Italian Foreign Minister resigns over marines row

Mangalore Today/The Hindu

Rome March27, 2013: Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi has resigned following the criticism of his government’s decision to send back to India two Italian marines accused of killing Indian fishermen.

Mr. Terzi announced his resignation in Italian Parliament on Tuesday, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

“I resign in contention with the decision to send the marines back to India. The misgivings I expressed had no effect on the decision taken,” the 66-year-old politician told Italian Parliament.

‘‘I am resigning because for 40 years I have maintained, and still maintain, that the reputation of the country, the armed forces, and Italian diplomacy should be safeguarded,’’ he said.

‘‘I am also standing down in solidarity with our two marines and their families,’’ Mr. Terzi added.

The Italian marines, accused of killing two fishermen off the Kerala coast in 2012, returned to New Delhi on March 22 after India had given an assurance that they will not face the death penalty nor will they be arrested, bringing to an end a raging 11-day diplomatic row between the two countries.

As the diplomatic crisis escalated, Indian authorities had forbidden the Italian Ambassador from leaving the country and airports were put on alert.

The marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, arrested in connection with the killing of the fishermen, returned to India on a military plane.

U-turn

The dramatic U-turn by the Italian government, which had earlier said the two marines would not be sent back, enabled the marines to meet the deadline set by the Supreme Court of India when it gave them permission to go home for a month to vote in the elections there.

Rome’s unexpected decision to return the marines sparked a furore in Italy, particularly because the men and their families had been previously told that they would not be sent back.

‘‘I have always acted for the good of the marines and Italy. If I haven’t managed that, I ask forgiveness from everyone, and first of all from both of them,’’ Defence Minister Giampaolo Di Paola told Parliament.

‘‘It was me who told them about the decision to return them to India; I looked them in the eyes and told them,’’ he said.

The Defence Minister said he was not resigning because he had promised the marines that he would not abandon them.

Italy had said that it was important to suspend the diplomatic assurance on sending back its marines as it needed to obtain assurances from India that the soldiers would not face the death penalty.

Defending its initial decision not to send back their marines even at the cost of diplomatic breach of assurance, Italy had said that the death penalty was unacceptable and became an issue for the Italian government when the Supreme Court talked about setting up a special court to try the soldiers.

India External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid had said that no deal had been worked out with Italy for bringing back the marines, but the government had ‘clarified’ to authorities in Rome that the case did not entitle the death penalty. — PTI & AFP