But U.S. Navy claims it was forced to open fire after fishing boat failed to heed warnings
A day after a U.S warship fired on a fishing boat, killing an Indian and injuring three more, a top official of the United Arab Emirates appeared to be contradicting the American version that the smaller vessel was off course and approached the navy ship in a dangerous way.
Download graphic: Murder in mid-sea
“The primary investigation confirms that the boat was in its right course and did not pose any danger. The shooting was clearly a mistake,” Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai’s influential police chief, was quoted as saying by the UAE daily The National.
The U.S. Navy has said that it was forced to open fire as a last resort, after the fishing boat failed to heed an entire protocol of warnings.
The Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi is working with local authorities to carry out a full investigation into the incident. “We have made the request and the UAE authorities have already begun the investigation on their own,” said M.K. Lokesh, Indian ambassador to the UAE.
The probe, jointly favoured by India and the UAE, also appears to have created some dissonance between Abu Dhabi and Washington, though both are close allies.
UAE authorities have already contradicted the core argument of the U.S. version, that the incident took place in international waters, outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Gulf nation.
Contrary to the U.S. position that the event occurred 30 miles (48 km) south-west of Dubai as reported in The New York Times, local authorities maintain that the fishing boat was shot “near the mouth of the Jebel Ali Port in the Emirate of Dubai.”
Official sources, who wished to remain anonymous, said the incident took place at a distance of 16 km off the port of Jebel Ali, well within UAE waters
The incident, which took place on Monday, is acquiring broader international overtones in an area bristling with military tensions on account of the ongoing feud between the United States and Iran.
It appeared to mirror the escalating military tensions in the Gulf, which are rooted in the standoff between the U.S. and Iran over its nuclear programme, and memories of an earlier seaborne al-Qaeda attack, which had blown a 40-foot hole in the American warship, Cole, that had docked in Aden.
The three injured Indian fishermen are out of danger, and recovering at Dubai’s Rashid hospital. Diplomatic sources said they were no longer in the ICU, and had been shifted to the general ward. “They have generally suffered injuries to the back and neck that are not life threatening,” a source said.
The body of the deceased fisherman Sekar is unlikely to be repatriated before post-mortem is conducted in the UAE for purposes of investigation into the incident.
U.S. expresses regret
The U.S. government has officially confirmed that shots fired from its Navy vessel had killed the Indian and injured three more off a Dubai port, said official sources here.
U.S. Ambassador to India Nancy Powell telephoned Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai on Tuesday morning to convey her regret for the loss of life and assured him that the U.S. government would conduct a full investigation.
“We will stay in regular touch with U.S and UAE authorities to ascertain full facts and take appropriate further action in the matter,” said sources in the Ministry of External Affairs.
According to UAE officials, one Indian fisherman was killed in the firing incident and three other Indians were injured.
Krishna condoles death
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna has condoled with the death of the fisherman and said the Indian envoy in Dubai had informed him that the local authorities filed a case.
“We are in touch with our envoys in Dubai and the U.S. and we have instructed them to take it up with the respective governments,” he said, when asked about the incident at a joint press conference with the visiting Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin, in New Delhi. “It is unfortunate that an Indian fisherman has been killed. On behalf of the government of India, I condole the death. We have taken up the matter.”
The comments of some Americans on this forum is disgusting. You all are from a xenophobic society where basal values of self preservation is more important than tolerance. Persian gulf is not US property. Killing people with a larger purpose of monopolizing and militarizing that region is purely a terror act. India should surely make some determined diplomatic efforts to highlight the callousness of Americans that resulted in the death of our citizen.
@Shaun Wow. What over estimation of american might. You are mentally still in the 20th century. Wake up and have no illusions. of course India would have arrested American sailors if they were in the Indian waters.
There is a strong message here, "Foreign navys taking people's lives are not welcome". India should put diplomatic pressure on US (along with UAE) to cough up the facts of the shooting incident, and reciprocate appropriate measures and revise existing protocols in dealing with them. Moreover, this is also a good reason to add such navys to black-list and ban entry for port visits. India should rely on our satellite surveillance systems to decipher weather the incident occured in international waters or not, not their testimony. History shows that such incidents can repeat, unless deterrent counter-measures exist.
When Italians killed Indian fishermen near Kerala Govt. of India issued a statement that India have the jurisdiction over convicts of the murder of Indian citizens in any part of the world. So question arises that is that rule is not applicable to the Naval servicemen from USA the so called world's biggest SUPERPOWER ?
You are looking at a country that has lost the self confidence after 9/11 and became paranoid ever since. Anyone but themselves are aliens waiting to harm them, that is the currency in thinking. So they have adopted a policy of ' when in doubt, attack' . They know an apology and and some cash payments will see through the situation! Lately this has been the attitude and they will continue to do it unchallenged. Remember, they can't be taken to the International Court of Justice. They are above such conventions that is meant only for megre countries! I am sorry for the unnecessary lose of Indian life. Sure, there will be some predictable groans from New Delhi to be impressive!
