Apropos my post on Buddh International F1 Circuit and
Enrica Lexie {Read my earlier post by clicking here Lexie and Buddh ] –
today there is a report in ‘The Hindu’ that the Indian Govt. has expressed its
displeasure on Team Ferrari sporting Italian Navy flags.. The report is
reproduced in its entirety :
With regards – S. Sampathkumar .
Ferari
gesture not in right spirit says Govt..
The government has taken umbrage at
the insistence by the Formula One team Ferrari to sport Italian Navy flags on
its cars at this weekend’s Indian Grand Prix in a gesture of solidarity with
two Italian marines facing trial in Kerala over charges of killing two
fishermen.
The Ministry of External Affairs
said the Italy-based Ferrari team taking part in the race could be seen as
insensitive by the families of the dead fishermen. “Using sporting events to
promote causes which are not of a sporting nature is not in keeping with the
spirit of any sport,” said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.
A day earlier, the National Fishworkers’
Forum said the government decision to allow Ferrari to carry the Italian Navy
flag was an affront to Indian society at large.
Explaining the move to fly the
Italian Navy ensign, the Ferrari website says that by doing so, it “pays
tribute to one of the outstanding entities [the Navy] of our country, [and]
also in the hope that the Indian and Italian authorities will soon find a
solution to the situation involving two sailors from the Italian Navy.”
“Something which has to be clear is
that we don’t want to say anything in one sense or another. We have the utmost
respect for the Indian authorities. We just hope that a solution can be found
as soon as possible,” a Ferrari official said.
Massimiliano
Latorre and Salvatore Girone, marines posted on an Italian merchant ship, had
shot dead two Indian fishermen, apparently mistaking them for pirates, in
February this year.
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