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Europe

Italy Abu Omar rendition: Col Romano pardoned in CIA case

2013-04-06

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano has pardoned a US Air Force colonel convicted in absentia over the rendition of an Egyptian imam in 2003. Joseph Romano was one of 23 Americans tried and sentenced by Italian courts over the CIA-led operation to abduct a cleric known as Abu Omar. The Egyptian said he was flown to his home country and tortured there. Mr Napolitano's office cited what it said were changes to US security policy undertaken by President Barack Obama. It said Mr Obama had "immediately after his election, put an end to an approach to the challenges to national security... considered by Italy and the European Union not compatible with fundamental principles of rule of law". It added that the Italian president "hoped to provide a solution to an affair considered by the United States to be without precedent because of the conviction of a US military officer of Nato for deeds committed on Italian soil". The statement said the decision to pardon Col Romano was inspired by the same principle that Italy hoped to see used in the case of two Italian marines facing murder charges in India over the shooting of two fishermen. So it isn't charity and magnanimity that inspire them...

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India-Pakistan

Italy says will send marines back to India for trial

2013-03-22

ROME — Italy said two marines on trial for murder in India would return to the country by Friday, a stunning turnaround after Rome earlier unleashed a diplomatic furore by saying they would not go back. Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, granted special leave last month by an Indian court to return to Italy to vote in elections, had skipped bail. The government said on Thursday it had received "ample assurances" from Indian authorities "on the treatment that the marines will receive and the defence of their fundamental rights. "The government decided, also in the interests of the marines, to maintain the commitment taken when they were granted leave to take part in the elections to return to India by March 22," it said. "The marines agreed to this decision," it added. Outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti met with Defence Minister Giampaolo Di Paola and Steffan de Mistura, a junior foreign minister who has taken a lead on the case, to discuss the issue on Thursday. De Mistura said the decision was a "difficult" one. Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said he appreciated the "sense of responsibility" displayed by the two marines. The government had announced on March 11 that the marines would not return from their leave. Italy insists the marines should be prosecuted in their home country because the shootings involved an Italian-flagged vessel in international waters. India says the killings took place in waters under its jurisdiction. The two are accused of having shot dead two Indian fishermen they mistook for pirates off the Indian port of Kochi last year. They were serving as security guards on an Italian oil tanker. After Italy said the marines would not return, Indian authorities forbade Italy's ambassador to New Delhi, Daniele Mancini, from leaving the country, saying he had broken a written promise. Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born head of India's ruling party, had accused Rome of an unacceptable "betrayal", and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had warned Italy that there would be "consequences". Italy had accused India of violating international laws on diplomatic immunity as the Indian Supreme Court issued a decision requiring Mancini to seek the court's permission to leave the country. New Delhi also put its airports on alert to prevent Mancini from leaving. Without legal protection he could be prosecuted for contempt of court. A lawyer for the Italian government argued that Mancini still enjoyed diplomatic immunity and freedom of movement under international rules contained in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Tuesday defended Mancini, saying diplomatic immunity "should be respected at all times". Limiting his movement "would be contrary" to international obligations, she said. Italy said it was trying to find a way out of the dispute that would satisfy both sides. "The Italian government is working on a friendly agreement with India based on international law," Italian President Giorgio Napolitano's office said in a statement. Relations between the two countries have also been soured by corruption allegations surrounding a $748 million deal for the purchase of 12 Italian helicopters, which the Indian government is now threatening to scrap. The case of the marines caused more uproar in the local assembly of southwestern Kerala, the home state of the dead fishermen. The opposition Communist party walked out of the assembly after their demand for an urgent discussion on how the Italian marines had been allowed to return home was dismissed by the ruling party. "It's a shame on India that this case was dealt with casually," senior Communist leader P.K. Gurudasan told AFP.

