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Malta stand-off on Salamis finds likely backing from Italian northern league
The government’s inflexible stance in refusing entry to tanker carrying rescued migrants was endorsed by Italy’s right-wing Lega Nord.
7 August 2013, 12:00am
Jurgen Balzan
Jurgen Balzan
3 min read
Some say no... right-wing Lega Nord's 'La Padania' toasts Malta's stance on the Salamis stand-off.
The Maltese government's tenacious stance to refuse entry to a tanker carrying 102 migrants rescued at sea in the Libyan search and rescue region, received the backing of the Italian right-wing party Northern League (Lega Nord).
Today, the xenophobic and separatist party's newspaper La Padania carried a headline on its front page which read: "C'e' chi dice no" (Some say no).
The Northern League's mouthpiece read: "Malta refuses to allow entry to a ship carrying 102 illegal migrants and ignores Brussels's orders which condemns the pushback. Northern League: example to follow, with the approval of the armchair Third-Worldists who support organised crime."
Recently, the Northern League was involved in a political storm after one of its leaders described the first Italian black government minister Cécile Kyenge as having "the features of an orang-utan". Kyenge, an eye surgeon born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has Italian citizenship
Last month, Roberto Calderoli, a former minister under Silvio Berlusconi and senate vice-president of the Northern League, told a rally in the northern town of Treviglio that Kyenge would be better off working as a minister "in her country".
"I love animals - bears and wolves, as is known - but when I see the pictures of Kyenge I cannot but think of the features of an orangutan, even if I'm not saying she is one," Calderoli said.
Other Italian newspapers gave extensive coverage to the three-day stand-off between Malta and the ship, which ended with the tanker carrying 102 rescued migrants being allowed to enter Italy.
Daily newspaper La Repubblica carried the headline "Italy to take 102 migrants abandoned at sea by Malta."
Under the headline "Malta Marea" left-wing newspaper Il Manifesto said: "Over one hundred migrants, including women and children, were blocked for three days at 25 miles from the Maltese coast maltese. Valletta denies their disembarkation."
It added that the Italian Refugee Council issued a statement in which it said that the migrants' rights were being trampled on by Malta.
While also calling on the European Union to show more solidarity with Malta, the Italian Refugee Council said: "What is happening in Malta is very serious, and once again, Malta is not granting people in need the possibility to disembark."
It added that international law was very clear in stating that anyone rescued on the high seas must be brought into the first safe port and be assisted.
"It is obvious that in this case, the responsibility falls on Malta, as a first safe port," the Italian Refugee Council said adding that if the migrants were sent back to Libya it would have been in violation of the international obligations and the rights of these people.
"As stated in the convention for search and rescue at sea, the first safe port cannot be considered only on the basis of its geographical location, people can never be sent back to territories where their lives and freedom can be put at risk. In Libya there are no assurances of any kind that the rights of these people would have been safeguarded."
The thre-day saga was widely reported on a number of newspapers and news portals in Italy and beyond, including the BBC webpage which carried the headline: "Italy agrees to take migrants rejected by Malta."
Jurgen Balzan was a MaltaToday reported from 2011 to 2017.
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Dear Cecilia Malmstrom, Malta has no problem is saving all the immigrants crossing cruel sea. But it has a problem keeping them by force here because it is near to impossible. This is where you and your Nordic compatriots have failed. You are just patching up the humanitarian problem; you look at it as a political problem; planning Dublin 2 as an exit clause to escape responsibility and dump these on tiny village state such as Malta. In this, you have failed miserably and therefore you should resign and give way to a serious commissioner who sees this humanitarian problem holistically: not politically!
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Sur Antoine Vella. For your information all the Maltese people including what's left of your party supported the Maltese Government in its stand . Being a Nationalist you were supposed to support the Government as well. But there goes your hypocrisy. You are jubilant that only the Lega Nord supported the Government. What do we care !! All we care about is that Malta was not treaded on.
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Sur Antoine Vella. For your information all the Maltese people including what's left of your party supported the Maltese Government in its stand . Being a Nationalist you were supposed to support the Government as well. But there goes your hypocrisy. You are jubilant that only the Lega Nord supported the Government. What do we care !! All we care about is that Malta was not treaded on.
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Hilarious BBC a case where the pot is calling the kettle black !! At least in Malta we do not have spot checks and vans roaming round the country saying " In Malta illegally ? TEXT HOME !" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D3EJ9mCZq4
Hilarious Italy we have never seen a stampede of police hitting irregular immigrants with Manganelli ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5L5MWuyixo
Micheal Bonanno •
C'e' chi dice no" (Some say no). What poor translation or is it to mislead. Translated, this should read "There is someone who says "NO".
Micheal Bonanno •
C'e' chi dice no" (Some say no). What poor translation or is it to mislead. Translated, this should read "There is someone who says "NO".
David Bongailas •
@antoine vella.......you forgot to mention support from the Nationalist Party in Malta dear.......yes that's right the one you sooooo blindly support!!
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Lovely. So Yana Mintoff has the nerve to speak of "socialism" but the only people to support Malta's stand are the neo-fascists of Lega Nord.
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Are the Italians so naive that they forgot that Libya was one of their North African colonies?
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Likely ? I would rather say "unlikely" or have I been missing out on something.
The Maltese government may well have acted within the limits of international law but has certainly lost the moral high ground and that is not something to be dismissed lightly. Sooner or later, there will be repercussions to our government's intransigence.
J. Ellis.
J. Ellis.
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Skuzi ta imma narah insult lill- qarrejja tieghek li tipprova thallat il-hass mall-gas; il-gas f'dan il-kaz huwa l-Lega Nord!
Il-Lega Nord razzisti, ahna qed niddefendu il-vulnerabilta ta gzira over populated taghna. Malta mhix pajjiz normali imma villag pajjiz micro. Qabel ma wiehed jaccetta dan il-fatt, kull logika u diskussjoni fuq l-emigrazzjoni hi bla sens.
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(the BBC webpage which carried the headline: "Italy agrees to take migrants rejected by Malta.")
These illegal migrants were rejected according to law as clearly stated by the Government of Malta. I think that BBC journalists are aware that it is hard enough to enter the UK with a passport, let alone without one. The policy of any civilised country should be, No passport - No entry. Give them all the help neccessary whilst at sea, but make it clear that you are not going to set foot on land.
