Fishermen shooting row: Cardinal George Alancherry confuses 'allegiance to Rome'

NEW DELHI: Newly-ordained cardinal, belonging to the Syro-Malabar denomination of the Catholic church, George Alancherry, has asked the Kerala government not to take "precipitate action" in the case of killing of two Indian fishermen by Italian soldiers. He also warned the Opposition in the state, CPM-led Left Democratic Front, against scoring political points over the issue.

An agency report from Rome said the Cardinal, who is currently in Rome, has spoken to ministers of the Oommen Chandy government on the issue. "I contacted the Catholic ministers of Kerala urging the government not to act precipitately," George Alencherry, who has recently been elected a cardinal, told Catholic news agency 'Fides' in Rome,

"In the episode, of course, there were errors, since fishermen were mistaken for pirates. But... it seems that the opposition party wants to take advantage of the situation and exploit the case for electoral reasons," the cardinal was quoted as saying.

Police in Kerala on Sunday had arrested two Italian soldiers guarding an Italian-flagged oil tanker on for gunning down two fishermen. Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone were remanded to three-day police custody on Monday by a local magistrate who rejected their contention that they cannot be prosecuted under Indian law.

Alencherry's comments on the issue came as Italy dispatched its junior foreign minister Staffan De Mistura to negotiate with authorities here. A statement from the Italian foreign office also said that foreign minister Giulio Terzi will visit India next Tuesday.

A petition by the two marines is likely to be filed in the Kerala high court on Wednesday, arguing that courts in India have no jurisdiction as the incident occurred beyond the Indian territorial waters. The Captain and owner of Enrica Lexie has filed a caveat before the high court seeking to hear them before passing any order with regard to compensation.