India’s Airports Told to Not Let Italian Ambassador Fly

Saurabh Das/Associated Press A policeman standing guard at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, in this Aug. 11, 2006 photo.

The Indian government on Friday alerted airports to block any attempt by the Italian ambassador, Daniele Mancini, to leave the country, escalating an already tense diplomatic dispute.

The alert comes a day after the Supreme Court ordered Mr. Mancini to stay in India while the two countries work to resolve the standoff over two Italian marines who faced murder charges in te deaths of two fishermen. Before the two marines were allowed to return to Italy to vote in national elections last month, Mr. Mancini had to sign an affidavit promising their return within four weeks. But on Monday, Italy said it would not send the two men back to India.

“We have communicated the Supreme Court order to immigration authorities,” said an official from the Home Ministry, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to the media on the subject. “The order says he will not be allowed to go out of the country without permission.”

On Thursday, when asked at a news conference what would happen if Mr. Mancini, who enjoys diplomatic immunity from prosecution in India, tried to leave the country, Syed Akbaruddin, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesman, said he did not answer hypothetica! l questions.

When another reporter asked whether Mr. Mancini’s immunity covered “deception and fraud and contempt of court,” Mr. Akbaruddin cited the basis of the Supreme Court order, “which is that if diplomatic agents willingly submit to the jurisdiction of the court, then that jurisdiction applies.”

“As regards anything further, we will take it as it happens,” he added. “We will all go by, as you are aware, as a country which has signed the Vienna convention.”

In another sign of heightened tensions between the two countries, India’s newly-designated ambassador to Italy won’t take his post immediately.

But for now, the two countries are expected to resolve the dispute on their own, without outside intervention.

Eduardo del Buey, the United Nations deputy spokesperson, said in a briefing Thursday that the secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, “is going to limit himself to hoping and caling on both parties to resolve their issues peacefully according to international law.”

Both countries have much to lose if their relationship deteriorates significantly. India and Italy are strong trading partners, with bilateral trade totalling 7.2 billion euros ($9.4 billion) in 2010, which is expected to double by 2015. India largely imports machine tools from Italy, and other items include motor vehicles, chemical, electronic and metal products. Italy largely imports textile and clothing products from India, according to the Italian Embassy in New Delhi.