India-EU News & Analysis

[brihaspati]

Good news for mercantiles and profits seekers of India - those who find nothing to protest on the crorepati forming bribing of Indians for the shooting of the Indians' kin, just to save some miserable arrogants with eager religious cover from Italy.

Greater collaboration on "extradition" and beyond-trade of course! of course! such understandings will help future theologically blessed protected European criminals having their fun on Indians - better. Our mercantiles can jump up and down in joy at the "beyond trade" collaborations that help in ensuring lucrative defence deals! What does it matter or bother - if some Indian lowlifes are trampled on by European boots! Profits and deeper than Alps relationships help mercantiles - the only people among Indians whose interests matter in international dealings.

Better protection and escape roots for Quattrochhi-X's of the future! Jeo mercantile sellers of India.

[chetak]

Since when did our judicial system include payment of blood money for settlement of cases?

Are we becoming second class citizens even in India??

The Italian government got in writing from Freddy that he had pardoned the marines and did not want to see them being prosecuted.

Italy gives Rs 17 lakh to boat owner

Freddy is the prime witness in the criminal case, now under probe. In the settlement pact, Freddy said he had no other complaints regarding the case, but state attorney Raja Vijayaraghavan opined that the boat owner’s submission would not impact the murder case.

Emerging out of the High Court in Kochi, Freddy softened his stand in the case. He told the media he was not sure whether it was the Italian marines who had fired at his boat. “I was sleeping when the incident took place. I came to know about the firing later only.”

This was in sharp contrast to his earlier stand that he had seen the firing from the ship 300 metres away from the boat and had warned the other fishermen to lie down to escape the bullets.

The Italian government got in writing from Freddy that he had pardoned the marines and did not want to see them being prosecuted. However, this was outside the settlement deal and not part of the agreement.

Meanwhile, the single Bench of Judge P S Gopinath took strong oral objection to the settlement of the compensation case by the victims’ families, saying they forgot everything when they got money from the Italian government. The judge observed that the petitioners should be penalized for wasting the court’s valuable time.

[ManjaM]

This sounds more like back room fixing for influencing witnesses. Is it enough grounds for filing cases against some of the italians who are indulging in this wheeling dealing.

Added - Hah, my mistake! I am of course assuming that the government is TRYING to prosecute the perps. Seems like the Con government is trying its best to allow them to get away.

[Rony]

OT to this thread but What can the government do if even the Christian community in Kerala (the community which the victims belong) soft pedals the issue. The christian 'establishment' in Kerala is sold out to the Italians and were willing to compromise from day 1 .

[shyamd]

Any legal experts care to comment on whether an out of court settlement can be made on cases of crime such as this?

[Kanson]

^ In general, not possible. Of course, don't know if there is loophole by seeking diplo immunity, like that.

[ManjaM]

^^ Govt can always weaken the case and ensure they get away, which is what seems to be happening.

[Sachin]

Any legal experts care to comment on whether an out of court settlement can be made on cases of crime such as this?

I am not a legal expert .
1. The Kerala Government has said that the criminal charges against the Italian Marines would continue. Because here it is a clear case of "Accused No:1, No:2" being the Italians and the Complainant being "Mr. xyz, Sub-Inspector of Police.. representing Govt. of Kerala". None of the fellows who got a neat package of 1 crore each is involved in this case even as witnesses.
2. How ever I would say that one of the key witnesses may turn hostile. This fellow Freddy being a key witness to the incident can give a statement which makes sure that the crime happened outside the jurisdiction of K.P and the Indian Govt. Please note, that this fellow is a key prosecution witness.
Enrica Lexie case: Kerala fishing boat owner to settle issue

[brihaspati]

Criminal cases are initiated by the state/rashtra. The state can withdraw cases if it wants to. In civilian cases, civilians can be initiators.

[harbans]

This fellow Freddy being a key witness to the incident can give a statement which makes sure that the crime happened outside the jurisdiction of K.P and the Indian Govt.

Why should a witness be required to prove where the ship was? The GPS logs indicate so, the ship charts indicate so. Moreover Indian jurisdiction as i earlier pointed runs to 24 Nm from the coast which is territorial waters (12 Nm) plus 12 Nm of contiguous zone. Italians have already stated they were 22 Nm away from the coast and that is within India's contiguous zone. So they are under international law in India's hands for any criminal activity. India even has the right to hot pursuit. By shooting into India's contiguous zone, the Italian flag ship lost it's right to innocent passage. A witness certainly is not required to tell the court the position of the ship.

