Friday saw two more migrant rescue
ship standoffs in the Mediterranean after the 17-day case of the
Sea-Watch3 whose skipper was cleared of ramming a police boat in
Lampedusa earlier this week.
The Italian NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans' Alex migrant
rescue ship carrying 54 migrants rescued off Libya Thursday has
been stopped off Lampedusa according to a landing ban issued by
Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, sources said Friday.
Salvini said the ship must go to Malta or else it "will be an
act of violence".
Malta offered a port to the ship but the Mediterranea at
first said this was "unfeasible".
It said because of the physical and psychological conditions
of the migrants it was unable to go that far out of its way.
However, Alessandra Sciurba, spokesman of Mediterranea
Saving Humans, later said it was ready to offload the migrants
at Malta.
It was reported that a Maltese navy ship was heading for the
Mediterranea to take the migrants, but the NGO said that "no
ship is on the way, sadly".
The Italian navy later offered to take the Alex's migrants
to Malta.
And the first 13 "vulnerable" individuals including women
and children and their families were taken aboard a Coast Guard
cutter.
The Maltese government said Italy would take 55 migrants off
its hands in exchange for the 54 migrants Malta would take from
the Mediterranea ship.
Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio said it was right that the ship
should go to Malta.
He said NGOs that used sailboats like the Mediterranea were
"reckless".
Meanwhile The 'Alan Kurdi' migrant rescue ship run by German
NGO Sea-Eye rescued 65 migrants off Libya.
It said it was now awaiting a response to landing requests
from Malta, Rome and Tripoli.
A woman journalist was aboard the migrant dinghy.
Salvini said the Sea-Eye "can choose between Tunisia and
Germany".
"Anyone who defends the borders and security of my country
is welcome," he said.
He added that the Alex, with its 54 migrants, was going to
Malta.
A safe port is also needed for the Alan Kurdi with its 65
rescued migrants, German government spokeswoman Martina Fiez
said Friday.
She said saving migrants at sea was a European task, as was
the redistribution of migrants.
Meanwhile the head of the Italian magistrates union, the ANM,
said Salvini should explain where the judge who released the
Sea-Watch3 skipper, judging her innocent of ramming a police
boat, went wrong.
Preliminary investigations judge Alessandra Vella released
Carola Rackete saying she had acted properly in saving migrants
at risk of drowning and had not deliberately rammed the Guardia
di Finanza boat.
Salvini called Vella's ruling "disgraceful" and said she
should stand for election if she wanted to make such "political"
decisions.
ANM chief Luca Poniz said Friday "Salvini is fully entitled
to criticise a decision by the magistrature but he must explain
why it is wrong and we still haven't heard one reason why that
decision was wrong".
Salvini retorted by saying "I have no enemies, only allies
for the defence of the legality, security and welfare of my
country.
"And trying to kill Italian (police) is not something that
can remain unpunished".
Rackete responded Friday by saying she would sue Salvini for
instigating hatred and crimes, after she received rape threats
on social media.
"I'm not scared of a rich Communist," retorted Salvini.
Rackete says in an interview to be published by Der Spiegel
Saturday that Salvini breached human rights with his policy of
closing ports to NGO run migrant rescue ships.
"Salvini's policy violated human rights: his way of
expressing himself is disrespectful, it is not appropriate for a
high-level politician," she said after the minister branded her
a "scamp".
The crew of the Sea-Watch3, she added, sent daily medical
reports on the condition of the 42 rescued migrants, also to the
Italian rescue centre in Rome, "but no one listened, no one
responded".
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