Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Tuesday that 49 asylum seekers rescued in the Mediterranean by an NGO-run ship flying the Italian flag will not be allowed to enter Italy. "They can be treated, dressed and fed," League leader Salvini told SkyTg24. "We can give them any kind of comfort but they will not set foot in Italy with my permission". The ship, the Mare Ionio, was stationary close to the island of Lampedusa on Tuesday after saving the asylum seekers, including 12 minors, in waters off the coast of Libya on Monday.
The vessel has not been given authorization to disembark and it is surrounded by Coast Guard and finance police boats.
On Monday the Mediterranea NGO that runs the vessel asked the Italian authorities to assign a port of safety before heading towards Lampedusa.
But Salvini has said the government's policy of closing Italy's ports to NGO-run search-and-rescue ships stands.
"This was not a rescue operation," Salvini added.
"This is abetting illegal immigration".
On Monday Interior Ministry Undersecretary Nicola Molteni told Mediaset television that the rescue should have been coordinated by the Libyan authorities as it took place in Libyan waters and argued the migrants should be taken back to Libya.
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