[shyamd]

If the case is between the govt then how can press reports say that the families want to drop charges? So looks like Kerala govt is continuing with charges. I think likely what will happen is they'll get charged and the Italians might do their time in Italy under some prisoner exchange program or some health pretext or another. All this will take 6 months or longer to play out. Let's see what happens...

[brihaspati]

Families cannot withdraw charges when they are under criminal procedure. It is always between X vs State under criminal procedures act. The jurisdiction of the "state" of Kerala over "international" cases is all that at most might come under muddy waters. Although the law itself would be very clear. Depends on how much the overlap - political and theological - common interests sympathy stuff, between the "state Kerala", and "state of the Union of India", the Italian theology, the "state of Italy", Kerala political party congrez, central govt party congrez, the Indian theological counterpart of the Italian, and of course the forgiving kin of victims, have.

Maybe the case highlighted the urgent need for "beyond trade" relationships - political ones - between EU and India, with the non-trade, beyond-trade philosophical aspects of lucrative defence deals hanging tantalizingly in air. Political relationships could have handled the case much more smoothly, pleasantly and silently with ahem ahem understandings not even needing barking by gov machinery of Kerala.

This is the time to cough about the potential investments and financial flows from EU [and therefore form bankrupt Italy] into India, and how much such investments will raise the standard of living of Indians and therefore Keralites so much so - that they will no longer need to go out to the sea to risk their lives at the hands of Italian or any other EU gods. Maybe such financial flows will make India so sooper a power that Italians will no longer shoot but smile at Indian fishermen.

[vishvak]

.. Moreover Indian jurisdiction as i earlier pointed runs to 24 Nm from the coast which is territorial waters (12 Nm) plus 12 Nm of contiguous zone. Italians have already stated they were 22 Nm away from the coast and that is within India's contiguous zone. So they are under international law in India's hands for any criminal activity. India even has the right to hot pursuit. By shooting into India's contiguous zone, the Italian flag ship lost it's right to innocent passage. A witness certainly is not required to tell the court the position of the ship.

For trigger happy Italians, is the Govt. putting all this in any confusion within Indian courts?

How does this face well with Europeans investing in India for profits on one side and then weakening criminal case for its own on the other side? Where are all the 'international/European' human rights groups - meaning 'perfect' human rights organizations? Moral keeping in Europe is not silent in this case, in fact actively engaging victims for out-of-court settlement.

[Sachin]

Why should a witness be required to prove where the ship was? The GPS logs indicate so, the ship charts indicate so.

Perhaps I did not articulate my point well. Freddy (the boat owner joker) still remains a key witness in the case. He was in the boat when this incident happened. His evidence is not required for ascertaining the ship's position. But his other statements can weaken the prosecution.

Freddie does a somersault
But Freddy has already changed the statements he earlier made to the police. He now says that one of the dead fishermen was actually at the wheel house, and had fallen asleep. The boat was charging towards the ship at high speeds {Point 1}.. Then Freddie pulled out the sleeping Jelastine (the dead fishermen) from the wheel and he himself took control of the boat and turned it back towards Indian coast. He says at this time the boat was in International waters. Freddie now says he only saw two bullet marks {Point #2}. Earlier this fellow had made the statement that there was indiscriminate firing, blaring of a ship's fog horn etc. etc. Both the high lighted points can be used to prove that the there was NO indiscriminate firing and a fishing boat was approaching the ship at high speed. This approach would have caused panic amongst the security men, who resorted to firing.

Hope the K.P and Coast guard have thought about these same points, and go ahead with more scientific evidence or dont call up this fellow as a prosecution witness.

[Sachin]

With May Day ahead leaving early from work. But some good news before I move. The Supreme Court of India have declared that the agreement reached between the kin of the dead Kerala fishermen and the Italian Govt. would NOT have legal standing.

Below are the news reports from Malayalam dailies.
Deepika.com
Mathrubhumi.com
Mathrubhumi.com (English)

[nawabs]

^^ Very Good.Let the Italians face the Law of the Land.