While a truly independent investigation would be desirable but highly unlikely to take place, the fact remains that the US government and it s military are pathological liars when it comes to incidents involving the deaths of Third World citizens at the hands of their troops. From the shooting down of the Iranian commercial plane to the killing of Pakistani troops and the tens of thousands of deaths that they dismissively refer to as collateral damage, there has been a complete disregard for the sanctity of some human life.
Hello Mr. Shaun Warren,
If US had killed Indian`s in Indian Waters definitely INDIA would have taken them into custody.
Never under estimate INDIA
I agree with what Rajiv said...also someone commented previously that "what Indians are doing in Jebel Ali port..."
Am asking WTF US ship is doing in Dubai???come on its not UAE ship that did this, damn its US ship tht too near Jebel Ali...
As long as media in United States is more powerful than political
parties, this type of incidents will continue to happen. To abide by
international laws is often presented as a weakness by media (with
respect to countries that are unable to protest) that renders government
impotent to take any reasonable action in such matters.
Its all about bullish behaviour of US Navy.A investigation should be
made for the entire case.
Now i am expecting other news as India would not take option against US
whether One of Fiserman has been killed. Probably other news would be
related to Settlement, Apology or mitigate the issue. Anyways this news
is not of enough importance unless & until US is involved.
No doubt it is a tragedy esp for the family of the killed/injured. Let us analyze this. How many of Indian Drivers have learnt/followed the road safety rules,etc. We have no habit of learning and using public transport ways. I am sure the Indian fisherman wouldnot have known the protocols of dealing with Ships esp warships. If they were educated on those aspects, they would not have gone near that ship. While the loss of life is regrettable, US has the right to protect its Ship if if it feels threatened. (remember USS Cole).
With sympathy for the fisherman , there is nothing that India can do.The
fishing trawler belongs to Emirates and operates off Emirates.The killed
/injured persons are employees of the Emirates company.The whole
incident is under Emirates jurisdiction and it is an issue between
Emirates and Americans. All that India can do is give financial
assistance to the affected from India.
The incident is a classic example and a direct manifestation of the utter disregard that the US has for lives of people in 2nd and 3rd world countries -- since it is an Indian fisherman and since some section of the Indian media has picked up the story, the issue is getting some attention for some time, otherwise it would have been business as usual.
“The moment was terrifying. I have never come across such a dreadful moment… We were targeted from just 50 metres. I escaped by lying down near the cabin. We paid a heavy price for no fault on our part. There was absolutely no reason to open fire at us,” Kumaresan said. This is just an excerpt from an article of The Hindu and it says that boat watch notching good speed along with being perilously close,50 metres away from the navy ship.Well, everyone has missed the main culprits by miles,the cabin crew of the fishing boat.How could thay go so close to a war ship with such a speed ? Either they had lost all their senses that they couldn`t pay heed to warnings or they assumed themselves to be Arabian Rambos with Indian fishermen as supporting cast supposed to die during action sequence !
An abhorrent act by US Naval personnel. Why shoot the man or the boat?
Shouldn't there be multiple shots in front of the boat and ear-
piercing announcements when the boat starts to approach the ship? What
if the fisherman didn't even understand whatever the ships'
announcements (I presume they were in English) meant.
This is most unfortunate. Alas, the Americans will do a sham
investigation and personnel at fault will be protected.
The loss of human life is just too high to pay for failing to
recognize the warnings, which one might not even understand.
India should take this case without delay to International Court of
Justice.
For the recent articles in the hindu which the media attachment as PDF
was in low resoluation. Please kindly note it.
How come we can conclude the US warning was 100% understandable by the fishermen. It’s funny. Do you think our fisher men had taken the English wording from US ship as a warning? Never. Of course getting near to a war ship for fishing is not advisable.
So many comments asking what was Indian fisherman doing in Persian Gulf (which is a well known for marine trade), but no one asking what was US ship doing there. US coast is 10000 miles away from Persian Gulf & its Navy is unauthorised aggressor in Persian Gulf. US ships should not move beyond 30 miles from US coast unless invited & authorised by a host nation in Persian Gulf. India should take up the matter in UN alongwith Gulf states about unauthorised US aggression in Persian Gulf & also in Indian Ocean.
It is interesting that US always claims that it is right and gave adequate warning etc. Some US citizens will claim that you should know better than being near a US ship. Looks like US is a major problem for the world. It is best if they stay within their country. They are not needed anywhere except in US.So message is please stay at home if you cant control yourselves.
One expects that the promised investigation will bring out, with legally acceptable proof to the International human rights body, of video and audio coverage to establish that the Indian fishermen going in a boat posed the gravest danger to the mighty U.S.warship and that the U.S. Navy was forced to open fire as a last resort after the Indian boatmen failed to heed the repeated warnings of the former.In fact, by now, such a proof should have been voluntarily provided by the U.S.to vindicate its stated position without giving any room for doubting its credibility.
