There is now some movement in the dispute over migrants rescued from the Mediterranean who have been on board three NGO ships for days because there is no Mediterranean port where the ships could land. The government in Rome has agreed to “care for all people in need, such as pregnant women or children”.
However, after the assessment is completed, all those who are not among those in need will have to return on board and to international waters, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said. According to Piantedosi, the countries under whose flag the rescue ships fly should take responsibility for the rescued. “When you board a ship in international waters, you step on the bottom of this country,” Piantedosi reminded journalists.
The minister reported that, in addition to the three ships already waiting for Sicily, another had entered the sovereign waters of Italy. This is a smaller ship with 94 people on board, which is en route to the Sicilian city of Syracuse. “We will also treat this ship according to the same criteria that apply to the ‘Humanity 1’,” emphasized the non-party minister, who, however, was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Matteo Salvini.
Salvini: ‘Defending Italy is not a crime’
He applauded the government’s actions. “As always, we will guarantee rescue and aid, but we will forbid foreign NGOs to stop in Italian territorial waters. Defending Italy is not a crime, it is a duty,” said Salvini.
After ten days at sea and eleven unanswered requests from authorities in Italy and Malta, Humanity 1 of the German aid organization SOS Humanity is still pushing for a safe haven for 179 rescued people in the central Mediterranean. Meanwhile, the health situation on board is deteriorating, the NGO warned, and a flu infection has spread. In addition to Humanity 1 and the Norwegian Ocean Viking with 234 rescued people, MSF’s Geo Barents has been waiting for days for a port assignment to land 572 rescued boat migrants. The volunteers have rescued her in several operations over the past few days.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
