Italy’s new far-right government on Sunday allowed minors and other migrants with medical conditions to disembark from the SOS Humanity ship, but refused to let 35 adult men disembark, the NGO said.
Three minor girls and a baby were the first to disembark from Humanity 1 at dawn, followed by underage boys and adult men with medical conditions, SOS Humanity press officer Petra Krischok told AFP.
“Thirty-five adult males are still on board. For now, we stay here and wait”. “Survivors are extremely depressed. A person just snapped,” she added.
Three other boats claim to be able to dock
A total of 144 people disembarked from Humanity 1, a ship under the German flag, at the port of Catania.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said on Saturday that the government would not back down from its humanitarian obligations but that those who are not “qualified” should be taken care of by the ship’s flag state.
Three other boats, which are carrying a total of 900 migrants, have asked to be allowed to dock: the Rise Above, from the NGO Mission Lifetime, also under the German flag, as well as the Ocean Viking from SOS Méditerranée and the Geo Barents from Médecins sans Frontières. , registered them in Norway.
A “selection” of migrants denounces the opposition
Italy’s new far-right government, which was sworn in last month, has pledged to crack down on migrants by boat heading from North Africa to Europe.
Opposition MP Aboubakar Soumahoro, who was present during the landing, criticized the “selection of shipwrecked migrants”, which he said violates international law.
For him, the government treats “the castaways, already exhausted by the cold, fatigue, trauma and torture as objects”.
Norway “assumes no responsibility”
“If the remaining castaways are rejected, we will challenge this decision in all appropriate forums,” he said on Twitter.
Norway’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it took “no responsibility” for people rescued by Norwegian-flagged private vessels in the Mediterranean.
Germany insisted, in a diplomatic “note” addressed to Italy, on the fact that the charities “made an important contribution to the saving of human lives” and asked Rome “to help them as soon as possible”.