I wonder if India has the courage to stand up to this murder of Indian fisherman by
American serviceman as it had done when the Italians killed Indian fishermen.
US can do no wrong, even if it was wrong. And India with some noise for the 'Public' will meekly accept the apologies and move on. This is the way of life, for countries other than the US. Sure, US has apologized.
And matter ends there.
Imagine, if the US firing incident had happened in Indian waters, would India have taken the US soldiers into custody like what they did with the Italian sailors - perhaps not, and dare not!! My case rests
I'm curious about what the "entire protocol of warnings" claimed by the
US constitutes. I'm guessing it's involves issuing instructions spoken
in American English with American Accent with all the noise of the
ocean and the motors of the ship and the boat. If that's what these
warnings are, then it's ridiculous.
Statistically, there is 0.1% chance that you are an enemy; but, we
value our life highly; therefore, we kill you with 100% certainty.
This seems to be the unspoken principle.
The outrageously arbitrary manner in which the U.S. Navy killed a fisherman on the coast of UAE by machine gun,as reported, preceded by such atrocities in recent months like (i) the killing of five boys playing in a field in a remote area of Afghanistan by lethal weapons,and (ii) by the killing of some 25 Pakistani soldiers etc., proclaims loudly how the “state terrorism” practiced without any scruples for years together now,without any sanctions, by the war lords of the Pentagon and their cohorts, has become a menace and a challenge to world civilization. The abominable has become the morm!
Is there any alternative than for some courageous country to oppose in the U.N. these unquestioned savagery associates from pursuing the reign of terror in any part of the world, they choose according to their own fanciful projects,with no respect to the U.N.Charter re:the inviolable sovereignty of the member nations, as formulated in San Francisco by wise men ,gathered there?
Lets say its the mistake on the U.S Navy.
First, The fishing boat was within the firing range of the Gun. But we
need to know how far as it (it is a 50 cal gun. so longer range)
Second, if the warning shots were fired, why did the fishing boat
continue ?
Third, If the warning shots were not fired, why was the fishing boat
close to the Navy ship. Was the fishing boat stationary ?
A strong response is needed to prove that India cares for its citizens.
It needs to be seen how India can get justice for the murder in mid-sea.
It's unfortunate that an Indian Fisherman was killed, but I find the Police Chief's story unbelievable. American warships do not open fire without a reason. After the attack on the USS Cole, which killed American sailors,the US Navy will not allow boats to approach their vessels. The Fisherman should have heeded the warnings before the US Navy ship opened fire.
This story is biased and inaccurate... "UAE authorities have already contradicted the core argument of the U.S. version, that the incident took place in international waters, outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Gulf nation...Contrary to the U.S. position that the event occurred 30 miles (48 km) south-west of Dubai as reported in The New York Times, local authorities maintain that the fishing boat was shot “near the mouth of the Jebel Ali Port in the Emirate of Dubai.”
The NY Times article stated "The Fifth Fleet said the encounter happened near the Emirates port of Jebel Ali, a docking point for American naval vessels about 30 miles southwest of Dubai."
Jebel Ali IS about 30 miles from Dubai.. Where is the contradiction this article is trying to paint???
ALSO, Dahi Khalfan Tamim is a very vocal critic of US policy. The article does not mention that fact. Perhaps he is a little biased or trying to make a political score? But then again, this article is also biased.
Both accounts of the location could be true. Get a map out. 30 miles south west of Dubai could be 16 km off Jebel Ali.
The US relives the Wild, Wild West. We're the man, the Policeman of the
world. Let's just admit our errors and mistakes and don't lie that
makes us bully killers and Liars
Why where the Indian fishermen fishing so far away from home? Are these Indian fishermen employed in the UAE as fishermen? The Gulf of Hormuz and the Iranian coast is a tinderbox right now. Not saying that justifies this incident, but the US ships will not take any approaches towards it kindly after the Al Qaida incident in Africa. as whose version of the story is correct, I am sure that GPS logging can clear that - the UAE version is not official...their Police chief is a known for his love of the spotlight.
Anyway, condolences to the family of the victim. Pathetic reporting and caption screaming - "Murder in Mid Sea". Sheer sensationalism.
nice to observe the empathy,sympathy&compassion for the dead&injured while cool heads prevail to get to the bottom of this unfortunate incident.Instead of emotional outcry there is enlightened&empowered examination to seek the truth.
When you charge a U.S. Warship something is going to happen. The aggressor ship was fairly warned to change course a multitude of times. Continuing on that course in naval parlance is equivalent to a declaration of war. For far too long U.S. Warships have backed off to preserve the peace; that appears to no longer be the case. Fair warning was given. Advance at your own peril.
Those people should not have nbeen anywhere near that ship. They made the mistake and paid for it. I have no sympathy for stupidity. Everyone in that regions knows the rules regarding a US ship. Tell the UAE and the Indian government to stick it.
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