[Agnimitra]

EU recession map
Will the red spread?

[chaanakya]

With May Day ahead leaving early from work. But some good news before I move. The Supreme Court of India have declared that the agreement reached between the kin of the dead Kerala fishermen and the Italian Govt. would NOT have legal standing.

Below are the news reports from Malayalam dailies.
Deepika.com
Mathrubhumi.com
Mathrubhumi.com (English)

X-quoted from Internal Security Watch thread

Kerala fishermen's killing: Out-of-court settlement impermissible, Supreme Court says

bench of justices RM Lodha and HL Gokhale reserved its order on vessel's owner Dolphin Tankers' plea for release of the ship for 10.30am tomorrow, by which time the Italian government too was asked to file its reply.

Earlier during the two-hour-long argument, the apex court questioned the Kerala government as to why it did not oppose the compromise reached between the families of the deceased fishermen and the Italian vessel's owners, who reportedly paid Rs one crore to each victim's family.

Referring to the compromise, the apex court bench said, "This is a challenge to the Indian judicial system, this is impermissible. It is most unfortunate."

The apex court also indicated that it was not in favour of detaining the vessel crew and the two naval guards unless their presence was required by the investigating authorities.

The bench made it clear that not only the citizens of this country but even foreign nationals, present in the country are entitled to the protection as per Article 21 which grants right to life and liberty to everyone in India.

Stage is being set for release of Italian marines. The same Bench which appeared to have come down heavily against the Centre later gave a judgement which was neither here not there and defactor went in favour of the Centre on Age Row. Here also Marines would leave and if pronounced guilty would never be arraigned by Police nor would they obey Indian court's order to serve sentence , if given. I think it would be fair to ask the Police if they would be able to produce the chargesheeted ( still no chrge is filed??) Marines to the Court for trial and serving the sentence if pronounced guilty and then only consider release. In any case Fishermen families have put a price on their own lives and that would weaken the case.

[chetak]

{quote="Sachin"}With May Day ahead leaving early from work. But some good news before I move. The Supreme Court of India have declared that the agreement reached between the kin of the dead Kerala fishermen and the Italian Govt. would NOT have legal standing.

Below are the news reports from Malayalam dailies.
Deepika.com
Mathrubhumi.com
Mathrubhumi.com (English){/quote}

X-quoted from Internal Security Watch thread

{quote}Kerala fishermen's killing: Out-of-court settlement impermissible, Supreme Court says

bench of justices RM Lodha and HL Gokhale reserved its order on vessel's owner Dolphin Tankers' plea for release of the ship for 10.30am tomorrow, by which time the Italian government too was asked to file its reply.

Earlier during the two-hour-long argument, the apex court questioned the Kerala government as to why it did not oppose the compromise reached between the families of the deceased fishermen and the Italian vessel's owners, who reportedly paid Rs one crore to each victim's family.

Referring to the compromise, the apex court bench said, "This is a challenge to the Indian judicial system, this is impermissible. It is most unfortunate."

The apex court also indicated that it was not in favour of detaining the vessel crew and the two naval guards unless their presence was required by the investigating authorities.

The bench made it clear that not only the citizens of this country but even foreign nationals, present in the country are entitled to the protection as per Article 21 which grants right to life and liberty to everyone in India. {/quote}

Stage is being set for release of Italian marines. The same Bench which appeared to have come down heavily against the Centre later gave a judgement which was neither here not there and defactor went in favour of the Centre on Age Row. Here also Marines would leave and if pronounced guilty would never be arraigned by Police nor would they obey Indian court's order to serve sentence , if given. I think it would be fair to ask the Police if they would be able to produce the chargesheeted ( still no chrge is filed??) Marines to the Court for trial and serving the sentence if pronounced guilty and then only consider release. In any case Fishermen families have put a price on their own lives and that would weaken the case.

The sicilian fix is in, so much for the independence of OUR judiciary.

Officially Indians have now become second class citizens in their own land.

After this, let no one ever speak of the non influence of the foreign hand.

Shame on us all.

