An anonymous letter has reportedly been sent to an Italian prosecutor’s office and to the media accusing an Italian Coast Guard captain of mishandling a rescue attempt in June 2008 during which up to 15 migrants were killed. The survivors were reportedly taken to Malta after the incident.
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Filed under Italy, Malta, Mediterranean, News
At the end of a debate on immigration at the European Parliament, EC Commissioner for Freedom, Justice and Security, Jacques Barrot, said it was necessary to respect the “principle of no forced returns established by the EU legislation with regard to people crossing the outer borders of the EU.” “[R]eturns [should not be ] carried out to countries where people risk being subjected to degrading and inhuman treatment.”
Barrot said the Commission was still reviewing the Italian government’s response to the request for clarification of the Italian migrant push-back policy.
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Filed under European Union, Italy, Mediterranean, News
UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay criticized the Italian policy of forcibly turning migrants back to Libya without screening in her speech to the opening session of the UN Human Rights Council. Italian government officials questioned the validity of Pillay’s criticism.
Pillay said ”In a tragic repetition last month, the deaths of migrants at sea, as well as the hardship of those who are left stranded near the shores of Libya, Malta, and Italy, once again drew attention to the plight of migrants and refugees. In many cases, authorities reject these migrants and leave them to face hardship and peril, if not death, as though they were turning away ships laden with dangerous waste”.
The push-back policy has had drastic results: “Last week, Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said the policy had resulted in a 90% drop in migrant arrivals since it was launched in May ‘’From May 1 to August 31 2008 more than 15,000 migrants who set out from Libya landed in Italy. During the same period this year, we had 1,400 people, a 90% drop,’ Maroni said.” “[S]ince May more than 1,000 people intercepted in international waters have been sent back to Libya.”
”A spokesperson for EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot … said the Italian government had provided a written response to the European Commission’s requests for further information about its push-back policy. ‘For now, the Commission’s offices are analyzing the content,’ said spokesperson Michele Cercone.”
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Filed under Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, News, United Nations
Egyptian police shot and killed four African migrants and wounded two others near the Egypt-Israel border.
“Monthly migrant arrests by Egypt at the border have surged this year, rising five-fold in May to 55 and then doubling again to 114 in June and 160 in July, security sources said. That compares to just six arrests in January.”
The increased numbers of migrants attempting to enter Israel from Egypt is believed to be related in part to the Italy-Libya agreement which has resulted in the forcible returns of hundreds of migrants who are interdicted in the Mediterranean.
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Prime Minister Berlusconi has threatened to take steps to block the work of the European Council of Ministers unless measures are implemented to prevent European commissioners and their spokespersons from speaking publicly on any subject. Berlusconi is angered over the remarks made by Commission spokesman Dennis Abbott regarding the Somali migrants recently returned to Libya by Italy.
“Berlusconi said ‘We shall no longer vote, blocking in effect the workings of the European council [of ministers], unless it is decided that no European commissioner and no spokesperson may intervene publicly on any subject.’”
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The group of 75 migrants used a satellite telephone to seek assistance while they were being returned to Libya by Italian authorities. Several of the migrants telephoned a BBC reporter in Italy from the Italian patrol boat which had intercepted their dinghy.
One caller told the reporter ”we told the Italian military that we wanted to request asylum and asked them not to hand us over to the Libyans because we were afraid of going to jail, but they wouldn’t listen to us.”
Some of the migrants protested and refused to be moved from the Italian patrol boat to a Libyan patrol boat. The Italian boat was forced to dock at the Libyan port of Al Zuwarah in order to off load the migrants.
“A spokesman for the European Commission, Dennis Abbott, said the EU executive would ask the Italian government for details regarding Monday’s expulsion. But Abbot clarified that the EC was not ‘pointing its finger’. The spokesman explained that the EC’s goal was rather ‘to protect the right of every human being to request refugee status’ by enlisting the cooperation of member countries to share in the burden of hosting them.”
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Filed under Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, News
A boat carrying 75 migrants who are believed to be Somali was intercepted by Italian authorities near Sicily and its occupants were subsequently forcibly returned to Libya. This occurred while Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was in Libya to meet with Libyan leader Moamer Gathafi during Libya’s celebrations of the 40th anniversary of their revolution.
Prior to the Italian interception of the migrant boat, an Armed Forces of Malta patrol boat removed four migrants and brought them to Malta for medical treatment. The migrant boat was initially discovered by a Frontex helicopter.
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Italian Minister of the Interior, Roberto Maroni, claims a 92% reduction in the arrivals of irregular migrants since 5 May when the new Italian policy of turning migrants back to Libya was put in place.
