The Spanish NGO Open Arms, whose ship has been stuck for more than two weeks off the Italian island of Lampedusa with about 100 migrants on board, on Sunday rejected the Spanish government's proposal to land in Algeciras, to the south. from Spain.
According to a spokesman for the humanitarian organization, the emergency situation aboard the Open Arms does not allow to undertake this long crossing of the Mediterranean.
"We can not agree to go to a Spanish port because we are in a state of extreme humanitarian emergency, what [rescued migrants] need is to be landed now." It is unthinkable to sail six days, the time it would take us to get to Algeciras, "she explained. "We would endanger the integrity and safety of rescued passengers and the crew."
Degradation of living conditions
Despite a European agreement to distribute the 134 people rescued by the ship off Libya, the Italian Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini still forbids him access to the port of Lampedusa.
At the request of the President of the Council, Giuseppe Conte, the leader of the League, far-right party, however, authorized Saturday the landing of 27 minors isolated by the Italian Coast Guard.
However, there are still 107 passengers on board, and their safety can no longer be guaranteed, the Spanish NGO that chartered the ship said on Saturday, warning that living conditions had deteriorated considerably on board and that brawls were frequently Exceeded passengers.
"Despair has limits"
The founder of Proactiva Open Arms, Oscar Camps, tweeted Sunday afternoon a video on which we see four migrants trying to swim to the shore of Lampedusa after jumping from the boat. They are joined by rescuers who arrest them.
"We have been warning for days that despair has limits," he writes. "What does Matteo Salvini need for his campaign? Dead?"
17 days in #OpeArms llevamos días avisando. The administrative court adminitrativo Italiano, urgent desembarco and asistencia. @ JunckerEU @ EP_President # AngelaMerkel @ sanchezcastejon
@EmmnuelMacron
¿What's next? M n eces para para para Mu Mu Mu Mu Mu Mu Mu Mu Mu Mu Mu Mu Muertos? pic.twitter.com/sFbQw9ahbq
Spain and five other member states of the European Union (France, Germany, Romania, Portugal and Luxembourg) have agreed this week to divide people rescued by the Open Arms. This distribution agreement remains valid, the Spanish government said. On Sunday, the French Ministry of the Interior announced that France was ready to welcome 40 migrants on board.
"Spain is still acting in case of humanitarian emergencies", said the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, who at the same time stresses the need for a European solution to the challenge posed by migration in the country. respect for "European values of progress and humanism".
He also criticizes the "inconceivable response of the Italian authorities", in particular the Minister of the Interior.
Salvini accuses the NGO of lying
Matteo Salvini, who is also maneuvering for early parliamentary elections, reaffirmed Saturday that the Open Arms could have reached the Spanish coast after rescuing the migrants, and that the NGO was fully responsible for the distress of the passengers of the humanitarian ship. .
On Sunday, he said the Spanish government's proposal was a victory for his radical approach to the migration issue. "Those who hold on are the ones who win," he wrote.
He also accused the NGO of lying about the migrants' state of health, adding that a medical inspection conducted on Saturday by the Italian authorities on the Open Arms did not lead to a health emergency.
"They tell us to land the sick, and it turns out they are not sick, they tell us to land the miners and it turns out that many of them are not minors ( ...) They are alleged minors and suspected refugees fleeing alleged wars, "he said in a video posted on Facebook.
With Reuters