[chetak]

In Kerala, as in other places in India, the very threat of denial of a burial place in a cemetery is insidiously used to exert undue influence and rigidly control the flock

Vatican 'accepted one billion lire' to bury crime boss in basilica next to former popes

The Vatican is facing a deepening controversy over the burial 22 years ago of a notorious crime boss, with reports emerging that the church accepted a one billion lire (£407,000) payment from the mobster's widow to allow his interment in a basilica.

A source at the Holy See told the Ansa news agency that "despite initial reluctance" the then vicar-general of Rome, Cardinal Ugo Poletti, "in the face of such a conspicuous sum, gave his blessing" to the controversial interment of Enrico De Pedis, the former boss of Rome's notorious Magliana gang. The money was reportedly used on missions and to restore the Basilica of St Apollinare, where the mobster was laid to rest next to popes and cardinals after his death in 1990.

The claims, which the Vatican has not commented on, may explain how such a reviled criminal was buried in such a hallowed site. Last week, to deflect growing criticism and to help resolve a 30-year-old murder mystery, it emerged that Vatican officials had decided to move the remains of De Pedis from his special crypt.

Pressure mounted earlier this month when a prosecuting magistrate, Giancarlo Capaldo, claimed senior officials at the Vatican knew much more than they were letting on about the Magliana gang's links to the Holy See, and the gang's suspected kidnap and murder of Emanuela Orlandi, the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican official, in 1983. "There are people still alive, and still inside the Vatican, who know the truth," he said. Some believe Emanuela's father had evidence linking the Vatican Bank, Istituto per le Opere di Religione, to organised crime, and that she was snatched to keep him silent. The theory is that De Pedis, who was shot dead in 1990, organised the kidnapping.

For the past two decades, there has been speculation that Emanuela's remains were put in the tomb alongside De Pedis. The girl's brother, Pietro Orlandi, has joined those calling for the tomb to be opened.

The Vatican – under heavy scrutiny after a set of scandals – denies the claims and has hinted that investigators will be able to witness the re-opening of the crypt, in a bid to quash the rumours. "It seems that nothing has been concealed and there are no Vatican secrets to reveal," said a spokesman for Vatican, Father Federico Lombardin.

It is likely that the body of De Pedis will be moved to a less high-profile place of rest. The location may be decided at an upcoming meeting. Even if the girl's remains are not found in the crypt, the mystery surrounding her disappearance will remain.

Other theories surrounding her fate are not in short supply. One, more palatable for the Vatican, suggests that Magliana gang members snatched her at the behest of Turkish extremists, who wanted to use her as a bargaining tool to win the release of Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish gunman who tried to kill Pope John Paul II in 1981.

But others have implicated Paul Marcinkus, the disgraced and deceased former head of the Vatican bank, which was involved in the bankruptcy of Italy's largest private bank, the Banco Ambrosiano, in 1982.

Soon after the news of the scandal became public, the president of Banco Ambrosiano, Roberto Calvi, was found hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London.

[shyamd]

Hollande wins in France.

Taken from Edward Hugh, a very reliable economist with excellent foresight:

People asking how Germany will respond to a Francois Hollande Presidency often forget that elections are also looming in Germany next year, and that the economy there isn't going any too well either. Whether or not Germany technically confirms a recession when the results for the first three months of the year are out in a week or so, the performance of the economy is visibly worsening and German leaders are under pressure to show they are willing to respond.

Otherwise Angela Merkel may face wrath not only from those irritated by the bailouts, but also those irritated by her economic ineffectiveness back home. And in any event, the party which would gain from a Merkel defeat - the SPD - are not that far from seeing things the way Monsieur Hollande does.

Naturally, austerity is a relative concept, but whether you are cutting your deficit from 10% to 9%, or from 3% to 2% as you go into a recession you still hit short term growth with a double whammy, as Italy is currently discovering.

At the very least European policy needs to be counter cyclical, and not, as at present, pro cyclical, magnifying the amplitude of the swings. If an economy needs more than 5% deficit (or more than 10% for that matter) simply to get meaningful GDP growth, then you need to understand why this is and find solutions, since debt itself doesn't cure anything, and arguably as our populations age accumulated debt only makes things worse.

Naturally infrastructure work on the periphery which needed German technology would help German export companies, so it wouldn't be that hard to sell in the heimat. But what use would it be to the receiving countries, that we won't know till we see the proposals in detail, and discover how it is going to be financed. If such infrastructure would help exports, both within and outside Europe, then it could be a plus.