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Africa Subsaharan

Nigeria grills kidnappers of slain European hostages

2012-03-11

[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Nigeria on Saturday quizzed the alleged kidnappers of two Westerners killed during a failed British-Nigerian rescue bid amid a diplomatic row between London and Rome over the operation. A Nigerian security source said one had confessed to killing Italian engineer La Belle Francesco Molinara, 48, and his British colleague Chris McManus, 28, during the assault authorised by British Prime Minister David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... on Thursday. The radical Islamist Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. Currently wearing a false nose and moustache and answering to Jama'atu Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda'Awati Wal Jihad, or Big Louie... sect, blamed for scores of gun and kabooms mainly in the country's northeast in recent months, has denied responsibility Nope. Wudn't us. for the kidnappings. Nigerian security sources told AFP eight suspects had been flown to the capital Abuja following the joint military operation in the northern town of Sokoto to free the hostages after almost a year in captivity. "Those that were tossed in the slammer in connection with the incident were brought to the SSS (secret police) headquarters, Abuja, yesterday(Friday)," a security source said. "In the course of interrogation one of them said they killed the two guys on sighting the coppers because they were not sure they, too, will survive the attack," he said. Another security source said: "They are being interrogated to have a complete picture of the whole episode." "A lot of substantial information is beginning to emerge from the suspects." Italia has condemned Britannia's failure to warn it ahead of the failed rescue operation, but London said it had been forced by the situation to act swiftly. "The behaviour of the British government, which did not inform or consult with Italia on the operation that it was planning, really is inexplicable," President Giorgio Napolitano told news hounds on Friday. At an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Copenhagen later Friday, Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata said he made Italia's feelings clear during talks with British Foreign Secretary William Hague. Cameron said the two hostages had been held by "terrorists" who had made "very clear threats to take their lives", and the captives had been in "imminent and growing danger". Both countries have however agreed to cooperate on the issue. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan ... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau... has sent his condolences to the British and Italian premiers over the incident. "In two separate letters of condolence to David Cameron and Mario Monti... President Jonathan said that the hearts of the people and government of Nigeria go out to the members of the immediate families of the victims in their moment of grief," his office said Saturday.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Phalange Warns of Naturalization of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

2012-03-06

[An Nahar] The Phalange Party The Kataeb (Phalange) party was founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936, who modeled the party after Spanish and Italian Fascist parties he had observed as an Olympic athlete during the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, then Nazi Germany. The movement's uniforms originally included brown shirts and members used the Nazi salute. Despite the party's uniform, its strong sense of nationalism and dedication to a single charismatic leader, the Lebanese Kataeb was not and never became a fascist party nor did it espouse a totalitarian ideology. called on the government on Monday to carefully follow up on the flow of Syrian refugees into Leb, warning of a "new form of naturalization" facing the country. It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: "A crisis committee should be formed to address the possible repercussions of the Syrian unrest on Leb." It criticized some authorities' handling of the refugee issue, "which has started to take on a dramatic security and humanitarian turn." Addressing the Syrian crisis, the Phalange Party called on all Lebanese factions to maintain the country's internal unity and "refrain from taking to the street in protest or in support" of the developments in Syria. On Sunday, a demonstration in support of the Syrian people and another in support of the Syrian regime was staged in downtown Beirut amid fears that the rival rallies could take a violent turn. The protests took place without incident. On the dispute between the March 8 and 14 camps over government extra-budgetary spending, the Phalange Party politburo stressed the need for all concerned sides to agree on a mechanism that would be adopted on spending. The meeting also tackled party chief Amin Gemayel's trip to Italia last week where he held talks with a number of officials, including President Giorgio Napolitano.

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Europe

"Italian Prussian" Monti enters political storm

2011-11-14

Mario Monti, the economist who will head an emergency Italian government following the departure of Silvio Berlusconi, brings credentials earned in a decade of battles as a European Commissioner from the 1990s. Monti made his name as the powerful Competition Commissioner who took on U.S. corporate titans General Electric and Microsoft, blocking GE's planned merger with rival Honeywell and imposing a record 497 million euro ($683 million) antitrust fine on the software giant. His technical expertise, sharp intellect and diplomatic skills added to his refusal to bow to intense lobbying pressures made him one of the most highly regarded officials the Commission has seen. "He didn't have a very Italian way of going about things," recalls one former ambassador, who worked with Monti in Brussels and remembers him as a hard but reliable negotiating partner. "His nickname in those days was 'The Italian Prussian'". He was nominated by Berlusconi as internal markets commissioner in 1994, taking over the competition portfolio in 1999 where he served for five years. Named last week as Senator for Life by President Giorgio Napolitano, Monti, 68, is expected to appoint a small cabinet made up largely of technical specialists to steer Italy through a crisis that has brought it to the brink of financial disaster. A similar technocrat government under former Bank of Italy official Lamberto Dini passed important reforms in 1995 and the hope of many outside Italy is that Monti can do the same. A convinced free marketeer with close connections to the European and global policy-making elite, Monti has always backed a more closely integrated euro zone and has written a series of articles in recent months lambasting the Berlusconi government's policy failures. He is chairman of the European branch of the Trilateral Commission, a body that brings together the power elites of the United States, Europe and Japan and is also a member of the secretive Bilderberg Group of business leaders and other "leading citizens".

