On February 15, 2012, the sad story began which saw two Italian soldiers abandoned by the State for about 900 days to the undue judgment of a third State. More than two and a half years during which everything has happened, especially events that have seen institutional representatives as protagonists and that are never clarified nor motivated despite the lack of transparency that characterized them.
Let's go over them together to fix them in memory and why one day is made clear. It would be dishonest, in fact, to let the whole story fall into oblivion by making it become part of the many "Italian mysteries" still unresolved today.
The Lexie is part of Indian territorial waters
The 15 February 2012 the Navy issues an official statement, the 04 number, with which announces: "The Riflemen of the S. Marco Battalion, embarked as a nucleus of military protection (NPM) on Italian merchants, intervened today at the Indian 12,30, foiling yet another attempt at boarding. The presence of the Navy military deterred five marauders from the sea who attempted the boarding of the Enrica Lexie about 30 miles west of the Indian south coast ... ".
Immediately after the Lexie is induced by the Coast Guard of Mumbai to return to Indian territorial waters and dock in the port of Kochi and reverses the route returning to the Indian territorial waters after the assent of the Italian authorities.
But we must wait for the 17 2012 October to know for sure who in Italy had given the OK. After eight months, in fact, the then Minister Di Paola, responding to a written parliamentary question, admitted that the Defense had given its consent to the shipowner. On that occasion, however, the former minister forgot to report who the defense had given consent.
Personnel in service to the IOC (Operational Center Interforze) or more likely to the CINCNAV (Command in Head of the Naval Squad) on which depended the navy riflemen boarded?
Top commanders of the two Command structures?
Himself as Minister of Defense?
April - May 2012
Two months full of unclear facts in which it is not hazardous to say that a precise planning of what would have happened in the future began. The beginning of a tacit configuration of events in a negligent event to reduce the risk of the two marines and at the same time avoid having to give answers embarrassing questions.
The 20 in April the Times of India reported that the defense minister Di Paola after reaching an out-of-court agreement with the family lawyers of the killed fishermen paid to families on behalf of the Italian state "as compensation" 10 million rupees , equal to about 146 thousand euro. Subsequently, with approximately 75.000 Euro, the owner of the Indian fishing vessel Sant Antony was also compensated.
An acknowledgment of responsibility that of Di Paola that has never been clarified by those who had been decided or advised. The payment of a figure certainly drawn from reserved funds as not attributable to the expense chapter, authorized by those who are not given to know. The minister of his own initiative or the then president of the council?
A few weeks later, the May 18, the then undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Staffan de Mistura, in charge of protecting our soldiers in India in India, "accompanied" the April 10 donation by releasing a statement on Indian television that was not consistent with the diplomatic mandate received: "the death of the two fishermen was a fortuitous accident, a manslaughter. Our two marò never wanted this to happen, but unfortunately it happened ".
The 11 may of 2012 the Navy came into possession, as reported by the newspaper La Repubblica, of the report of a summary investigation carried out by Admiral Alessandro Piroli from which it would appear that "... The tracer bullet extracted from the body of Valentine Jelestine is was exploded from the rifle with a serial number assigned to the Andronico sub-chief. The bullet extracted from the body of Ajiesh Pink was exploded from the rifle with freshman assigned to the sub-cap Voglino ".
It is not known, however, how the admiral could have arrived at these conclusions and following what technical investigations, considering that the weapons of the Protection Board boarded the Lexie had been seized by the Indians who had, however, forbidden to the Italian technicians of ROS carabinieri to attend comparative ballistic tests.
The news will be published, despite the document was confidential, only the 6 April 2013, a year later. A report that confirmed the theory of culpable offense, a logical continuation of what was declared by De Mistura and the indemnity welded by Di Paola.
December 2012
The MAE, through the capillary diplomatic action carried out by the then foreign minister Giulio Terzi, managed to bring the two marò back to Italy to have them spend two weeks with the family on the occasion of Christmas. Shortly before their return to India, the Rome Military Prosecutor heard them as inscribed in the register of suspects for "voluntary homicide", as reported in the press.
On that occasion no precautionary measure, not even the ban on expatriation. Why this unusual judicial practice?
January 2013
The 18 January 2013 the Indian Supreme Court recognized that the facts charged to the two marines had occurred in international waters and established that the two should be judged by a Special Court.
In Italy and in Europe the sentence was considered favorable, but no one pretended that India respected International Law. The President of the Republic did not become the supreme head of the armed forces by constitutional mandate and not even the president of the then Council.
