Italian soldiers imprisoned in India: the EU ready to help for a solution
(BRUSSELS2 to Copenhagen) Change of position at the European diplomatic service, in the affair of the Italian VPD soldiers on board the Enrica Lexie suspected of murdering fishermen - whom they allegedly took for pirates (version disputed by the Italians).
Awareness of the problem in the diplomatic service
The Europeans were very discreet about this affair, believing that it was mainly a bilateral affair. This was the first response from a spokesperson for Mr. Ashton to the question posed by B2. Quite a pithy answer, like Pontius Pilate. Then minds evolved, quite quickly, it must be said. A few days ago, the same spokesperson assured " monitor the situation very closely. Italy did not request our assistance. But we are monitoring the situation very closely. And we hope that this case will be resolved satisfactorily. Entering Copenhagen at the informal Council of Foreign Ministers on March 9, EU High Representative Catherine Ashton offered her assistance in resolving the crisis. " In many countries, it is often a bilateral path that is successfully pursued. But the European Union delegation on site and myself are always ready. I have already had conversations with the Italian government. And I'm ready to work it closer. "" My door is always open. We are always ready for support. And more news could follow.
Italy asks for help from Europeans
Italy has also officially requested the assistance of its peers. Italian Minister Terzi gave his European counterparts a three-page note, in English, describing in detail both the facts and the legal context of the case. And the High Representative, Catherine Ashton, made it clear that she intended to take care of this dossier
In this note, which B2 was able to obtain, the Italian Minister explains the various points of the international context (the international policy for the fight against piracy, VPDs, jurisdiction in international waters, the exclusive economic zone, the notion of jurisdiction national...). He draws the attention of his fellow European ministers to this affair which for him is not just a bilateral subject but a question of principle which can have important consequences. The key point of his argument is the situation of the Italian ship - and therefore of the Italian soldiers who fired the shots - at 9°20' North and 75°59' East, i.e. on the "high seas", a point disputed by the Indians on two reasons: 1) in fact, they consider that the vessel "affected" was in its territorial waters; 2) by right, they emphasize the existence of an exclusive economic zone around 200 miles from their coasts. For the Italian minister, this position is dangerous. It's a " principle contrary to the freedom of navigation in international waters ". Freedom of movement at sea could thus be hampered by an arbitrary extension of jurisdiction beyond the limits defined by international law. And to add an argument - which is quite powerful, in my opinion, and has a certain chance of being heard in several ministries -: " The exclusive jurisdiction of the flag State in international waters is an important point for the active collective commitment against the resurgence of piracy, just as the exclusive right of the State to judge its soldiers is an essential point. international peacekeeping operations. If a local court begins (interrogations).
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Comment: the impression of a certain confusion
Evidence was disappearing one after another
Two points make the outcome of this case confusing, two essential points to shed light on the facts. On the one hand, the bodies of the fishermen killed were cremated very quickly (in accordance with Indian tradition), but apparently without an in-depth autopsy, nor a means of having a contradictory ballistic expertise. Then, the height of "bad luck", the black box of the Lexie, which records all the conversations in the command room, was found. But reused. Finally, the Italian authorities curse, covertly, against the captain of the ship who agreed to follow the Indian authorities, in an Indian port, and therefore to deliver the Italian soldiers to the authorities.
Italian confusion
The Monti government seems to be struggling with this affair. Admittedly, the Italians did not skimp on the means of pressure against the Indians, sending in quick succession to India the deputy minister of foreign affairs, Staffan De Mistura, then the minister himself, Giulio Terzi; the two visits seeming to collide, there was a kind of confusion. The Indians resented these public pressures and stiffened rather than compromised. It is necessary today to involve a third party in the story. And it could be the business of a European diplomat who could try to unravel the threads of this tangled affair on both sides.
Indian hypocrisy
We find there Indians very champions of morals when it is a question of "their" fishermen killed. A few years ago, we observed other fishermen killed by a warship, operating on an anti-piracy mission, close to Somalia. A misunderstanding apparently coupled with an abandonment. The authors of this package having also left the premises. And no one had stopped them. Another time, it was a ship of the European anti-piracy mission (Eunavfor) which had been alerted after the deadly passage of an Indian frigate which had fired on what was presumed to be a pirate skiff.
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