Italy turns rescued migrants back

[Vulpix]

Italy turns rescued migrants back


The Italian navy has transferred more than 200 migrants picked up in waters off the island of Malta to Tripoli under a new agreement with Libya.

The migrants were rescued after they issued a distress call on Wednesday.
Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said the Libyan government's move could mark a "turning point" in the fight against illegal immigration.
He said it could also help resolve an ongoing dispute between Italy and Malta over responsibility for the migrants.
Last month, there was a diplomatic standoff between the two after the authorities in Valletta refused to accept 140 migrants heading for Italy, even though they were picked up by a Turkish ship inside Malta's search and rescue area.
Malta had insisted that the vessel take the migrants to the island of Lampedusa, where Italy has a detention centre for asylum seekers and illegal migrants, because it was the nearest port of call.
Rome eventually took in the migrants on humanitarian grounds.
Nearly 37,000 migrants landed on the shores of Italy last year, an increase of around 75% over the year before.

'Historic day'

The 227 illegal migrants were rescued by an Italian tanker on Wednesday after being spotted on three separate boats.
Italian customs official Francesco Maugeri said they were sent back to Tripoli on Thursday aboard two coast guard boats and a border police boat.
"Some of the migrants were suffering symptoms probably caused by exhaustion and cold" but none had serious health problems, he told the Associated Press.
Speaking on Italian television afterwards, Mr Maroni said he had contacted the Libyan government and arranged the immediate return of the migrants.
He said an accord already existed with Libya covering the return of illegal immigrants but that it had never been successfully put into effect.
The interior minster, a member of the anti-immigration Northern League party, praised Libya's acceptance as a possible "turning point", calling it "a historic day".
He said the deal, if implemented in the future, would be a "breakthrough" that could put an end to rows between Italy and Malta over rescue operations.
Mr Maroni said long-promised joint coastal patrols off Libya by Italian and Libyan boats would start on 15 May.
A spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was "very concerned" by Thursday's development.
"The migrants were unable to make any demands for political asylum because they weren't even received," Laura Boldrini said.

[Brynhild]

Both Italy and Malta could come up with a rather simple solution - they both turn the migrants away!

[anonymaus]

I love the flowery language. "Landed on the shores", lol. It's just trite journalists trying to sound like they're decent writers, but gives the impression of these "migrants" as genuinely unfortunate and honest folks who had a problem with their boat: even with the word "illegal" stuffed in there.

Their lives were saved and they can go home. Were any legitimate political refugees in the mix? People who can be sent elsewhere in the civilized world? Who knows, because the BBC sucks AND blows.

[Tabiti]

They just gave them a second chance for migration again, probably to different destination...

[Treffie]

A spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was "very concerned" by Thursday's development.
"The migrants were unable to make any demands for political asylum because they weren't even received," Laura Boldrini said.

Typical! It's pretty obvious to me that they're not political refugees, just economic ones.

I think this is a step in the right direction, however, I wonder what the EU has to say about this?

[Atlas]

Excellent news ! They should have done that for years. I really don't see why our Italians friends should pay for them, feed them etc. They don't belong in Europe, also the colonel Kadhafi, president of Lybia once told Europeans that "Muslims were about to outnumber us"... He can keep his bugger in his own cesspool of a "country", we don't need them here.

Hopefully spaniards will do the same from the Canary island to Africa.