Sea Watch 3, Open Arms get berths at Taranto and Messina

(ANSA) - Rome, January 14 - Italy has assigned migrant rescue ship Sea Watch 3 a berth at the port of Taranto in Puglia to offload 119 migrants rescued in three separate operations over the last few days, the NGO tweeted Tuesday.
    The interior ministry also assigned Messina as a safe port for the Open Arms migrant rescue ship on Tuesday.
    It said France, Germany, Portugal and Ireland have already said they will take the migrants on board the Open Arms, as well as on the Sea Watch 3.
    This is on the basis of the "pre-accord" reached at Malta last year, the ministry said.
    "We are happy that our guests can finally get onto dry land safe and sound." said Sea Watch.
    "But there's still a lot that must be changed: from the murky accords with Libya to the abuses on migrants funded by the EU".
    Sea Watch is a German NGO.
    It mainly operates the Alan Kurdi ship, named after the Syrian boy whose drowning spurred international sympathy and a reaction in 2015.
    NGO-run migrant rescue ship were barred from Italian ports by former interior minister Matteo Salvini of the anti-migrant nationalist League party.
    But the new government has eased that policy.
    Salvini lost power when his bid to force elections after pulling the plug on the League-5-Star Movement (M5S) government backfired.
    The anti-establishment, populist M5S surprised Salvini by teaming up with their long-time foes in the centre-left Democratic Party (PD).