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Europe

Silvio Berlusconi resigns as PM

2011-11-12

Silvio Berlusconi has resigned as prime minister of Italy, after dominating the country's politics for 17 years. President Giorgio Napolitano accepted his offer and is likely to appoint technocrat Mario Monti his successor. Mr Berlusconi lost his majority amid an acute debt crisis that threatens the eurozone. He promised to go once MPs had approved new austerity measures. Crowds celebrated outside the presidential palace, shouting "buffoon" as he entered. The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says Mr Berlusconi's last journey as prime minister was an undignified one. Police struggled to control a large, hostile crowd which booed and jeered as his convoy swept by, and after his resignation he left by a side exit to avoid the protesters. He said he felt "embittered" after hearing the insults.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Peace with current Israeli govt impossible: Assad

2010-03-19

[Al Arabiya Latest] Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday that peace in the Middle East was "impossible" because of the actions of the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ain't that a coincidence? Peace in the Muddle East was "impossible" because of the actions of Olmert. And it was "impossible" because of Sharon. And there was no way they could make peace with Ehud Barak. And before Ehud was Netanyahu again, so peace was impossible then. In fact peace has been impossible for anyone, to include Shimon Peres, who's a wimp. "The establishment of peace in the Middle East is impossible because of the absence of an Israeli partner," Assad told reporters after talks with visiting Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. Israel's pursuit of settlement construction and its occupation of Arab territory conquered in 1967 were the "real obstacle" to peace and pushed the region toward "more wars and tension," Assad said. He said Syria "seriously wants to establish a just and comprehensive peace... through Turkish-sponsored indirect negotiations" with Israel but cannot engage in such talks because of the current climate. Netanyahu's government "cannot be considered a partner as long as it responds to calls for peace with settlements and the Judaization of (Muslim) holy sites" in the occupied West Bank including east Jerusalem, Assad said. He urged Italy and the European Union to put pressure on Israel. Turkish-brokered indirect talks between Israel and Syria were launched in May 2008 but they were suspended when Israel launched its destructive offensive against the Gaza Strip that December. Israel has angered the international community by announcing plans to build 1,600 new homes for Jewish settlers in annexed Arab east Jerusalem and to include two contested West Bank shrines as part of its national heritage.

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International-UN-NGOs

G8 leaders have 5-course meal before hunger talks

2009-07-10

[Iran Press TV Latest] World leaders have enjoyed a five-course meal on the eve of a G8 summit on tackling world food shortages, a menu released by a summit source showed. The leaders will be joined by representatives of African countries for Friday's session at the G8 summit focusing on food, security and development issues. The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said earlier this week, "A hunger emergency looms and the world must act." However on Thursday night -- the night before the talks -- at a dinner hosted by the Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, the leaders dined on a warm tomato salad with cheese followed by hand-made macaroni with ragu sauce, roast lamb with beans and summer truffles with eggplant, green beans and roast potatoes, cheese and a sweet pizza dessert made with almonds. Meanwhile, on a separate menu prepared by two-star Michelin Chef Nico Romito, the leaders' partners were able to choose between four starters before lamb with warm potato salad for the main course and hot and cold chocolate with fennel for dessert. Non-governmental organizations have been bitterly denouncing the current three-day G8 summit for the inadequate emphasis on African development. Oxfam, an NGO lobbying at G8, said that Poverty and inequality are getting worse in the developing countries as a result of the global economic crisis. Poor families are eating less, being evicted from their homes, and having to pull children out of school. All of this is exacerbated by the effects of high food prices, the failure of rich countries to deliver on their aid promises, and the growing harmful impact of climate change, Oxfam said.

