Matteo Salvini spoke about the NGOs, as soon as he learned that two humanitarian ships of German associations, but with the Dutch flag, Seefuchs and Lifeline, are in front of the Libyan coasts ready to load migrants. The Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, launches his warning with a post on Facebook followed by the hashtag #chiudiamo i ports. "Fascista", the replica of the Lifeline, later deleted from twitter. Salvini replied on twitter, showing a photo of a man with earrings, a mohican-colored crest and tailed hair, operating on the NGO ship.
"This gentleman is in the crew of the ship of the German NGO which, while waiting to load immigrants, calls me a 'fascist' ... Reassuring I would say ".
Salvini's hard line is also followed by the Cinquestelle: "NGOs, said Undersecretary Vito Crimi, feed the trafficking of human beings". Transport Minister Toninnelli, on the other hand, asked the Netherlands to withdraw the two ships off the Libyan coast.
While the CEI invites us to "always" save lives, adding that Italy "cannot be left alone". Vice-president of the European Parliament David Sassoli, on the other hand, asks for the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights: “here we are violating international conventions and treaties”. The offensive by the owner of the Interior Ministry against those he scornfully defines as "deputy captains" therefore continues unabated. The ultimate goal is to eliminate humanitarian ships from the Strait of Sicily. A strategy launched last year by his predecessor Marco Minniti with the support of some Sicilian prosecutors. Code of conduct and judicial seizures have thus led to a drastic reduction of the means of the NGOs which in the first months of 2017 were responsible for 40% of the total rescues: of the 12 ships present in that period, the current number dropped to 3-4 .
The Replica of the NGOs
SeaWatch spokesperson Giorgia Linardi responded immediately: "What is happening today is the attempt to erase the presence of free and independent eyes that tell what happens at sea".
The cry of alarm of the NGOs. Italy is now an inhospitable land for the humanitarian ships left in the Mediterranean that could be pushed to abandon the activity as others have done in recent months. The German NGO with its Sea Watch 3, last Tuesday gave up taking on board 42 migrants rescued by the American military ship Trenton because the authorization to take them to Italy did not arrive from Rome. The ship has now left the rescue zone and is in Malta. “The question of shared responsibility cannot be resolved by closing ports and putting pressure on the EU to open its ports, explains Lunardi.
Anyone found in difficulty at sea must be rescued, whether they come from Africa or minister Salvini. For Riccardo Gatti, head of mission of the Spanish Proactiva Open Arms, “this criminalization, the attack on NGOs and the actions aimed at making us disappear have been growing: we were 12 now we are 4 left” and “even the judiciary attacked us. There is something orchestrated in all this and it is clear that they want to lead to the disappearance of NGOs "and this is" a scenario that scares us: it is not only the attack on us at sea, but also on the Italians, because we are lying and repressive actions are being implemented ”. For her part, the president of MSF Italy, Claudia Lodesani, stresses that "the ships of non-governmental organizations went to sea when the Mare Nostrum mission ended, with the Mediterranean having turned into a tomb for over 1.200 people in a week. We are there because there is no Europe ”. And the distinction between NGO and Coast Guard relief "is a false contrast", because "NGO ships always carry out rescue in coordination with the Coast Guard. And in fact on board the Aquarius there were 400 people previously rescued by the Italian Coast Guard.
Meanwhile Valencia is preparing to welcome the Migrants of the Aquarius with a large sign 'Welcome home ', which was hoisted in the port of the Spanish city. The message is written in several languages, including Catalan and Arabic. The Aquarius, along with the ships Dattilo and Orione who are escorting her, should arrive in Valencia between 6 and noon on Sunday. Since Spain made the port of Valencia available to welcome the Migrants of the Aquarius, following the refusal of Italy and Malta, the city authorities have received over 2 thousand calls and messages from people offering help.
Spain is the third country of access to the EU by sea for Migrants, after Italy and Greece. Since Friday about a thousand migrants have arrived in the south of the country aboard makeshift boats, including fragile rubber boats.