Italy, Malta in new migrant dispute
Italy and Malta were yesterday locked in a new migrant dispute, with Rome saying that a group of 629 migrants rescued over the past few days in six different operations should disembark in Malta. The migrants, who were picked up in Libyan waters, most of them by the Italian navy, were on board the Gibraltar-registered Aquarius – a research vessel that is currently being used as a migrant rescue ship.
They were picked up in an area that is closer to Tunis and Lampedusa than it is to Malta. The operation was coordinated by the Rome Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC).
According to reports around 400 of the migrants had been saved by the Italian navy before being transferred to the Aquarius, which is operated humanitarian group SOS Mediterranee. The group tweeted yesterday that 40 of the people on the Aquarius were crossing the sea in a dinghy that collapsed before they were rescued.
MSF – the NGO that picked up the migrants – says the group included 123 unaccompanied minors, 11 children seven pregnant women.
The Italian government said it would not allow the vessel to dock in any of its ports, adding that it would close its ports if Malta refused them entry. An aide for home affairs minister Matteo Salvini didn’t immediately respond for a request for details, only saying the news reports “aren’t being denied.”
In an official statement, the Maltese government said: “The rescue by NGO boat Aquarius was conducted in the Libyan Search and Rescue region and coordinated by Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) Rome. RCC Malta in this case is neither the competent, nor the coordinating authority.”
Vessel tracking data yesterday evening showed the Aquarius steaming toward Sicily at a speed of almost ten knots, even if it had not received any instructions as to which port it should head to.
This is the second migrant dispute between Italy and Malta in the space of three days.
On Friday, Salvini said Malta could not always say no to migrant rescues. He was speaking after the rescue of 180 migrants which were eventually disembarked in Calabria.
The Italian government said Malta had refused to take them in but Malta said it was not the closest safe port when the rescue took place.
Malta has hardly taken in any migrants over the past years, with many speculating about a secret agreement, supposedly brokered between Joseph Muscat and former Italian PM Matteo Renzi. The government had at one point admitted that such an agreement existed but backtracked a few hours later. It has denied the existence of such an agreement ever since.
Speaking on Sunday morning, Muscat insisted that Malta always followed international law, adding that the government wanted to clear up any misunderstandings with the newly formed government in Italy.
Muscat pointed to the good relationship his government held with the previous three separate administrations during his tenure while also stressing the importance of the shared interests of the two countries and Europe.
“Saving lives remains a priority and all European governments believe it should remain so,” Muscat said.
Muscat also stressed that the government will not tolerate any racism, saying “that you can put forward a sensible argument and be patriotic, but we will never accept anyone who fosters hatred and racism.”