After 17 days of tug-of-war and without the consent of Italy, the German refugee rescue ship „Sea-Watch 3“ moored at night on Saturday in the port of the Italian Mediterranean island of Lampedusa.
The German captain Carola Rackete led the ship into the harbor of the island and was arrested. You now face ten to 15 years in prison.
The prosecution of Sicily has launched an investigation into Rackete on suspicion of assisting traffickers. A Sea Watch spokesman dismissed the allegations and said Rackete had strictly adhered to international law.
She is also accused of resisting a warship that tried to prevent her from docking. The 40 refugees were taken to a detention center on the island.
Sea-Watch tweeted on Saturday, they declared a state of emergency nearly 60 hours ago. „Nobody listened to us. Nobody took responsibility. „Sea Watch CEO Johannes Bayer praised Rackete:“ We are proud of our captain, she acted just right. It has insisted on the Law of the Sea and brought the people to safety, „he shared via Twitter.
Salvini sees „mission accomplished“
The dispute over the reception of refugees also developed into a direct dispute between Rackete and the right interior minister Matteo Salvini. „The outlaw arrested. Pirate ship confiscated, „tweeted Salvini, who is also deputy chief of government. „Big punishment for foreign non-governmental organization. Refugees all distributed to other European countries. Mission accomplished, „says Salvini“.
„Either Europe wakes up or we wake up“
Luigi di Maio of the populist five-star movement, also Italian vice prime minister, wrote on Facebook that once he made fun of his country in Europe. But Italy no longer wants to be left alone in dealing with the refugee problem. „Now things have to change: Either Europe wakes up or we wake up.“
Salvini told RAI that five countries had agreed to accept the refugees. Which states it was, he left open. But the host countries are well known – they are France, Germany, Luxembourg, Finland and Portugal.
Avramopoulos: Italy will not let you down
French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said his country will host ten of the refugees. At the same time he rejected Italian accusations. It was wrong to say that the EU did not show solidarity with Italy on the issue of dealing with incoming migrants.
Equally, EU Commissioner for Refugees Dimitris Avramopoulos denied that Brussels had failed Italy in dealing with the migration problem. „Unfortunately, some EU member states think that what happens on the Italian coast is not their problem. This is wrong, because the Italian border is the common EU external border, „said Avramopoulos in an interview with the Roman daily La Repubblica (Saturday edition). He also thanked the host countries.
Vatican: „saving lives at all costs“
The Vatican is also watching the developments: „Human life must be saved at all costs. This is Polarstern, which guides us, the rest is secondary, „said Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.
Five opposition parliamentarians who were on board when Rackete headed for Lampedusa Harbor despite a ban on the Italian authorities, agreed to testify in court for the captain. „We were on board the ship in the last two days before landing and are ready to testify in court,“ said the parliamentarian of the party „+ Europe“, Riccardo Magi.
Campaign for release
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka that he did not want to replace the judiciary, which was responsible for applying the law. „But the laws exist, whether we like it or not.“ Meanwhile, left-wing parties, unions and Catholic associations in Italy launched a campaign to release the captain. „Free Carola“ is the slogan of the campaign, which is widely run on social networks.
Two weeks ago, the Italian government adopted a controversial security decree requiring captains, owners and operators of refugee ships up to € 50,000, prosecution for illegal immigration aid and confiscation of ships, if they were to enter the United States Italian territorial waters are not authorized.
Another two rescue ships in the Mediterranean on the way
Meanwhile, the ships of two NGOs, a German and a Spanish aid organization, are traveling in the Mediterranean towards Libya. These are the „Open Arms“ of the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms and the „Alan Kurdi“ of the German aid organization Sea Eye, Salvini said on Saturday on Facebook.
The Minister of the Interior also threatened these NGOs with a heavy fine, the confiscation of ships and the arrest of the crew, should they illegally reach Italian waters. „The strict line of the Italian government helps to awaken the EU. We want to prevent migrants descents, dramas and deaths in the Mediterranean, „said Salvini.