But at the end of the day, the fact we are having this debate in the first place only serves to highlight the fact that we still don't have a roadmap for coming out of the crisis in Europe, and we still don't know what our future is going to look like.

And meantime the two pro-bailout parties in Greece just took a strong hit in the elections, at least according to the exit polls.

[Suraj]

Hollande's win indicates Europeans prefer more of extend and pretend to kick the can down the road, than Germanic austerity. Even if Merkel retains her kursi, France + southern Europe appears set on going left.

[sanjaykumar]

So the mobster was buried next to popes and cardinals. The point being........

[gunjur]

After 'Merkozy,' what next for Europe?

[Raja Bose]

Freddie does a somersault
But Freddy has already changed the statements he earlier made to the police. He now says that one of the dead fishermen was actually at the wheel house, and had fallen asleep. The boat was charging towards the ship at high speeds {Point 1}.. Then Freddie pulled out the sleeping Jelastine (the dead fishermen) from the wheel and he himself took control of the boat and turned it back towards Indian coast. He says at this time the boat was in International waters. Freddie now says he only saw two bullet marks {Point #2}. Earlier this fellow had made the statement that there was indiscriminate firing, blaring of a ship's fog horn etc. etc. Both the high lighted points can be used to prove that the there was NO indiscriminate firing and a fishing boat was approaching the ship at high speed. This approach would have caused panic amongst the security men, who resorted to firing.

Hope the K.P and Coast guard have thought about these same points, and go ahead with more scientific evidence or dont call up this fellow as a prosecution witness.

I don't get this - why is it so easy for a prosecution witness to blatantly turn hostile or backtrack on evidence he has provided to cops? Same thing happened with the Sanjiv Nanda case where the Nandas fed money to the pavement dwellers who magically morphed the BMW into a truck! Doesn't Indian law have any provision of imprisonment for perjury?? And in this case its clear as day that the Italians openly bribed this guy (they even announced it) and yet are courts are toothless?? Clearly something is black in the lentils here.

[Agnimitra]

From a foreign policy perspective, Sarkozsy's exit and Hollande's entry may be bad news for Israel and good news for Iran.

[Vipul]

India-EU trade deal runs into liberalization hurdle.

The proposed free trade pact between India and the European Union is stuck because India has failed to open up sectors such as legal and postal services for foreign investment and further liberalize sectors such as banking, insurance and pension, besides the contentious multi-brand retail.

Admitting this for the first time, a top commerce ministry official said the deal is unlikely to materialize unless India allows higher foreign investment in some of these sectors. “The future of the deal is now at the hands of the politicians,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

After the ongoing Parliament session is over on 22 May, the deal could still be sealed if the government pushes through some of the reforms till it gets busy with the presidential elections in July, he said. After that, the assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat by the end of the year may limit the scope of any significant policy decision, he said.

The government has become even more cautious in carrying out key economic reforms after it had to postpone its decision to allow 51% foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail following protests from opposition parties and some key allies such as the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress. A decision on a less politically contentious issue of allowing FDI in the beleaguered aviation sector by foreign airlines has also been delayed even after open support from key ministries within the government.

Talks for the bilateral trade and investment agreement between the two sides started in 2007. Both sides have missed at least five deadlines, the latest being in April, to complete the negotiations. They held the 14th round of talks in the last week of April.

According to the EU, India is expected to gain €5 billion and the EU at least €4 billion in the short-term alone. The EU as an economic bloc is India’s largest trade partner. In 2010, it imported goods valued at €33.2 billion from India and exported goods worth €34.7 billion. Services exports to India stood at €9.8 billion and imports at €8.1 billion.

The deal is not making headway because India does not have the laws in place, according to Arpita Mukherjee, professor at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, a Delhi-based think tank.

“India’s approach of ‘give nothing and get nothing’ in trade negotiations does not work with the EU,” Mukherjee said. “They want a solid package which they can sell to their domestic stakeholders, especially when their economy is not doing well.”

She said India is also not able to derive a good package in services from the EU because it has nothing to offer in return.

Joao Cravinho, EU ambassador and head of delegation to India, told reporters last week that he expects the negotiations to be concluded by the the end of this year.

