or the perceived influence which Italy enjoyed in the country that made them imperious. [caption id=“attachment_230161” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Italian marines Salvatore Girone (L) and Massimiliano Latorre, accused of killing two Indian fishermen, at a government guest house in Kochi on Wednesday. PTI”]  [/caption] Once in Kerala, the local police and officials continued to offer the courtesy that the airline and security staff showed them. They were part of an Italian contingent that accompanied the arrested Italian navy guards during the investigation and police custody. The special investigation team formed to probe the case, headed by the Kochi police commissioner MR Ajithkumar, played it cool and allowed the arrested guards to stay in an air-conditioned CISF guest house and did not send them to a grimy police lock-up where a normal accused on remand could have been kept. The Italian officials were allowed to stay in the same guest house. People in Kerala were furious that the accused were treated like VIPs. The VIP treatment, the Italians probably thought, was an entitlement. First they refused to recognise Indian law saying that the case should be subjected to international law; the court gave them an appropriate answer. Second, they wanted to shadow the investigators everywhere and the court allowed their presence while the ship was being searched and arms seized. An extravagant idea of a joint-operation was nipped in the bud - the court clearly spelled out that they can only supervise while the ship was searched and the arms seized.. The latest show of their imperiousness was yesterday when the arms were taken to the forensic lab in Thiruvananthapuram. They wanted no less than the accused to witness the forensic examination of the arms! It’s something like an (accused) murderer witnessing the investigation against him or her. The plea was rejected. Pending the petition, the forensic examination was delayed. The Italians then toned down their demand and wanted a representative of their government to be present during the forensic examination. The revised argument was that since the arms belong to the government and not the guards, they should be present. But a local public prosecutor Manjula Itty successfully argued that Italy had no right to interfere with India’s legal process. The court finally rejected the main plea, but permitted an Italian government representative to be present when the arms are taken out of the box and are subjected to ballistic tests. No presence during the forensic examination. People in Kerala are not happy. They resent that the accused, who have allegedly showered the fishing boat of the victims with a barrage of bullets, have been given the luxuries they have asked for. But chief minister Oomen Chandy said it was to ensure transparency. He said media stories in Italy presented a different version. According to them, the fishermen were not fired by the Italians, but by some other ship. He also said that the rumours of out-of-court settlements are not consistent with Indian law. Meanwhile, reports from Kerala suggested that there would be increasing pressure on the captain of the ship to take responsibility while some argue that under the UN convention, the ship is a territory of its flag and hence the Italian government cannot absolve itself of the responsibility. Whether it is the ship or Italy, for the people of the state, they are Italians who came close to their shores from faraway lands and gunned down their fishermen; and they have been given an unusually long rope. Probably Italians wished if it were infinitely longer.