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ITALY-MIGRANTS-SPAIN-POLITICS
Italy’s far-right interior minister says migrant rescue ship on ‘cruise’
ROME, June 15, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Italy’s far-right interior minister Matteo
Salvini has suggested that hundreds of migrants aboard a rescue convoy
heading for Spain were on a “cruise”, as an NGO condemned their plight as a
symbol of the failure of the EU.
The Aquarius boat, accompanied by two Italian vessels, is making its way
across the Mediterranean to Valencia after Italy and Malta refused to allow
it to dock at their ports over the weekend.
But on Thursday, huge waves and strong winds forced the convoy, carrying
629 rescued migrants, to take a detour along the coast of the Italian island
of Sardinia.
Asked by a journalist on Thursday whether the ship would arrive in Spain,
Salvini said: “Of course, it’s not as if they can now decide where to start
and finish the cruise.”
“It seems to me that their arrival is expected Saturday without problems,”
he added.
French charity SOS Mediterranee said Thursday that the Italian coast guard
vessel guiding the Aquarius ship had decided to divert the convoy north along
the east coast of Sardinia to bypass four-metre (13-feet) high waves and
winds of 35 knots (65 km/h).
The move was to “protect itself from the otherwise unbearable bad weather
for the people on board, who are exhausted, suffering from shock and
seasickness,” the NGO said on Twitter.
The Aquarius received fresh supplies via an Italian coast guard boat from
Sardinia, the organisation later told AFP.
– Symbol of failure –
Doctors without Borders (MSF) coordinator Aloys Vimard, who is on board the
boat, tweeted: “Most people are inside lying on floor including pregnant
women, breastfeeding mothers, babies, burns patients, people who almost
drowned.”
The majority of the migrants are from Africa, while several others come
from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, according to MSF.
The head of the Spanish branch of MSF David Noguera condemned the EU for a
lack of coordination.
“The detour of the Aquarius is clearly a symbol of the failure of the
European Union and European governments with their contradictory policies,”
he told AFP by telephone from Barcelona.
“It is a very negative precedent. The truth is there is a question on the
table as to whether this is a single event which is resolved quickly, or if
we will no longer be allowed to dock in Italy and the blockage continues
which would completely change rescue operations.”
The plight of the Aquarius has again highlighted the failure of EU member
states to work together to deal with the influx of migrant arrivals since
2015.
But the French foreign ministry on Thursday said it was ready to welcome
migrants aboard the Aquarius who “meet the criteria for asylum” after they
arrive in Spain.
Salvini has vowed to stop foreign boats carrying migrants from arriving in
Italy, a policy that has also affected a US military ship.
The Trenton rescued 40 migrants off the coast of Libya on Tuesday and was
still waiting for instructions on where it could dock on Thursday, the US
Navy said.
It added that during the rescue operation “the crew initially observed
approximately 12 bodies in the water that appeared to be unresponsive,” but
said that they “prioritised recovering those who needed immediate help”.
– ‘Isolated and vulnerable’ –
As well as tension between Malta and Italy over who was responsible for
helping the Aquarius rescue ship, another row erupted this week when French
President Emmanuel Macron accused the Italian government of “cynicism and
irresponsibility”.
Italy’s new economy minister shelved a meeting with his French counterpart
in Paris on Wednesday as a result of the dispute.
However, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Thursday he believed
the row had been resolved after a phone conservation with Macron and the pair
are set to meet Friday in Paris for talks.
On Thursday Pope Francis called for “assistance from the entire
international community” to help “isolated and vulnerable” migrants.
“In order to acknowledge and respond to the current migration situation,
the assistance of the entire international community is needed, since its
transnational dimension exceeds the capacities and resources of many States,”
said Francis in a message to participants at a conference on international
migration at the Vatican.
The contentious issue of how to deal with migrants is expected to dominate
an EU summit at the end of June.
BSS/AFP/RY/12:01 hrs