Please find hereunder the English translation of the petition recently
submitted to the European Union with regard to the case of the two
Italian Marines.
There are two simple ways to contribute to the success of the initiative:
1) by signing the petition (in Italian) via the following link:
http://www.change.org/p/parlamento-europeo-attivare-gli-org…
2) by informing TV channels, newspapers, journalists, politicians, MPs,
etc. about the initiative, particularly if they are based in Italy, in
India or in Europe (via e-mail, via facebook, etc.).
Next week will be fully devoted to this communication effort. Thank you for any help.
----------------------------------------------------------
Di seguito pubblico la traduzione inglese della petizione presentata
pochi giorni fa all'Unione Europea in merito alla vicenda dei due
fucilieri di marina.
Vi sono due semplici modi per contribuire al successo dell'iniziativa:
1) firmando la petizione attraverso il seguente link:
http://www.change.org/p/parlamento-europeo-attivare-gli-org…
2) informando televisioni, giornali, giornalisti, politici,
parlamentari, ecc. in merito all'iniziativa, particolarmente se questi
hanno base in Italia, in India o in Europa (attraverso e-mails, pagine
facebook, ecc.).
La prossima settimana sarà interamente dedicata a questo sforzo comunicativo. Ringrazio per qualsiasi aiuto.
----------------------------- TEXT of the PETITION in ENGLISH -------------------------------
Attn.: EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
THE PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
COMMITTEE on PETITIONS
Rue Wiertz B-1047
BRUSSELS
Petition
___________________________________________________________________
(as per art. 227 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union - TFEU)
Pertaining to the arrest and detention in India, on presumptive
evidence, of the two Naval Non-Commissioned Officers, Massimiliano
Latorre and Salvatore Girone.
INFORMATION CONCERNING THE PETITION:
Matters relating to the two italian citizens Massimiliano Latorre and
Salvatore Girone. Non-Commissioned Officers of the Italian Navy, members
of the 2° Reg. of the “San Marco” Brigade seconded to an anti-piracy
mission in the framework of the EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation Atalanta
aboard the oil-tanker Enrica Lexie. Arrested in Kerala (India) and
detained on presumptive evidence for allegedly killing two fishermen on
February 15, 2012. Now waiting trial for longer than thirty months.
- Having regard to Art. 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms (hereunder ECHR), protecting the right to a
fair trial;
- Having regard to Art. 7 of the ECHR "Nulla Poena
sine Lege", providing that no one may be held guilty "on account of any
act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under
national or international law at the time when it was committed. Nor
shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at
the time the criminal offence was committed.”;
- Having regard to
Art. 33.1 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(hereunder UNCLOS), defininig the authority of a State in a zone
contiguous to its territorial sea;
- Whereas the "EU NAVFOR
Somalia – Operation Atalanta" is a military and diplomatic mission of
the European Union to prevent and combat acts of piracy, in support of
UN Resolutions 1814, 1816, 1838 and 1846 adopted in 2008 by the United
Nations Security Council". Taking into account that the purpose of such
mission is, among others, the protection of vessels transiting through
the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean;
- Having
regard to the European Parliament Resolution "P6_TA(2008)0519" (adopted
on October 23, 2008) and the set of norms to which reference is made in
the same Resolution, calling, on a voluntary basis, on the Union Member
States to prevent, combat and suppress piracy and to which Italy has
adhered by marshaling military ships, aircrafts and personnel;
-
Having regard to the European Parliament Resolution "P7_TA(2012)0203"
(adopted on May 10, 2012), expressly providing under point ‘Q’ for the
deployment of armed guards aboard merchant ships in accordance with
national rules; and under paragraph 30 “notes that, on the high seas,
according to international law, in all cases, including actions taken in
the fight against piracy, the national jurisdiction of the flag state
applies on the ships concerned, as well as to the military staff
deployed on board; notes, moreover, that no arrest or detention of a
ship may be ordered, even as a measure of investigation, by any
authorities other than those of the flag state”;
- Having regard
to Law n.130 adopted on August 2, 2011 by the Republic of Italy:
"Conversione in legge, con modificazioni, del decreto legge n. 107 del
12 luglio 2011, recante proroga degli interventi di cooperazione allo
sviluppo e a sostegno dei processi di pace e di stabilizzazione, nonché
delle missioni internazionali delle forze armate e di polizia e
disposizioni per l'attuazione delle Risoluzioni 1970 (2011) e 1973
(2011) adottate dal Consiglio di Sicurezza delle Nazioni Unite. Misure
urgenti antipirateria", defining the rules for the deployment of
'Protection Military Teams' (hereunder PMTs) and armed guards aboard
italian vessels;
- Whereas the PMTs seconded onto an anti-piracy
mission aboard italian vessels are to all effects "members of the Armed
Forces of the Republic of Italy"; they operate as a body of the State
under national laws and in compliance with international resolutions;
they enjoy therefore the protections of law extended by the customary
