Italian marines episode is a lesson in diplomacy
The return of the two Italian marines to India is a great diplomatic victory for the country. Of course, much of the credit goes to the Supreme Court which took a tough and uncompromising stance on the issue and forced the UPA Government’s hand. After the Italian Government announced last week that it would not send back the marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen to stand trial in New Delhi as promised, the apex court made it clear that it will not tolerate such a grave violation of its jurisdiction. Towards that end, it immediately clamped down on the movements of the Italian Ambassador to India, Mr Daniele Mancini. It was Mr Mancini who, on behalf of Rome, had given an official undertaking to the Supreme Court that the two marines would return to India by March 22 after having cast their vote in the Italian national election. As expected, the apex court's order that effectively led to Mr Mancini being held ‘captive’ in India was met with an equally strong response from the Italian authorities. They were quick to point out that the Italian envoy enjoyed diplomatic immunity and his movement could not be restricted in such a manner. In fact, even the EU jumped into the fray, ‘warning' India against what it perceived to be a breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. But none of this could tame the Supreme Court, as it insisted that Italy fulfill its obligations to India. The apex court's efforts were of course complemented by the Opposition's unrelenting pressure on the Government. Having made a colossal mess of the case from the day it erupted, the Union Government seemed like it would be relieved to throw up its hands and give up on the case after Italy threatened to renege on its promise. But with Parliament in session and a watchful Opposition following the case closely, not to mention tremendous public outrage particularly in Kerala, the Government of India was compelled to stay the course.
As New Delhi was forced to talk tough with Rome, its diplomats worked the back channels and eventually a deal was worked out. This deal reportedly ensures, among other things, that the marines will not be given the death penalty and will probably not serve their sentence in India. The foreign policy lesson for South Block, which is often reluctant to take a strong stand, is that it pays to hold on to one's ground. Unless you stand up for yourself, nobody takes you seriously. Meanwhile, now that the marines are back in India for their trial, one should expect that the sordid episode in India-Italy relations will come to an end. A special court will now try the marines, while New Delhi will send off its Ambassador-designate Basant Kumar Gupta (whose posting had been withheld in the wake of this crisis) to Rome. Historically, India and Italy have shared strong ties, and it would be tragic if those were to be disrupted due to avoidable diplomatic grandstanding.