Well what you expect us to do? We saved until now dozens of indian sailors from somali pirates. That will end in case our soldiers get jailed in india. It is unacceptable for Italy and you are aware of that. Indian ships will not get help. Indian crews will not get rescued and indian hostages will not get free. In case of hostage rescue our troops would only bring other nationalities out and let the indian there with the pirates. Since european ship corporations also pay the release money for the hostages, they would not pay for the crew members with indian nationality. That would make the indian sailors worthless for the pirates and you know the consequences. Party Leader of Lega Nord Mr Bossi already made clear that in that case Italy would not do anything to help indian crewmembers in operations under Mission Atalanta. Our soldiers will not risk their lifes for rescue of indian hostages if India acts openly hostile towards Italy.
We Expected you to act honorably and send back the marines who we had released during christmas as a gesture of goodwill,
but you did not do so. You did so only under direct threat.
It is clear to us that you have scant respect for India.
Again I repeat, Italy is free to act on anything that falls in its perview. That includes freeing Indian sailors. I do not recall India ever asking Italy to help free its sailors. I hereby grant you freedom from carrying the 'white mans burden'.
BTW the ransom is paid by the Insurance companies not the shipping companies. In any case the moment Indian sailors become worthless for Somali pirates, they stop kidnapping Indians
. That is probably the best thing that can happen to Indian sailors.
Italy and India both share hundred years positive relations and close friendship. Sonia Gandhi is from Italy. We see India as our friend. And i hope you do realize what that all means for us now. That entire conflict heats us up to the burning point. One of our ministers already left government, because he saw it against his honor to send those soldiers back to india. The government is on the breaking point because of that. The italian Prime Minister promised with his honor to the families of the soldiers that evrything will be good and they will be safe and with their families.
All that is your internal politics. I have nothing to comment on your internal matters.
If india would bring them into an indian jail, that would be the greatest humilation for italy since WW II. India would spit into the face of italy...a country that is one of its closest international friends. Such a decission would be impossible for Italy to accept and the events that would follow it can´t be known and could be drastical.
Italy has already spit into the face of India by killing our fishermen and THEN refusing to send back the Marines.
Hardly the action of a 'close' friend.
You should be grateful that Indians are forgiving by nature and have decided to put your dishonorable conduct behind us.
It is sad enough that this accident did happen. I feel sad for the families of those two fisherman and nobody in italy is ignorant about it. But it must be done anything possible to not let that conflict between two allied nations escalate beyone repair. It is not a court decission and evryone knows that. Its a diplomatic one. And i´m honest, i don´t know much about indian foreign politics and all that. But i hope india does not throw an old friend away like that.
If that is all you see, then you are blind to what is obvious to others. Let me spell that out to you.
Italians in service of Italian govt. shot and killed people under protection of the Indian govt. This incident is more than a simple case of one man shooting and killing another.
You say there must be a solution that both nations can agree with? How should that look like?
Personally I would like the marines to spend a part of their sentence in India and a part of their sentence in Italy. Purely because I do not expect Italy to act Honorably and implement their sentencing passed in Indian Court.
And you should understand one thing. That italy send those two soldiers back to India, means alot of trust we have in india to not do harm to us. No other nation did that ever before. USA even has a law that allows them to send a special unit to attack the prison and release their soldiers.
No. You did that because you had not choice. Your nations ambassador to India gave a personal guarantee to the Indian Supreme Court that they will be returned.
If Italy had gone back on their word, your ambassador would have been held guilty and sentenced. You would only have succeeded in swapping prisoners.
As you noticed it was not an easy decission for italy. We gave our honor and souverignity into indias hands, because we trust it as a friend to honor it and make the right decission. I hope india is aware of that and knows its responsibility towards a friend.
LOL. You cannot be serious.