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Europe

Gaddafi in rome for 3 intensive days.

2009-06-08

Everything is in place for Muammar Gaddafìs 3 day visit of Rome and his numerous delegation (more than 300). Gaddafìs agenda has been planned down to the last detail from his arrival in Rome on Wednesday June 10 at 10:00am to his departure on Friday 12. He will be met in the airport by Premier Silvio Berlusconi and there is a possibility that the visit may be extended to Saturday for unofficial meetings. Maurizio Massari, spokesperson for the ministry of Foreign Affairs, said during a presentation press conference that the visit will be "varied" and "in many ways, historic". This visit comes in the wake of the strengthening of ties between Italy and Libya, revived by the Friendship and Cooperation treaty signed in Bengasi on August 30 2008 between Premier Silvio Berlusconi and Colonel Gheddafi in person. In political terms, the only appointment to be noticeable by its absence is that with AIRL ('Associazione degli Italiani Rimpatriati dalla Libià, the association of Italians who returned home from Libya), representing Italians who were 'thrown out' of Libya in 1970 and all of whose properties were confiscated. Work is still going on behind the scenes for a potential meeting between Gaddafi and Libyan Jews, some 6,000 of whom have been thrown out of Libya since 1967. The meeting was requested by Gaddafi himself, but turned down because it coincided with Sabbath, on Saturday 13. Gaddafìs first meeting will be in the Quirinale, where immediately after his arrival he will join Italy's Head of State, Giorgio Napolitano, for breakfast. At 6pm of the same day Gaddafi will be expected in Palazzo Chigi to meet the premier along with Foreign minister Franco Frattini to sign a number of bilateral technical agreements that are a follow-up to the Bengasi agreement. The meeting will be followed by a joint press conference. On the morning of Thursday 11 he will meet Senate Speaker Renato Schifani, and at 12:30pm he will be holding a debate with students and teachers at 'La Sapienza' University. At 6:00pm he will move to the Campidoglio to meet Mayor Gianni Alemanno. His last day in Rome will also be quite busy. At 10:30am the Colonel will be met in Confindustria by its Chair, Emma Marcegaglia, who will introduce him to the Italian business elite who are eager to meet him. Catering to a personal request, Gaddafi will have an appointment in Romés Auditorium where he will meet female representatives of Italian politics, culture and enterprise. He will also meet the country's minister of Equal opportunities, Mara Carfagna. Only 700 women will be allowed in, including Milan's mayor Letizia Moratti. During his speech Gaddafi is expected to talk about the condition of women in his country, while minister Carfagna will focus on the state of African women. At 4:30pm the Libyan leader will meet the speaker of Italy's lower house, Gianfranco Fini, before attending a round table with two former foreign ministers, Fini himself and Massimo D'Alema. At present there is no great prospect of a meeting in the Vatican. The list of Italian guests that are to be allowed into the spacious Bedouin tent which Gaddafi is having erected in the gardens of Villa Doria Pamphili, a traditional guest area of the Italian government, is being kept under wraps

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Europe

Immunity law passed in Italy

2008-07-23

ROME (AP) - Italy's Parliament gave final approval Tuesday to a contentious law that grants immunity from prosecution to Premier Silvio Berlusconi and other top Italian officials. The Senate passed the legislation by a wide margin after it previously sailed through the lower house of Parliament. Berlusconi's conservatives have a comfortable majority in both chambers. The legislation protects the president, the premier and the two speakers of parliament from court prosecutions while in office. It will enter into effect once President Giorgio Napolitano signs it. Critics have charged that the law is aimed at protecting Berlusconi from a current corruption case in Milan. Berlusconi is accused of ordering payment in 1997 of at least $600,000 to his co-defendant, British lawyer David Mills, in exchange for false testimony at two Berlusconi trials in the 1990s. The defendants deny the charges. Berlusconi has depicted himself as the victim of left-leaning magistrates.

