Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 world news
Wednesday 2 august 2017
Italy focuses on Libya mission to aid migrant crisis 3 defendants die

in escape attempt
By COLLEEN BARRY rescuing people from the stead of allowing them to tional standards, in line with at Moscow court
Associated Press Mediterranean failed when keep doing rescues. international law, then they By V. ISACHENKOV
MILAN (AP) — Italy is put- at least four, including Doc- Doctors Without Borders will have the assurance
ting its hopes for managing tors Without Borders, re- general director Gabriele that they can access Ital- Associated Press
the migrant crisis on a new, fused to sign on Monday. Eminente said her charity ian ports.” MOSCOW (AP) — In a
Libya-requested mission to desperate attempt to es-
support the North African cape, five defendants
nation’s coast guard de- charged with multiple
spite suffering a rebuke by murders wrested weapons
humanitarian groups. from their escorts Tuesday
Ministers were briefing par- at a Moscow courthouse,
liamentary committees sparking a shootout with
Tuesday on a Cabinet-ap- other guards in the build-
proved mission that would ing’s corridors. Three of
deploy Italy’s navy to assist the assailants were killed
the Libyan coast guard in and the two others were
patrolling its territorial wa- wounded and recaptured,
ters. A vote could come as officials said.
early as Wednesday. Russia’s Investigative Com-
Defense Minister Roberta mittee said the attempted
Pinotti told a joint meeting getaway began while the
of parliament’s defense five handcuffed men were
and foreign affairs com- being escorted by two
missions that Italian ships guards — one male, one
would respond to specific female — in an elevator
Libyan requests and that at the Moscow Regional
the deployment would not Court.
impinge on Libya’s sover- People hold banners and flags as they take part in demonstration titled, City Flotilla, at Sea Against The defendants attacked
eignty. Pinotti also denied Racism, to protest against the C Star, a ship that an anti-immigrant group has chartered to try and the escorts and disarmed
the claim from some hu- halt migrant arrivals to Europe from Africa and elsewhere, in Catania, Sicily Island. them, but one of the
(Orietta Scardino/ANSA via AP)
man rights groups that the guards managed to push
mission would constitute a Amnesty International was would continue to work in At least three groups ac- an alarm button.
naval blockade. the most recent group to the Mediterranean “but at cepted the Italian govern- The court’s spokeswoman,
Premier Paolo Gentiloni criticize the plan, saying the moment, I don’t under- ment’s rules: Save the Chil- Natalya Osipova, said the
says Italy’s assistance off that dispatching warships stand what the failure to dren, Malta’s MOAS and assailants took the two
the coast of Libya could to aid the Libyan coast sign means.” the Spanish group Proac- guards hostage but were
become a “turning point” guard was “a shameful at- The Italian government has tiva. The EU is encouraging quickly engaged by the
in his country’s effort to tempt to circumvent the said humanitarian groups more to sign up. courthouse’s security. She
manage the flow of mi- rescue of migrants and ref- who do not agree to the Italy drafted the code of said the other four defen-
grants across the Mediter- ugees.” Objections to the new rules could be refused conduct after prosecutors dants facing charges in the
ranean Sea. The U.N. mi- Italian demands include access to Italian ports. in Sicily alleged that some same criminal case were in
gration agency says 94,802 a provision that would But it seems unlikely that non-governmental organi- a separate room when the
migrants have reached permit armed police on Italy could deprive them of zations had been collud- incident happened.
Italy this year as of Sunday, the rescue ships. Several access to its ports. Under in- ing with the smugglers who Three of the defendants
a number on par with last non-governmental groups ternational law, vessels that send boatloads of migrants were killed and the other
year and which represents strenuously oppose hav- have rescued people must out daily from Libya, for two were wounded in the
85 percent of Europe’s new ing weapons on the ships not be subject to undue example by signaling their ensuing shootout with the
arrivals. The agency esti- at any time, saying guns delay, financial burden or presence in one area of court’s guards. Russian
mates that 2,221 people and humanitarian opera- other difficulties, accord- the sea. state television showed the
have drowned this year tions are incompatible.The ing to the U.N.’s refugee Groups including Save the footage of the blooded
while attempting to cross groups also oppose a pro- agency. Children and Doctors With- bodies spread in a court-
the main Mediterranean posed rule that would pre- In Brussels, European Com- out Borders denied the alle- house corridor.
route from Libya to Italy. vent them from transferring mission spokeswoman Na- gations, and said the claims A guard wounded in the
Italy’s bid to get 10 humani- rescued migrants to other tasha Bertaud said that undermined their humani- gunbattle was rushed to
tarian groups to agree to vessels, which would force if the groups “adhere to tarian work by creating a a hospital, and the two
new rules of conduct for their boats back to port in- some principles and opera- climate of mistrust.q guards assaulted in the el-
evator were also hospital-
ized with injuries, the com-
Nearly 500 on trial for Turkey’s failed coup mittee said.
One of them, her face
swollen and badly bruised,
By BURHAN OZBILICI coup crackdown that has Fethullah Gulen, whom the including the parliament. described the attack to
SUZAN FRASER imprisoned 50,000 people Turkish government blames The trial, which is expected NTV television from her hos-
Associated Press and seen another 110,000 for the deadly July 15, 2016 to last at least a month, is pital bed.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Tur- fired from their government coup. Gulen has denied one of dozens underway “They beat me with their
key put nearly 500 people jobs. Many of the suspects involvement. The other de- in Turkey in relation to the fists. And the weapons,
on trial Tuesday on charges Tuesday face life in prison fendants include generals coup attempt that result- they captured,” she said,
of leading last year’s failed for crimes including murder and fighter jet pilots at the ed in 249 deaths. Some 30 speaking with difficulty.
coup, parading dozens of and attempting to over- Akinci air base, on the out- coup-plotters were also Prosecutors are investigat-
the men into a courthouse throw the government. skirts of Ankara, the capital, killed. The government says ing to see if the proce-
as protesters threw stones The main defendant in the who are accused of direct- the coup-plotters used Ak- dure for escorting murder
and shouted “Murderers!” case is being tried in ab- ing the coup and bombing inci air base as their head- defendants was properly
The trial is part of a post- sentia, U.S.-based cleric key government buildings, quarters. q observed.q