India and Italy Share Blame in Marines Case, Analysts Claim

Manan Vatsyayana/Agence France-Presse â€" Getty Images A signboard for the Italian embassy in New Delhi.

India’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Italian ambassador Daniele Mancini to remain in the country while India and Italy settle the dispute over the latter’s refusal to send back two Italian marines who face murder charges in India.

The move was the latest sign of a deterioration of trust between the two countries. Earlier this week, Italy informed India that it would not return two marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, who have been accused of the murders of two Indian fishermen in a shooting off India’s coast. While awaiting trial, they were allowed to returnto Italy in February to vote, after Ms. Mancini signed an affidavit with the Supreme Court of India pledging their return within four weeks.

The Italian Embassy in New Delhi did not respond to numerous requests for comment.

While it is uncertain what direction the case will go in, it is almost certain that the current tensions will strain bilateral relations. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already said that the actions of the Italian government were “not acceptable,” adding that the relationship between India and Italy “has to function on the basis of trust.”

“What was just a criminal trial has now become a diplomatic row,” said Brahma Chellaney, professor of strategic studies at the Center for Policy Research. “India has a lot of options of how to bring pressure to bear, in the political, economic and diplomatic realm. What is in question i! s the extent to which the Indian government is willing to go and what option it chooses to exercise.”

Neelam Deo, director of Gateway House, a research institute in Mumbai, and a former ambassador to Denmark and Côte d’Ivoire, said, “The Italian government’s action, after the ambassador has signed a sworn affidavit that the marines will return to India, undermines the importance of what an ambassador says.” She called the situation “a loss of credibility for Italy.”

Any agreement signed by the ambassador on behalf of Italy was likely to be called into question in the future, she added, and the departure of the next Indian ambassador to Rome, Basant K. Gupta, could be delayed.

Political strategists fear that the dispute will cause a robust relationship between India and Italy to sour, to the detriment of both countries. “The relationship between the two countries is vibrant - there is a lot of trade, cultural and political exchange; both country’s political leaderhip have visited each other,” said Ms. Deo.

India has come under criticism at home for its handling of the affair because the Supreme Court did not ask for a financial guarantee for the Italian marines’ return, only a pledge from the Italian ambassador. By contrast, in December, before the marines were allowed to return home for Christmas, Kerala’s high court required Italy to pay a surety bond of approximately 54 million rupees ($1 million).

Analysts have called into question the decision of the Supreme Court to send the marines back to Italy on the basis of a promise by the Italian envoy, who enjoys diplomatic immunity in India.

The court’s judgment was “appalling,” said Samir Saran, a senior fellow and vice president at Observer Research Foundation in Mumbai. It was “sheer carelessness, which reflects poorly on a country with regional leadership ambitions,” he said.

This is not the first time foreigners accused of crimes in India have been all! owed to l! eave the country without serving jail time, said Mr. Chellaney.

The list includes the Italian national Ottavio Quattrocchi, accused in the Bofors scandal; Kim Davy, who was the prime accused in the Purulia case, and is now in Denmark, and the infamous case Union Carbide case, where chairman Warren Anderson was granted bail after the Bhopal chemical accident, he said.

“There is a long list of cases where foreigners have escaped justice in India, and therefore this latest case shows up India for what it is - a soft state.”