Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Italians refuse to sign conclusion on Calipari killing
The results of the "mixed" commission investigating the killing of the Italian agent and the serious injuring of the Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena and another Italian agent are to be released tomorrow. There has been a lot of anticipation in the press, and it seems as though the US will find no fault with the soldiers who shot and killed Calipari, and that the two Italians on the committee were not investigators at all, but merely "witnesses" to a unilateral investigation. The US judging the US, in other words. It seems as though the Italians have refused to sign the final document, because they do not accept its conclusion....
From Il Diario:
The work of the bilateral commission that is investigating the killing of Nicola Calipari is blocked. The investigation is concluded, but the disagreement between Italians and Americans impeded the arrival at a conclusion.
“At the present time, there is no recognition of responsibility”, sustain the US representatives that were cited by the network NBC which had obtained a copy of the first rapport. This means that the soldiers who on the evening of 4 March fired at the car of the SISMI, killing Nicola Calipari and injuring the reporter of il manifesto who had just been liberated, (as well as a second individual being injured), will not be incriminated and will not undergo any kind of trial. Four seconds after having fired warning shots in the air, the US soldiers decided to open fire. A sufficient interval, according to the commission, that respects the engagement rules.
The two representatives nominated by the Italian government the Ambassador Ragaglini and General Campregher, have refused to undersign these conclusions and ask that at least some error, misunderstanding, omission or negligence (even unintentional) that brought the soldiers to fire against the car of the SISMI to be recognised.
It seems that the US have admitted that the Toyota Corolla in which Calipari was travelling was not moving at high speed, but rather at 40-50 Km and hour, the same speed declared by the functionary of the SISMI who survived the shooting.
But the Americans continue to insist that before the opening of fire there was an intimation to halt, while the Italian survivors deny this version. Calipari had purposely decided to not inform the US Command in order to not put the liberation of Giuliana Sgrena at risk.
http://www.diario.it/?page=wl05041402 full article (in Italian)
From Il Diario:
The work of the bilateral commission that is investigating the killing of Nicola Calipari is blocked. The investigation is concluded, but the disagreement between Italians and Americans impeded the arrival at a conclusion.
“At the present time, there is no recognition of responsibility”, sustain the US representatives that were cited by the network NBC which had obtained a copy of the first rapport. This means that the soldiers who on the evening of 4 March fired at the car of the SISMI, killing Nicola Calipari and injuring the reporter of il manifesto who had just been liberated, (as well as a second individual being injured), will not be incriminated and will not undergo any kind of trial. Four seconds after having fired warning shots in the air, the US soldiers decided to open fire. A sufficient interval, according to the commission, that respects the engagement rules.
The two representatives nominated by the Italian government the Ambassador Ragaglini and General Campregher, have refused to undersign these conclusions and ask that at least some error, misunderstanding, omission or negligence (even unintentional) that brought the soldiers to fire against the car of the SISMI to be recognised.
It seems that the US have admitted that the Toyota Corolla in which Calipari was travelling was not moving at high speed, but rather at 40-50 Km and hour, the same speed declared by the functionary of the SISMI who survived the shooting.
But the Americans continue to insist that before the opening of fire there was an intimation to halt, while the Italian survivors deny this version. Calipari had purposely decided to not inform the US Command in order to not put the liberation of Giuliana Sgrena at risk.
http://www.diario.it/?page=wl05041402 full article (in Italian)