However, he said clarity on issues such as duty concessions on wines and automobiles from the Indian side and liberalizing the visa regime for Indian professionals from the European side needs to be worked upon.

Cravinho hoped that greater clarity is expected on the pact during the scheduled June visit to Brussels by trade minister Anand Sharma.

“We hope when minister Sharma goes to Brussels, there will be an occasion for some clarity on the horizons,” Cravinho said. “When the political leadership meets in June, perhaps we can have a breakthrough.”

On the visa issue, Cravinho said: “We can liberalize the visa regime. I hope we can significantly improve the opportunity for India to send people to EU to send people to send services to European companies.”

[chetak]

Some faint signs of testicular fortitude??

or is it just pre election precautions by our resident sicilian fixer??

No immunity to Italian mariners, Centre tells SC

The Centre told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the Italian mariners, who shot dead two fishermen off Kerala [ Images ] coast on February 15 this year, do not enjoy any sovereign immunity and are liable for criminal prosecution.

In an affidavit, the Ministry of External Affairs told a bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir that the Kerala government had acted within the law in initiating criminal action against the Italian mariners.

Maintaining that the Italian government had not come with clean hands to the court, the Centre said the former also had no Constitutional right to move the apex court as it was not entitled to any fundamental right which is guaranteed to every citizen of the country.

"Article 32 of the Constitution guarantees the right to move the Supreme Court for enforcement of rights conferred by Part III of the Constitution.

"The rights under Part III are conferred on citizens or on persons. In case there is any violation of a fundamental right of a person, it is the person who has the right to prefer a writ petition under Article 32. Article 32 cannot be construed to permit a sovereign state to file a writ petition for enforcing the fundamental rights of its nationals," the affidavit said.

The Centre said the Italian government had also concealed from the apex court the fact that it had filed an admiralty suit in Kerala and had also entered into a compromise with the families of the deceased fishermen.

"It is settled law that Writ Jurisdiction under Article 32 and 226 of the Constitution cannot be invoked by a person who does not approach the court with clean hands.

"In the present case, the petitioners have filed the present writ petition claiming sovereign immunity, without disclosing that the petitioners have already submitted to the jurisdiction of Indian courts by seeking impleadment in the Admiralty Suits filed against Petitioner No. 2 and 3 by the relatives of the deceased

"Further, the Republic of Italy [ Images ] has attempted settlement of these suits by entering into agreements with the relatives of the deceased, which are both unconscionable and unlawful," the affidavit stated," the centre said.

According to the Centre, the action of the State of Kerala and its authorities in the present case is fully authorised under Indian Law including the Constitution.

"The application of the India [ Images ]n Penal Code extends to the exclusive economic zone of India, i.e. to an area of 200 nautical miles from the baseline, by virtue of the provisions contained in the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones Act, 1976, and a notification issued under Section 7(7) thereof.

"In the present case, it is an admitted position that the bullets fired by Petitioner No. 2 and 3 hit the Indian fishermen while they were on board a vessel registered in India. Therefore, a part of the offence took place on a ship registered in India. This is sufficient to invoke Section 4(2) of the Indian Penal Code, and accordingly, the exercise of jurisdiction in the present case is legally justified under Indian law," the government said.

The two Italian mariners, who had shot dead two Kerala fishermen Valentine and Ajesh Binki, in February this year aboard the ship Enrica Lexie suspecting them to be pirates, were arrested and have been charged with murder. They are lodged in Thiruvananthapuram Central Jail.

Their arrests culminated in a diplomatic dispute between India and Italy, which wants the mariners to be sent home and tried there.

Italy claims that the shooting took place in international waters after the marines mistook the fishermen for Somalian pirates.

[Philip]

Touche Sanjay!

[Jarita]

EU has gained a lot of clout under UPA

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/249 ... omats.html

MHA upsets over EU diplomats' visit to Nagaland
New Delhi, May 14 ,2012, (PTI) :

The Home Ministry today lodged a protest with the Ministry of External Affairs over the visit of eight envoys of the European Union to Nagaland without any intimation and security clearance and raised concern on the delegation meeting with political leaders and civil society.

