Italy envoy: Won’t go till kicked out

In the on-going diplomatic spat between India and Italy over the non-return of two Italian marines, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday accused Italy of “violating every rule of diplomatic discourse” and warned it of consequences. The Italian envoy, on the other hand, declared on the sidelines of a function here that he would not leave the country until he was declared persona non grata, and that he would be happy to live in India for “years to come”. The diplomatic stand-off between India and Italy began with the latter’s refusal to ensure that two of its marines, awaiting trial in India but allowed to go to their country for four weeks by the Supreme Court to vote in their country’s elections, return as per their commitment. The two marines, Massimiliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone, are accused of gunning down two Indian fishermen at sea last year. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed India’s displeasure with the developments in both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday and said Italy’s decision was “unacceptable”. His remarks came after the Opposition benches created a din in both Houses on the matter. The PM also warned Rome that if the Italians “do not keep their word, there will be consequences for our relations with Italy” while noting that bilateral ties are based on trust. In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley quoted a well-known James Bond dialogue from the novel Goldfinger: “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times, it’s enemy action,” He said Italy’s action of not sending its marines back was like “enemy action” and that India should forget “diplomatic niceties”.