Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 27 June 2018

Italy, others to take migrants but fate of NGO ship unclear

By COLLEEN BARRY ship will finally be seized"
Associated Press when it arrives in Malta,
MILAN (AP) — Italy and at adding, "For women and
least three other countries children truly fleeing war,
agreed Tuesday to accept the ports are open, for all
migrants from an aid ship the others, no."
that has been in a holding Salvini has likened the ships
pattern off Malta for five run by private aid groups
days, but the vessel's des- under non-Italian flags to
tination remained unclear taxi services that are serv-
during Europe's second ing migrant smugglers.
impasse this month over Italy hasn't taken the same
rescues in Libyan waters by position with other ships.
humanitarian groups. It allowed the Danish-
Italian Premier Giuseppe flagged container ship Al-
Conte said after a phone exander Maersk to dock
call with Malta's prime min- and disembark 108 mi-
ister that the boat operated grants in Sicily on Tuesday
by German aid group Mis- after days at sea.
sion Lifeline would disem- Malta's Muscat pressed
bark in the Mediterranean other EU nations to take on
island nation, where its le- a share of the migrants and
gal standing to conduct later announced that four
missions off Libya would be countries had agreed to
investigated. take in some of the passen-
"Italy will do its part to ac- gers and two more were
cept a quota of migrants considering doing so.
aboard the Lifeline, with Muscat said if the ship does
the hope that also other Migrants disembark from the Danish-flagged container ship Alexander Maersk at the Sicilian port go to Malta, an investiga-
European countries would of Pozzallo, southern Italy, early Tuesday, June 26, 2018. tion would seek to deter-
do the same, as some have Associated Press mine why the crew alleg-
previously indicated," Con- edly ignored instructions
te said in a statement. other countries were work- tradicting the Italian and According to Sky, it had on from the Italian authorities
However, Prime Minister Jo- ing out how to divide the French leaders and further board 224 migrants, includ- who initially coordinated
seph Muscat did not con- more than 200 rescued confusing the itinerary of ing eight children, and 10 the rescue.
firm the assertion by Conte passengers. the ship and its passengers. crew members. Authorities have also ques-
— and a similar account The Lifeline has been The impasse was similar to One passenger was evacu- tioned the legality of the
from French President Em- blocked in the Mediterra- another this month over ated on Monday due to a ship, which has a Dutch
manuel Macron — that the nean Sea since last week, the Aquarius, a rescue ship medical emergency, and flag but is run by a German
Lifeline could dock in Mal- when both Italy and Malta operated by French aid Lifeline said in a message group.
ta. Muscat said in a state- refused to grant it access groups. The ship carrying on Twitter that "conditions In his proposals for dealing
ment only that if his country to their ports. 630 migrants had its jour- are worsening by days for with migration, Conte has
allowed the boat in, the Indicating the confusion ney to land extended by the people on board." emphasized that migrants
activities of its crew would surrounding the boat's di- a week after Malta and Italy's new hard-line inte- arriving in Italy are arriving
be investigated. rection, Mission Lifeline Italy would not grant dock- rior minister, Matteo Salvini, in Europe, and responsibility
A Maltese government wrote on Twitter that it had ing rights. Spain ultimately has made clear he doesn't for them should be shared
source said a decision on received hardly any di- agreed to accept the pas- want rescue ships run by by all the member states.
whether to allow the ship rect messages — just news sengers, and the Aquarius non-governmental agen- "The obligation of rescue
to berth would depend on from Twitter — and that it traveled an additional cies to ferry migrants to Italy cannot become an obli-
whether other countries was awaiting word about 1,500-kilometers (900-miles) any more. Conte is pressing gation to process all the
accept some of the mi- which EU countries would to get there. is European peers to take requests on behalf of ev-
grants. The source was not welcome its passengers. Italy's Sky TG24, which visit- on more of the migrant bur- eryone," the proposal
authorized to speak on the Later Tuesday, the aid ed the Lifeline on Monday, den when they meet at a reads, asserting that only
record and requested ano- group said Malta had sent said it was about four times summit later this week. 7 percent of migrants ar-
nymity. a message refusing entry over passenger capacity In a tweet about the Life- riving in Europe qualify as
Macron said France and to its territorial waters, con- and running low on fuel. line, Salvini said the "illegal refugees.q