This new drama, which occurred on Sunday off the coast of Calabria, revived the debate on a reform of the right of asylum in the European Union.
by Olivier Bonnel (Rome, correspondence) and Virginie Malingre (Brussels, European office)
In summer, Steccato di Cutro (Italy) beach offers its crystal clear waters and fine sand to summer visitors, eager for kitesurfing. Sunday, February 26 at dawn, this beach south of the Calabria turned into a horror theater. At least 59 people died drowned after their boat, a wooden fishing boat broke in two under the power of the waves, after hitting a sandbank. Among the victims are at least fourteen children, including a newborn.
According to the prefecture of Crotone (southeast), between 150 and 180 people of Pakistani, Afghan, or Turkish origin, had taken place on board the boat. Migrants who left four days earlier since wearing Izmir, Turkey.
According to a report from the Finance Guard – the Italian customs police -, the boat had been spotted by a fronttex plane, the agency responsible for controlling the external borders of the European Union (EU). Two Italian rescue ships were then dispatched; Bad weather has forced them to turn back.
This new shipwreck caused a strong emotion in Italy. The chairman of the council, Giorgia Meloni, spoke of “her deep pain” in a statement, while the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, deplored “yet another tragedy in the Mediterranean who cannot leave anyone indifferent”.
Europe called for its responsibilities
The Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi (League, far right), went to Crotone on Sunday afternoon. During a press conference, he confined himself to showing that this new shipwreck only confirmed the merits of his policy, starting with his desire to stop departures. “The subject is the departures, he hammered, as if the problem could be resolved by encouraging all these people to come, including in dramatic conditions as we have just seen.”
Faced with this hard line assumed, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has argued to reinforce the rescue capacities. “This is more than ever necessary in a historical context characterized by people pushed to flee conflicts and persecution,” said her representative for Italy, Chiara Cardoletti.
The shock wave quickly exceeded Italian borders, the political class turning almost unanimously to Europe, by calling it for its responsibilities. “It is time for Europe to be really present, united and gathered to manage and control migratory flows,” commented, on Twitter, the former president of the Council and boss of the 5 -star (populist) movement, Giuseppe Conte. The Leader of the Sinistra (left), Nicola Fratoianni, called for the establishment of a Sar – research and rescue mission – at European level. On the side of the Catholic Church, very involved in the reception of migrants, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, president of the episcopal conference wished “that Europe will be up to its personnel and reception traditions “.
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