The ship of the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms was able to land a handful of migrants, but remained anchored on Friday 16 August, a few hundred meters from the port of the Italian island of Lampedusa. The ship's commander, who is waiting for the implementation of a European allocation agreement to dock, described an "explosive" situation on board on Friday.
After the evacuation, on Lampedusa, of about ten people for medical care in the night from Thursday to Friday, there are now 134 migrants aboard the ship, where they have been for two weeks.
Día 16.
El mundo es testigo of the pesadilla that ha tocado vivir has the 134 personas that soportan espera in cubierta #OpenArms
Solo la falta de voluntad de los despachos that toman decides the aparta of a puerto seguro. # PuertoSeguroYa pic.twitter.com/ICnnZBWzXe
"They want to jump into the water"
"Everyone is psychologically broken, this situation has become unsustainable," Marc Reig, the boat's commander, told TVE TVE. "With every passing second, the bomb is coming in. Or someone cuts the red wire and turns off the bomb now, or the Open Arms will explode."
"We are close to the mainland and people could swim there," he added, while warning: "They want to jump into the water."
In a tweet, the NGO also raised threats of suicide and demanded a general landing for "humanitarian emergency".
The situation on board is insosensible.
Amenazas of suicido. Conatos de violencia. Todas las personas están física y psicológicamente rotas. Al límite.
Necesitan ser evacuadas de forma inmediata. #PuertoSeguroYA pic.twitter.com/j47kXyXNy3
"I will not give in"
"I will not give in," Interior Minister Matteo Salvini warned Friday night in a statement that the Spanish NGO was "making fun of the world for the umpteenth time". Commenting on the state of health of thirteen migrants evacuated from the boat, he felt that they were all well except a person suffering from a small "otitis".
According to him, the ship "Open Arms" has made pirouettes in the Mediterranean for days with the sole purpose of collecting as many people as possible to bring them always and only in Italy.
"All this time, he would have already made three trips to a Spanish port! These NGOs, in the end, only deliver political battles, on the backs of migrants and against our country," he said.
Investigation for sequestration of persons
An investigation against X has been opened by the prosecutor's office of Agrigento in Sicily for kidnapping of people, following in particular two petitions presented by the lawyers of the Spanish NGO, reports the Italian agency Agi.
Six European Union countries said they were ready on Thursday to welcome some of the migrants from the Open Arms.
"The Commission has had intensive contacts over the past week and we are very grateful for the cooperation of France, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania and Spain", commented on Friday. Commission statement, Vanessa Rock, stressing that "all of Europe" had to find solutions to be able to land the rescued migrants "quickly".
The founder of the Proactiva Open Arms NGO, Oscar Camps, present on the ship, called on Saturday the president of the government, Pedro Sànchez, via Twitter. "Mr. Sanchez, sorry to disturb you during your vacation, but we are Spanish citizens, victims of kidnappings and not Somali pirates," he wrote in a message accompanying a video.
Sr @sanchezcastejon
Perdone that the mole in addition vacaciones, pero somos ciudadanos españoles, víctimas of a secuestro, y no of somalíes piratas. @ EFEnoticias @AP @Reuters @CNN pic.twitter.com/3IA83OYAHF
"Closed ports"
For its part, the Ministry of Matteo Salvini has taken steps to challenge again the decision of an Italian administrative court to open the Italian territorial waters to the Spanish ship.
No proposals have yet fallen for the 356 migrants rescued by the Ocean Viking, the SOS Mediterranean and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) ship sailing between Malta and Lampedusa.
Thursday, the head of the Italian government, Giuseppe Conte, had strongly criticized the "obsessive concentration" of Matteo Salvini on the theme of immigration "reduced to the formula 'closed ports'".
"My obsession is to fight all types of crime, including illegal immigration," said the Minister of the Interior. "With me the ports are and will remain closed to traffickers and their foreign accomplices," he insisted, adding: "It is clear that without this firmness, the EU would never have lifted a finger, leaving the Italy and the Italians alone. "
With AFP