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Spain to allow migrant rescue ship rejected by Italy to dock in Valencia Migrant rescue ship rejected by Italy invited to dock in Spain
(35 minutes later)
Spain’s new prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said on Monday that his country would welcome the migrants on board the rescue vessel MS Aquarius and that he had given permission for the ship to dock in Valencia. Spain’s new prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has given permission for the migrant rescue vessel MS Aquarius, which was turned away by Italy, to dock in Valencia and said his country will welcome those on board.
A statement released on Monday afternoon said: “The prime minister has given instructions so that Spain can fulfil its international humanitarian crisis commitments and has announced that the Aquarius will be welcomed into a Spanish port ... It is our duty to help avoid a humanitarian catastrophe and offer a ‘safe harbour’ to these people in accordance with international law.” A statement from his office said: “The prime minister has given instructions so that Spain can fulfil its international humanitarian crisis commitments and has announced that the Aquarius will be welcomed into a Spanish port.
Earlier, the UN’s refugee agency called for authorities to allow the 629 migrants, including more than 100 children, stranded off Malta and Italy on board the ship to disembark urgently. “It is our duty to help avoid a humanitarian catastrophe and offer a safe harbour to these people in accordance with international law.”
Aquarius was drifting in international waters on Monday after Italy’s new interior minister stopped it docking in an Italian port. Earlier the UN’s refugee agency had called for the 629 migrants on board, including more than 100 children, to be allowed to disembark urgently.
“People are in distress, are running out of provisions and need help quickly. Broader issues such as who has responsibility and how these responsibilities can best be shared between states should be looked at later,” Vincent Cochetel, the UNHCR’s special envoy for the central Mediterranean, said in a statement issued in Geneva. “People are in distress, are running out of provisions and need help quickly. Broader issues such as who has responsibility and how these responsibilities can best be shared between states should be looked at later,” said Vincent Cochetel, the UNHCR’s special envoy for the central Mediterranean.
Mayors across the south of Italy had pledged to defy a move by the new Italian government – an alliance of the far right and populists – to prevent the boat from docking in the Sicilian capital, Palermo. The European commission, anxious to avoid feeding the new Italian government’s anti-EU narrative, took a softer line, calling on Italy and Malta to consider the humanitarian needs of those on board but insisting the matter was outside its control.
But the mayors’ defiance appeared unlikely to serve any practical purpose without the direct support of the Italian coastguard. On Sunday Italy’s new interior minister, Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League, said all Italian ports were closed to Aquarius. “Malta takes in nobody. France pushes people back at the border, Spain defends its frontier with weapons. From today, Italy will also start to say no to human trafficking, no to the business of illegal immigration,” he wrote on Facebook.
In the first evidence of the government’s hardline approach, the interior minister, Matteo Salvini, said on Sunday that all Italian ports were closed to Aquarius. He said the route took the boat past Malta, and the boat should dock in the capital, Valletta. But Malta rejected a request to take in the boat, saying international law required that the migrants should be taken to Italian ports.
The Maltese government rejected a request to take the boat, saying international law required that the migrants should be taken to Italian ports. Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, thanked Spain on Twitter for taking in the Aquarius “after Italy broke international rules and caused a standoff”. He said his country would be “sending fresh supplies to the vessel. We will have to sit down and discuss how to prevent this from happening again. This is a European issue.”
Salvini, the leader of the League, a far-right party, wrote on Facebook: “Malta takes in nobody. France pushes people back at the border, Spain defends its frontier with weapons. From today, Italy will also start to say no to human trafficking, no to the business of illegal immigration.” Mayors across the south of Italy had pledged to defy Salvini’s move. Leoluca Orlando, the mayor of Palermo, said he was ready to open the city’s seaport to the ship.
Leoluca Orlando, the mayor of Palermo, said he was ready to open the city’s seaport to allow the rescued migrants to safely disembark.
“Palermo in ancient Greek meant ‘complete port’. We have always welcomed rescue boats and vessels who saved lives at sea. We will not stop now,” Orlando said. “Salvini is violating the international law. He has once again shown that we are under an extreme far-right government.’’“Palermo in ancient Greek meant ‘complete port’. We have always welcomed rescue boats and vessels who saved lives at sea. We will not stop now,” Orlando said. “Salvini is violating the international law. He has once again shown that we are under an extreme far-right government.’’
Other mayors in Italy’s south, including those in Naples, Messina and Reggio Calabria, also said they were ready to disobey Salvini’s order and allow Aquarius to dock in their seaports.Other mayors in Italy’s south, including those in Naples, Messina and Reggio Calabria, also said they were ready to disobey Salvini’s order and allow Aquarius to dock in their seaports.
A representative of Médecins Sans Frontières, which has staff on the boat, said the mayors’ remarks were “nice but not practical” because it was standard practice to wait for the Italian coastguard, which is under the control of the Italian government, to allow a ship to dock. But a representative of Médecins Sans Frontières, which has staff on the boat, said the mayors’ remarks were “nice but not practical” because it was standard practice to wait for the Italian coastguard, which is under the control of the Italian government, to allow a ship to dock.
More than 600,000 people have reached Italy by boat from Africa in the past five years, and it is estimated as many as 500,000 are still in the country. Salvini’s League, formerly the Northern League, campaigned on an anti-immigration platform even though the previous government had overseen a big drop in the numbers coming from Libya over the past 12 months. More than 600,000 people have reached Italy by boat from Africa in the past five years, and it is estimated as many as 500,000 are still in the country. Salvini’s League, formerly the Northern League, campaigned in the last election on an anti-immigration platform, even though the previous government had overseen a big drop in the numbers coming from Libya over the past 12 months.
Salvini wrote: “My aim is to guarantee a peaceful life for these youths in Africa and for our children in Italy,” adding the slogan: “We will shut the ports.” The humanitarian group SOS Méditerranée, which operates the Aquarius, said the migrants on board, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, were picked up in six different rescue operations off the coast of Libya and included hundreds plucked from the sea by Italian naval units.
The humanitarian group SOS Méditerranée, which operates the boat, said on Twitter on Sunday that Aquarius had taken in 629 migrants, including 123 unaccompanied minors, 11 other children and seven pregnant women. Migration
The charity said the migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, were picked up in six different rescue operations off the coast of Libya and included hundreds who were plucked from the sea by Italian naval units and then transferred to Aquarius.
“The boat is now heading north towards a secure port,” SOS Méditerranée tweeted, without specifying its destination.
Salvini said the route took the boat past Malta, and the boat should dock in the capital, Valletta.
In a brief statement, Malta said the rescue operations took place in international waters off Libya that were part of a search and rescue area overseen by the rescue coordination centre in Rome.
“Malta is neither the competent nor the coordinating authority in this case. Malta will observe prevailing laws,” its government said in a brief statement.
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