These are the first ships welcomed by Italy after its refusal in November to let hundreds of migrants survived and taken care of by several humanitarian boats.
MO12345LEMOND With AFP
Italy assigned safe ports to three migrants on Friday 9 December due to the bad weather, justified the government of Giorgia Meloni on Saturday, assuring that it was not a “volte -Fost “of the executive on humanitarian NGOs operating in the Mediterranean.
The Geo Barents, boat of doctors without borders, is expected to dock Sunday morning in the port of Salerne (south) to land 248 migrants rescued during several operations in recent days. The German ship Louise-Michel arrived on Friday on the Italian island of Lampedusa with 33 migrants on board. Finally the Humanity 1, boat beating German flag of the NGO SOS Humanity, must join the port of Bari (East) in the coming hours after having rescued 261 people.
“On immigration, no flip-flops,” assured the France-Presse agency on Saturday a source from the Italian Interior Ministry. The ministry “gave its agreement to the entry of the ships because the bad weather approaches and the navigation conditions would have quickly run a risk to the people on board,” she added. According to this same source, Rome continues to denounce “the provocative and risky actions” of NGOs which “promote the entry into Italy of economic migrants having no right to enter and stay in Italy”.
Rome criticizes NGOs
These are the first ships welcomed by Italy after its refusal in November to let hundreds of migrants survived and taken care of by several humanitarian ships, including the Geo Barents. Under pressure, among others, of the European Union, the government of the far -right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, had agreed to land the most vulnerable survivors while continuing to refuse entry into his ports to the Ocean-Viking, ship of the NGO SOS Méditerranée, finally welcomed by France.
Italy notes this year a strong increase in entries on its territory by the sea, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, with 97,236 people who arrived on its coasts since 1
A large majority of these migrants are rescued by the Italian coast guard, but Rome has strongly criticized the rescue operations of ships chartered by NGOs, which he accuses of creating an air call.