The ship, which had just saved 72 people, was forced to make a long journey when it was near Lampedusa, the port to which it ended up heading. A lack of respect that the authorities punished with a fine and a temporary arrest.
Now the NGO Sea Watch affirms that what Italy was asking for means disrespecting international norms. Had it not been for the arrest, the ship Aurora would have been saving lives in the Mediterranean.
“The Aurora is currently blocked by the Italian authorities. It will have to remain in the port of Lampedusa for 20 days. Otherwise, it would obviously be saving lives in the Mediterranean,” he told the TSF Giulia Messner, spokesperson for Sea Watch.
And it’s not like Monday did exactly that: They saved 72 people on a particularly difficult day.
“Italy forced us to wait at sea for 37 hours. Imagine the situation. It was unbearably hot, more than 46 degrees on deck and we stopped considering the situation as safe for these people. So we urgently requested a route to Lampedusa because it is al nearest port and, according to international law, all people rescued at sea must be sent to the nearest port or one that has suitable conditions,” the Sea Watch spokeswoman explained.
But despite the law, Rome gave other instructions. Aurora was to go to Sicily, a journey four times longer than Lampedusa.
“As the Aurora had already been in salvage operations for many hours, we had no way to go to Sicily. That is exactly what we communicated to the Italian authorities, who asked us to request a port in Tunisia, but this is completely against the right because Tunisia cannot be considered a safe haven and if we did, we would be pushing saved people back to a dangerous place and even to the place they were fleeing from,” he said.
Without following the instructions, they ended up going to the island of Lampedusa where the 72 people were welcomed. Giulia Messner accuses the Italian government of deliberately hindering rescues in the Mediterranean and gives examples.
“Since the beginning of the year, when the new law on rescue at sea came into force, the Italian authorities have asked humanitarian organizations to contravene international law in various ways. The decree, for example, says that the captain must go to a port immediately after a rescue, even if we know of or are informed of other requests for help, and of course international law says that if we hear of any more emergencies we have to go rescue them.So what is the Italian government doing illegal? and contributes every day to deaths in the Mediterranean,” added Giulia Messner.
Deaths that, only this year, according to non-governmental organizations, already exceed 2,300 deaths. The vast majority by drowning.
Source: TSF
