The Italian NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans’ Alex migrant ship carrying 54 migrants picked up off Libya’s coast on Thursday has been stopped off Lampedusa according to a landing ban issued by Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, sources said on 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 claims this was “unfeasible”.
It said because of the physical and psychological conditions of the migrants it was unable make the journey. Later however, Alessandra Sciurba, spokesman of Mediterranea Saving Humans, 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 tols Italian news agency ANSA that NGOs that used sailboats like the Mediterranea were “reckless”.
The ‘Alan Kurdi’ migrant ship run by German NGO Sea-Eye meanwhile has rescued 65 migrants off Libya.
It said it was now awaiting a response to landing requests from Malta, Rome and Tripoli. A d female journalist was aboard the migrant dinghy.
Salvini told the Sea-Eye to “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 on 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 has 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 on 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 responded 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 inciting hatred, after she received rape threats from other individuals on social media.
“I’m not scared of a rich Communist,” Salvini commented. After the 17-day issue involving the Sea-Watch 3, the vessel’s skipper was surprisingly cleared of ramming a police boat in Lampedusa earlier this week.
Salvini also tweeted that he was working to “seal the border with Slovenia and permanently stop the entry of illegal immigrants”.
Ora al lavoro a #Trieste con il governatore @M_Fedriga.
Obiettivo: più uomini e più mezzi per sigillare il confine con la Slovenia e fermare definitivamente l’ingresso di immigrati clandestini.
Vi tengo aggiornati! pic.twitter.com/ZCrlLFx0V7— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) July 5, 2019
Salvini met with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter Szijjarto, at the signing of the commercial agreement between the two countries, which provides for an investment of 100 million euros for the development of the port of Trieste on Friday.