[svinayak]

Indias governance is outsourced to foreign countries

[Jarita]

ANI ‏ @ANI_news

A Maoist arms supplier and arms middlemen have been busted in Bulandhshahr (UP). Italian made/ country made handguns recovered

[Jarita]

Indias governance is outsourced to foreign countries

And who is driving this

[Jarita]

Same guys who orchestrated partition of India

India may face caste heat at UNHRC meet

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 141854.cms


And then this is also happening - confluence of activities

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 141877.cms

[chetak]

Same guys who orchestrated partition of India

India may face caste heat at UNHRC meet

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 141854.cms


And then this is also happening - confluence of activities

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 141877.cms

Sirjee,

Both links are kaput.

[Jarita]

^^^ Updated

This news is on other threads but also belongs here
European Union ambassadors meet Nagaland political parties

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 137359.cms

[nawabs]

India to oppose EU’s climate protocol move

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/env ... 126481.cms

In climate talks beginning on Monday in Bonn, India will oppose the EU's move to start negotiations on the draft of a new climate protocol in 2012 itself. Considering it another shift in the goalpost by the Europeans, the Indian team of negotiators is expected to point out that no consensus was built at Durban last year that the only way forward is a new protocol that renders Kyoto Protocol redundant.

The new protocol, as the EU demands, will kickstart the process to have a new global deal within three years that would bind India and other emerging countries to a similar level of legally binding commitment to reduce emissions while ignoring the principles of equity. The Indian government is expected to object to the shifting stance of EU that would set the wheels in motion to end the Kyoto Protocol even before the developed world provides its emission reduction targets under the second phase starting in 2013.

At Durban last year, a bargain had been struck to have a second commitment period of Kyoto Protocol with the developed countries officially giving their targets under the deal in 2013. In return, the developing countries led prominently by India had agreed to start discussions on a new global deal under the existing convention that would come into play by 2020.

India and other large developing countries had stuck together to demand that the principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities be enshrined in the new deal before its final form is concluded.

Post-Durban, India had officially stated that it would not agree to a new global regime until the two principles got resolved.

But the EU, in a recent informal meeting of ministers of select countries that India too attended, demanded that countries put forth the text for a new protocol on the table in 2012 itself.

Indian negotiators pointed out that EU's demand would leave the question of existing commitments by the rich world on finance and technology transfer as well as emission reduction in limbo, forcing the world to dump the idea of equity and move to a new regime that would apportion greater and costly responsibilities on the bigger developing economies.

[vishvak]

‘MEA goofed up on EU envoys’ Naga trip’

“The due process was not followed. Without realising the sensitiveness of the situation in
Nagaland, someone in the MEA gave a go-ahead to the trip,” said a senior home ministry official.

“Our concern is that we should have been consulted. We don’t even know their agenda and who all this delegation will meet. We will now examine the damage if there has been any,” the official added, hinting at a possibility that there may have been one more attempt to ‘internationalise’ the Nagaland situation.

Nagaland has been home to a raging insurgency for more than half a century although one of the main insurgent organisations — the National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) — is currently involved in protracted negotiations with the government.

Do the Europeans consider human rights as universal and actually invite all parties here to hear out grievances? The 'Nagaland situation' does not appear to include ethnic cleansing of Kukis, and other Manipuris, by terrorists such as NSCN(M). Ethnic cleansing was ongoing even after status quo ceasefire agreement in 1960.

In other words, these ambassadors are capable of bringing their own partial style of human rights, as practiced in Europe, to India. Now all these developments can be cornered by one community, without much equal-distribution from center and state, while also exclusively complaining to the same Europeans.

More here: European Union ambassadors meet Governor, Chief Minster, NGOs

[arun]

Charge sheet filed against Italian marines

Rome recalls ambassador from India in piracy spat

[arun]

The support of the Government of Italy for cold blooded murderers displays a contempt for Indian lives:

Italy Summons Indian Ambassador Over Marine Issues

Meanwhile the editorial in First Post is good advice for the Congress Party led Government of Dr. Manmohan Singh who have been far too diffident in dealing with Italy, a diffidence perhaps induced by a sycophantic political culture duly genuflecting to the fact that Congress Party supremo Sonia Gandhi is of Italian ancestry:

Italy must be told to stop meddling in Kerala murder case