norms governing the established principles of funcional immunity from
foreign jurisdiction, falling their commanded activity under the full
and exclusive responsibility of the State;
- Whereas the
circumstances implicating the italian military personnel – whose
responsibilities remain at the moment not ascertained - have taken
place “at high seas”, well beyond 12 nautical miles off the coast,
therefore outside indian territorial waters, as also acknowledged by the
indian Supreme Court in its decision dated January 18, 2013, by which
the jurisdiction of the State of Kerala was rejected and a special
federal court was instituted;
- Whereas the italian vessel was
merely in transit with no scheduled call into any indian port; India's
authority in the contiguous zone (defined as between the 12th and the
24th nautical mile off the coast) where the alleged incident is claimed
to have occurred, is limited to the control necessary to prevent
infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and
regulations – and exclusively for vessels bound to or sailing from
India, as per definition in the already mentioned Art. 33/1 of UNCLOS;
- Whereas the coercive action, put into effect by the indian officers
and police, which has resulted into the arrest of the two italian
soldiers – citizens of the European Union – has taken place aboard the
ship Enrica Lexie, therefore on territory under the jurisdiction of the
Republic of Italy. And taking into account the method of procedure,
deeply prejudicial to the dignity and the principles of the Republic of
Italy and of the European Union;
- Whereas the two italian
soldiers have always maintained their innocence with respect to the
death of the two indian fishermen;
- Whereas the public
statements made by the owner and skipper of the St. Antony to the media
in the immediate aftermath of the incident and in the presence of police
officers place the shooting against the indian fishing boat at around
21.30, five hours later than the pirate encounter occurred to the Enrica
Lexie;
- Having regard to the "Communication from the Commission
to the Council, the European Parliament and the European Economic and
Social Committee of 16 June 2004: An EU-India Strategic Partnership
(COM(2004) 430) and to the"Cooperation Agreement between the European
Community and the Republic of India on partnership and development (L
223/24, 27.08.94)" providing for a development in the partnership
between the EU and India, being understood the need for greater
fulfilment of legal and social norms related to the protection of human
rights and the respect of international rules. Taking into account that
to date, in disregard to any european and international standard on
human rights, after more than thirty months, the indian investigative
agencies have not yet filed any formal charges against the two italian
soldiers, this being the result of a clear lack of evidence, and, in
clear contempt of the most elementary rights of defence, they continue
to deprive the two accused of their personal freedom;
- Whereas in India the death penalty is still in force for crimes of murder.
WE URGE THE EUROPEAN UNION, IN SO FAR AS IT CONCERNS, TO DEVISE A
STRATEGY IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY THE INTERNAL ORGANS COMPETENT TO ACT AND
TO PRESS THE INDIAN AUTHORITIES TOWARDS THE RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EU
REPUTATION AND OF THE ELEMENTARY LEGAL RIGHTS OF THE TWO SOLDIERS, WHO
HAVE BEEN DENIED THEIR PERSONAL FREEDOM FOR OVER THIRTY MONTHS IN
COMPLETE DISREGARD OF ANY RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.
----------------------------------------------
Please find hereunder a close technical examination of the events as they have occurred.
The events
__________________________________________________________________
In February 2012 the oil-tanker Enrica Lexie was navigating with empty
tanks and 24 crew-members (5 italians, 19 indians) from Singapore
towards Egypt.
During a stop in the Sri Lankan port of Galle,
before entering the section of the Indian Ocean defined by the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) as 'High Risk Area' (HRA) for
piracy, the ship embarked a Protection Military Team composed of six
non-commissioned officers of the 2° Reg. “San Marco” under the command
of Massimiliano Latorre (Warrant Officer Class One – NATO classif.: OR9)
and left again.
“Team Latorre” is one of ten Protection
Military Teams (PMTs) created within the Italian Navy, specifically
trained and employed in the framework of the anti-piracy mission “EU
NAVFOR Somalia – Operation Atalanta”. The PMTs act as armed guards
aboard italian commercial and passenger ships in navigation through
areas at risk of piracy on the basis of national legislation
(L.130/2011), UN and EU resolutions and international maritime
recommendations (BMP4).
On February 15 at around 16.00 hrs. local
time the ship was in transit at more than 20 nautical miles off the
coast of the indian State of Kerala when the officer on the pilot bridge
noticed on the RADAR, at a distance of 2,8 NM (nautical miles), an
unidentified boat approaching with course and speed deemed “aggressive”.
The Enrica Lexie increased her speed. However, observed that
the unidentified boat persisted in its approach to the ship, the PMT was
called into action for a defensive response. In particular, Latorre
and Girone from the upper deck of the Lexie (blade at starboard)
executed a number of visual and acoustic warnings (through a powerful
searchlight and by firing warning shots in the air) with no visible
effects on the unidentified boat which kept getting closer.
