Italy: 69 migrants taken to Sicily after Malta refuses entry
May 12, 2009
The Italian authorities yesterday ordered the navy frigate Spica to head to Sicily after the Maltese government outrightly refused to accept a landing of 69 immigrants who were fished out of the sea some 65 miles off Lampedusa.
It was the latest in a series of Italian attempts to dump immigrants on Malta, although the closest safe port of call was in fact the tiny Italian territory which lies 90 miles or so to the West of Malta. Going at six knots, one could expect to make landfall after about 15 hours.
Speaking to this newspaper, a government official said that Malta would not budge from its stance in insisting that any immigrants picked up at sea should be ferried to the closest safe port, which in this case, was Lampedusa. The official said that the immigrants were rescued in the Maltese search and rescue area, but international obligations stipulate that they should still be taken to the closest safe port.
The Malta Independent
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