Sometime on the evening of 15th February 2012, when winter light was fading, two serving Italian naval officials on board, the MV EnricaLexie, apprehending that their vessel was under attack from a pirate skiff, as a last resort, opened warning fire.

The incident, which unfortunately claimed two Indian lives, took place in international waters, approximately twenty-two nautical miles from the coast of India. This fact is acknowledged in the FIR [No.2 of 2012] filed by the local authorities of the State of Kerala.

As the Italian flagged ship continued its voyage in international waters, it was lured into Cochin harbour by sending of messages by the MRCC Mumbai, which informed the ship’s master that they had captured the alleged ‘pirates’ and needed their help to ‘identify’ them. On arrival, the two serving Italian naval officials were arrested and charged under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code. This is all on record.

The fact that two Indian fishermen lost their lives is indeed most regrettable. The point at issue is – where do we go from here? It is nobody’s case that justice should not be done. However, we also have to keep in mind the repercussions and consequences of any action that might be considered. No matter how long the serving Italian marines are incarcerated in India, it is not going to provide a healing balm. What matters most now is that the rehabilitation and securing of a proper livelihood for the members of the bereaved families is undertaken forthwith.

In the fitness of things, the Italian authorities, as a humanitarian gesture, regretted the loss of life and also gave appropriate relief to the bereaved families so that their future livelihood is secured.

The government of India would do well to keep in mind the utmost need for maintaining warm and friendly relations with Italy, an important constituent of the European Union. Let matters not escalate to a point where the original point in dispute becomes wholly distorted.

A court affidavit filed by the two marines state that apprehending that the ship was under attack by pirates, the captain activated the ship alert security system (SASS), which sent out signals to the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (IMRCC). The captain also reported the incident on the mercury chart, which transfers information to several navies across the world fighting piracy, including the Indian Naval headquarters. The Italians also claim that they warned the fast approaching Indian fishing vessel by flashing search lights, sounding the siren and horn.

Both India and Italy are friendly countries and ancient civilizations from which over the ages both have drawn immense sustenance. Legends like Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatama Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru all visited Italy and our freedom struggle drew inspiration from the great Italian revolutionary, Mazzini.

There are presently over 120,000 people of Indian origin living in Italy. Not all are there legally. Most of the Indians in Italy are from Punjab and work on dairy farms and in agriculture. They constitute the largest Indian population in Europe, outside the UK. Anyone travelling in northern Italy would find the country-side dotted with Gurudwaras and temples; perhaps more than anywhere in Europe, except the UK.

In recent times, trade and investment between the two countries has flourished. Between April 2000 and April 2011, Italian investment into India was US$ 939 million. Italy is India’s 12th largest trading partner with bilateral trade expected to grow from US$ 8.84 billion presently to US$ 18.4 billion by 2015.

Recently, the Minister of State for Defence, MM PallamRaju while addressing a roundtable on ‘Indo-Italian Defence Cooperation’ said that there is a tremendouspotential for enhancing the defence industry cooperation between the two sides, particularly in the context of the offset policy. India is also looking for collaboration in hi-tech defence areas. Italy, unlike some other countries, would have little hesitation in providing India with such advanced technology.

As per reports available, the Italian authorities have behaved in an exemplary manner so far. Both India and Italy have signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS]. If there was any clause in UNCLOS that was repugnant to domestic Indian law, then a caveat should have been entered into by India. In the absence of any such caveat, it can be safely assumed that that all the clauses of UNCLOS were in conformity with domestic Indian law. If not, then it is well understood that it is for the government of India to suitably amend such laws to bring them into conformity with India’s international obligations. It would also be well within the rights of the Italian government to take India to the International Court of Justice [ICJ] and it is possible that a ruling by the ICJ may go adverse to India.

It would be recalled that just about a year ago, a Chinese fishing vessel was taken into custody along with its crew by Japanese authorities for allegedly violating Japanese territorial waters near Senkaku/Diaoyu islands.

The Chinese captain of the ship, Zhan Qixiong was arrested and charged in a Japanese court. The Chinese authorities insisted on the ‘unconditional’ release of the captain, the crew and the ship. As could be expected, the Japanese cited provisions of the law and refused to release the captain, although they subsequently released both the Chinese fishing vessel and the crew.

Ultimately, the Chinese threatened that if Zhan Qixiong was not released ‘immediately and unconditionally’; China would take ‘appropriate measures’ that included the stoppage of the exports of ‘rare earths’ that are crucial elements in the production of high-end technology items. The Japanese promptly caved in andreleased Zhan Qixiong ‘unconditionally’, despite the fact that this case was still pending in a court of law.

“No matter how long the serving Italian marines are incarcerated in India, it is not going to provide a healing balm. What matters most now is that the rehabilitation and securing of a proper livelihood for the members of the bereaved families is undertaken forthwith.”

Given that the Additional Solicitor General of India Mr.HarinRaval has already in the EnricaLexie case made a statement in the Supreme Court that India had no jurisdiction to register the case or to arrest the marines and it would be in the interests of both India and Italy to find an honourable solution to the entire issue.

India should seriously consider the early release of the two Italian marines. This is not a matter for domestic political discord, since during the NDA regime the then government had, similarly released several foreign nationals. All this was done in the interests of maintaining good relations with the UK and Russia.

Though the facts of the Italian case are entirely different, a similar act of grace in the present case would suffice and meet the ends of justice.