Europe continued to keep quiet except for a subdued whisper of the head of European elusive foreign policy, Catherine Asthon, who also confused the two Italian soldiers with private contractors!
February - March 2013
Another diplomatic action of fine content was carried out by the Minister Terzi who obtained that the two soldiers return to Italy to fulfill their electoral commitments. A signal of clear Indian condescension that should be taken advantage of, but it did not happen.
The 11 March of 2013 at 17,53 the AGI "launched" an Agency with a statement by Undersecretary De Mistura who stated verbatim "The decision not to return the marines in India has been taken in close coordination with the president of the Council Mario Monti and agree all the ministers "involved in the affair," foreign, defense and justice ". He added that "we are all in the same position, in a cohesive manner and with Monti's coordination". He also adds that "at this point the divergence of opinions" between Italy and India on issues of jurisdiction and immunity requires international arbitration ... ".
On March 22 the two Navy riflemen were sent back in a hurry to Italy after a long conversation with the Minister of Defense, but neither the tones nor the contents are known, so it is not possible to express whether the two soldiers had been exercised an action of conviction due to a possible "hierarchical coercion".
The 26 March 2013 Minister Terzi resigned due to differences with Prime Minister Monti in managing the affair of the two marines, proving to be custodians of valuable ethical values and a high sense of state. On the same day, however, Defense Minister Di Paola declared that he "did not want to abandon the ship" in respect of the other seaman tradition but forgot to state that he remained on a drifting boat which would soon have ended its operational life. his decision followed that of leaving two Italian soldiers in "hostile hands".
No one posed the problem if there were any responsibilities in having given a passive extradition of two Italian citizens accused by a third state of a crime for which the death penalty was provided.
Reference was made only to a declaration by the Indian Business Attaché in Rome with no value for Italian law.
In fact, the letter reported only: "According to well-established Indian jurisprudence this casewouldn't fall in the category of matters which attract the death penalty, that is to say the rarest of rare cases. Therefore there is no apprehension in this regard "(According to a widely-established Indian jurisprudence, this case would not fall within the category of cases involving the death penalty, ie the rarest of rare cases. concern in this regard).
28 April 2013 - 22 February 2014
Letta installed his government and the story of the two marò slid slowly into oblivion of the media. Only a few spare actions and institutional declarations with a defiant and hesitant defense minister and that of foreigners who throughout his mandate have never ceased to confirm his forty years of profound anti-militarism.
A Bonino declaring, forgetting that Italy was a state of law, "the innocence of our marines" (Repubblica 19 / 09 / 2013) is not established, excluding the defected India from its institutional trips also during the Conference Foreign Ministers Europe - Asia (11 Nov. 2013) perhaps because it is too busy supporting the liberalization of light drugs as confirmed during the Sixth Italy - Latin America - Caribbean Conference when responding to journalists and referring to the liberalization of light drugs in Uruguay said: "It's fine - it's not total but that's fine. I'm going to Uruguay in March. "
Even his deputy minister Lapo Pistelli declared that with India had been agreed rules of engagement and shared solutions, but not so ready to clarify what he meant and what was the Italian sharing with India for the story of the two marines.
The 22 February 2014 took over the Renzi government. Suddenly there was hope that we were opening another phase for our military hostages in India. A wish, however, destined to vanish soon like so many others that have marked this story.
Renzi immediately telephoned Massimiliano and Salvatore and then did not talk about it anymore, neither in Italy nor in international contexts. Minister of defense Pinotti and foreign Mogherini from that day continue to talk about the internationalization of the story but they say nothing about how they intend to start the acts of internationalization.
This is the chronological synthesis of actions that would perhaps deserve careful political and legal evaluation so that justice is rendered to Italy whose international credibility has been severely affected by events. An obscure story which also includes imaginative ballistic theories or personal interpretations of the law of the sea developed also by military and former high-ranking soldiers who close the circle on the implicit nature of the events started in May 2012.
We are therefore faced with a sad affair that affects the Italian international credibility gained over time by those who like Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, every day they risk their lives to defend the guarantee of the peaceful existence of populations throughout the world.
Soldiers, Sailors, Avieri and Carabinieri that the State can not afford to forget and abandon to favor other interests, not least the economic one of lobby and private sector.
A shameful affair that can not become part of Italian "secrets", but must be dissected to identify responsibilities at any level, especially those who decided that 22 March 2013 to return two soldiers to a state without having the right.
Truths that can not be ignored otherwise Italy will be destined to a cultural decline and image, the premise of an inexorable economic decline.
Fernando Termentini