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Europe

Turin Book Fair celebrates Israel's 60th anniversary - outrage ensues

2008-05-07

Somewhere, Fallaci is smiling (ANSA) - Rome, May 6 - Political polemics and security concerns continued to mount on Tuesday ahead of this year's edition of the Turin Book Fair, which is commemorating Israel's 60th birthday with a celebration of its literature. Although a boycott of the fair in protest at Israel's treatment of Palestinians was planned months ago, tension has climbed a notch in recent days, ahead of the event's inauguration this Thursday. Last week, left-wing activists and the Free Palestine association burned two Israeli flags in a central Turin square, and on Monday, a leading Swiss Muslim academic, Tariq Ramadan, attacked Italian President Giorgio Napolitano for his involvement in the fair. Sun rises in the east ... Ramadan accused Napolitano, a former communist, of conflating criticism of Israeli foreign policy with anti-Semitism, and said the president's decision to inaugurate the fair was ''an extremely political act''. The president's office responded with a sharply worded statement underlining that Napolitano's attendance was routine at cultural events and dismissing as ''entirely false'' Ramadan's comments on anti-Semitism. ''Criticism of the Israeli government's policies is entirely legitimate, particularly its actions within Israel,'' the note said. ''What is not acceptable is any position that denies the legitimacy of the state of Israel, set up by the United Nations in 1948, and its right to exist in peace and security''. Long live Italy! On Tuesday, other political figures weighed into the debate, mostly expressing support for Israel and the president's decision to attend the fair despite the boycott. Rome's new right-wing mayor, Giorgio Alemanno, said the burning of Israeli flags was ''a disgrace'', adding that criticism of Israel was acceptable ''but no one can be allowed to question Israel's right to exist''. A group of MPs issued a cross-party statement of support for the president, describing it as ''a political and moral duty'' to attend the inauguration. The message, signed by members of Italy's main centre-right and centre-left parties, underscored the importance of protecting freedom of speech and ''condemning extremism in all forms''. Israel's ambassador to Italy, Gideon Meir, also discussed the boycott for the first time on Tuesday, saying it was an act by extremists ''who want to deprive Israel of its legal status''. Meanwhile, security preparations are being stepped up, amid fears about demonstrations planned in protest at the fair. A number of commentators have predicted a repetition of the disturbances that marred the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa. Between 300 and 400 officers will police a national pro-Palestine demonstration on Saturday, which hundreds are expected to attend, while the route of the march, originally scheduled to finish outside the Book Fair, has been altered. Security will also be tight at the inauguration of the fair but Turin's chief of police Paolo Padoin said the event would not be ''sealed off'' for Napolitano's visit. ''We are taking each day as it comes and we are feeling confident,'' he said, adding that his officers were working closely with police stations across Italy to prepare for Saturday's event. But the security arrangements have drawn criticism from those opposed to the Israeli focus, with complaints that police have shut off all access to protest. ''We don't want to create further aggravation or conflict but we must highlight the fact that the fair has effectively been sealed off,'' said the boycott's organizers. ''The police have banned leafleting or information stands in front of the fair, effectively creating a red zone''. Turin's International Book Fair, which runs until Monday, is the largest publishing event in Italy and the second largest in Europe after Frankfurt.

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Europe

Italy Prez to hold talks to solve political crisis

2008-01-26

President Giorgio Napolitano will open talks on Friday to resolve Italy's political crisis after Prime Minister Romano Prodi's resignation and the end of his centre-left government. While the centre-right is clamouring for snap elections after 20 months in opposition, observers say the President is unlikely to send voters back to the ballot box before Italy's electoral law is overhauled. Right-wing newspapers gloated over the demise of 68-year-old Prodi, the archrival of conservative flag bearer Silvio Berlusconi, both of them now former prime ministers twice over. ''The dream has come true,'' headlined Il Libero over a cartoon showing Prodi hanged by the Senate, where the Prime Minister lost a vote of confidence on Thursday, precipitating his resignation. Prodi ''leaves the country in tatters,'' the paper wrote. The left-leaning press was more sympathetic; Ezio Mauro writing in the daily La Repubblica that the former economic professor's exit was a ''strange and unjust destiny for a politician who has twice defeated Berlusconi (and) twice cleaned up the public accounts.'' Berlusconi, now 71, and right-wing National Alliance leader Gianfranco Fini immediately called for fresh elections on news of the resignation.

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