Since 5 May there have been 1,345 migrant arrivals in Italy compared with 14,220 over the same period in 2008.
“Repulsion” works: “This means that our accord with Libya is working excellently: it works, and the results are there to be seen”. “Repulsion, is the same as saying taking the irregular migrants back to their place of departure. Repatriation means sending them back to their countries of origin, with all the bureaucracy that involves,” said Maroni.
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Filed under Data / Stats, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean, News
“The photo was taken from the FRONTEX-operated Casa-212 Aviocar patrol and surveillance aircraft.”
“‘This declassified image shows clearly the excellent and clean state that the intercepted rubber dinghy was in, as well as the good state of health of the occupants, who can be seen sitting down,’ the AFM said.”
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Maltese and Italian news services report that a new dinghy with 57 African migrants on board has been rescued near Lampedusa and that the individuals are being transported to Sicily.
There is renewed controversy between Italy and Malta because a Maltese patrol boat may have again provided some assistance to the migrants prior to their arrival in Italian waters.
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Filed under Italy, Malta, Mediterranean, News
“’We are shocked by the accounts we heard [from the survivors],’ said Mr. Andrej Mahecic, UNHCR spokesperson. ‘It gives UNHCR cause for concern that these people report being passed by many vessels without any assistance being offered. This is contrary to the long-standing maritime tradition of rescue at sea which has been under threat and is increasingly being eroded.’”
“He added that the agency would be very concerned if the hardening of government policies towards boat people has the effect of discouraging ship masters from continuing to honour their international maritime obligations.”
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Filed under Italy, Malta, Mediterranean, Statements, UNHCR
“Italian magistrates are reportedly evaluating the possibility of issuing international rogatory letters to Malta, in a bid to determine Malta’s role in the controversial rescue of five Eritrean migrants this week, who claimed their pleas for rescue were ignored by the Maltese navy. … According to Magistrate Renato di Natale in Agrigento, ‘it is possible that a case against Malta will be opened over charges of omission of rescue.’”
”[S]ources confirmed that the Sicilian magistrates are intent on indicting the crew of AFM patrol boat P61, which intercepted the five migrants and supplied them with food, water and fuel on the high seas, the Maltese government is countering this eventuality by announcing its willingness to ‘cooperate fully’ with the Italian investigators.”
”[F]urther declarations by the inquiring Italian magistrates revealed that any indictment would include ‘willful homicide’. But so far the charge is pending upon ignoti (unknowns), an Italian legal term for unknown perpetrators.”
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Filed under Italy, Malta, Mediterranean, News
The five Eritrean survivors have reportedly been charged with illegal immigration under new Italian laws and will likely be deported to Malta from Lampedusa since Maltese authorities first encountered the Eritreans at sea.
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Filed under Italy, Malta, Mediterranean, News
Maltese Armed Forces Commander Carmel Vassallo confirmed that a Maltese patrol boat did intercept the 5 Eritrean migrants at some point before their later rescue by Italian authorities. The AFM commander said the Eritreans appeared to be in good health and only needed fuel, which was provided. The commander expressed doubt that there had been others in the migrant boat and that it had been at sea for an extended period of time.
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Filed under Italy, Libya, Malta, Mediterranean, News
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has said that Malta is not capable of properly patrolling the area of the Mediterranean assigned to Malta for search and rescue operations and, in so doing, insinuating that the Armed Forces of Malta acted improperly when it failed to rescue the five surviving Eritreans who were encountered by a Maltese patrol boat.
Malta’s Foreign Minister Tonio Borg said that Malta would not agree to reduce its search and rescue jurisdiction. “Italian Foreign Minister Frattini said in an interview in Corriere della Sera: ‘It is clear they (Malta) do not have the instruments, such as number of boats and crews, to control such a wide area.’” “Asked if Malta was to blame for the tragedy, Frattini said he did not have concrete evidence to say so with certainty.”
“Malta has denied allegations it failed to save migrants. ‘Five Eritreans found on a dinghy were in good health and refused to be rescued since they wanted to go to Italy,’ Maltese Armed Forces Commander brigadier Carmel Vassallo said in a statement. Vassallo said Malta did not abandon the migrants until they arrived in the territorial waters of Lampedusa. ‘We stayed there until we were certain the Italian customs guards went for them,’ he said.”
“The prosecutor’s office in Agrigento in Sicily has opened an inquiry. Sources close to the office said it might ask Maltese authorities to provide further information to check reports one of their boats had approached the migrants’ vessel without providing assistance.”
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Filed under Italy, Libya, Malta, Mediterranean, News
MIGRANTS AT SEA 