When sergeant Girone saw armed men on the boat through his binoculars,
the two officers fired series of warning shots in the ocean,
specifically in the wide section of water separating the two vessels at a
gradually reduced distance of about 500, 300 and 100 metres. The
barrage fire deterred the men on the small boat (described as of a blue
color and about 12 metres long) who aborted their approach and moved
away from the oil-tanker. According testimonies given by the two
soldiers and by the Lexie's deputy ship master agreed: neither the boat
nor the men aboard were hit.
Approximately at 17.00 hrs. (local
time) the status of alert was called off and the ship resumed her course
at normal route and speed (330°N/13kts). Immediately after the PMT sent
out the report about the incident to the mission command headquarters
in Gibuti.
At 19.00 hrs. (local time - 13.30 UTC) the captain of
the Enrica Lexie, Umberto Vitelli, informed via radio the indian
Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC Mumbai). At 19.16 hrs. (13.46
UTC) he sent out the report of the incident both to his shipping
company, to the international organizations in charge of the monitoring
and the control of pirate activities: Maritime Security Centre Horn of
Africa (MSCHOA) - United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations (UKMTO) and
finally to the ship “F571 Grecale” (an italian rocket launcher frigate
on anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden) previously alerted. The
subject of the mail leaves little to interpretations: ‘Approach pirate
attak’.
A few hours later, at 21:36 hrs. (local time - 16.06 UTC)
MRCC Mumbai contacted the Enrica Lexie in international waters with a
mail by the subject: ‘Piracy incident off Allepey: 15 feb. 2012’ and
making reference to the earlier radio communication requested to head
for Kochi and establish communication with the Indian Coast Guard (ICG)
for not better defined clarifications.
Contacted via radio, the
ICG explained the request with the need to determine whether the
assailants of the Enrica Lexie were among a number of pirates taken into
custody by the police. A simple formality – tomorrow morning you will
be on your way again – the ICG assured.
Ten minutes after the
invitation to cooperate with the indian authorities, at 21.46 hrs.
(local time – 16.16 UTC) the captain sent out information about the
Lexie's change of route, so heading for Kochi as requested and entering
indian territorial waters. The Enrica Lexie will enter the port of
Kochi at around 23.00 hrs. (local time) escorted by indian military
ships.
No pirate taken into custody was waiting for recognition
in Kochi. A deception, or, to use the same words of an ICG officer, a
clever tactic.
Once docked, the italian ship was accused of the
murder of two fishermen aboard the St. Antony. This in spite of the fact
that the accused italians have always maintained having nothing to do
with the deaths; this in spite of the fact that the surviving fishermen
of the St. Antony have never been able to identify the ship responsible
for the shooting giving as the only indication the colour of the ship as
'black at the top and red at the bottom'; this in spite of the fact
that the indian authorities have acknowledged the presence in the area
at the time of at least four more cargo ships 'black at the top and red
at the bottom', letting them all go without any investigation …....
On February 19, while the Enrica lexie was still blockaded in the port
of Kochi also with italian diplomatic personnel arrived in the meantime
from Delhi, the Kerala police boarded the ship, forced the two italian
officers to disembark and put them under custody in the absence of any
witness or substantive evidence.
“We consider illegal this
attempt to remove us by force from the italian jurisdiction, in virtue
of the principles of functional immunity of military forces in transit"
(Latorre)
In order to better understand the method of the arrest
we will report the words used by Ambassador Giulio Terzi di Sant’Agata,
Italian Foreign Minister at the time of the events, who, during his
testimony in front of the Senate, described the aggression in the
following terms:
[the captain] “... was led by the indian
authorities with an artifice to head to the port of Kochi, where the
surrender of the two soldiers to the police has been the result of
coercive actions by the local authorities in contempt of the opposition
by the italian military and diplomatic authorities.”
(Senate of the Republic. Session n.690 of 13 March 2012)
A representative of the undersigned is available to be audited in any
office of the European Union in order to provide to the Petition
Committee, or other european administrative body, a more in-depth
knowledge on the case.
Rome, September 29, 2014
Yours Faithfully
The Signers
https://www.facebook.com/stefano.tronconi.79?fref=nf
Ora, se scorriamo la sua pagina Facebook, sfido chiunque a trovare una post relativo alla situazione Italiana (https://www.facebook.com/f.mogherini?ref=stream&hc_location=timeline). Vero è come lei sostiene "Sono stati otto mesi intensi. Forse
mai prima di questo 2014 il mondo, e la nostra regione in
particolare, aveva visto tante crisi tutte insieme e tutte di
una gravita' eccezionale: dall'Ucraina alla Libia, da Gaza a
Isil, dalla Siria all'Iraq al dramma di ebola". Ma non si trova un post per rilanciare l'Italia all'Estero. Un post che ricordi a tutti i suoi aderenti, che lei è.... stata la nostra Ministro della Farnesina. 
