Migrants, Piantedosi insists on the hard line: “Only those who are fragile disembark. The rest go out of Italian waters “

“The inter-ministerial decree we signed with colleagues from Defense Crosetto and Salvini Transport clarifies the government’s position on cases such as those of the NGOs in question: Italy takes care of people who are in conditions of health vulnerability on board ships , even beyond the legal obligations “. No one else is allowed to disembark. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi thus explained the executive’s position on welcoming migrants on board NGO ships off the coast of Sicily. He did so during the press conference on the sidelines of the Provincial Committee for Order and Security which was held in Milan in the presence of the city Prefect, Renato Saccone, of the Chief of Police, Giuseppe Petronzi, and of the Mayor Beppe Sala. «As for the rest of the cargo – continued the minister – the ships will have to continue outside Italian territorial waters. The flag countries of the respective ships have to deal with it. ” The same countries that had already made it known that they did not agree with the solution proposed by Rome.

Currently, in fact, four NGO boats are located in front of the eastern coasts of Sicily, with 1,075 people on board rescued in the Mediterranean, waiting for a port to land. These are the German Humanity 1, with 179 people on board, and Rise Above, with 90 people on board and the Norwegian Ocean Viking, with 234 migrants on board, and the Geo Barents, with 572 people, both just 12 miles from the coast. from Catania. Three of these entered Italian territorial waters with the green light from Rome, while the Ocean Viking is still out after the head of the Interior Ministry threatened an entry ban on 25 October. As anticipated by Minister Piantedosi, only two migrants of the Rise Above were rescued by medical personnel and transferred to the hospital in Syracuse. Last night the ships moved closer to the coast to protect themselves from a violent storm that hit the area, then returned to the waiting position.

The minister also touched on the topic of “management of the squares”, starting with the events scheduled in Milan and Rome for the weekend: «The strategy is always the same, to guarantee public order. We always hope that those who manifest will do so to freely express their thoughts. On the other hand, when delicate situations arise, the best solution is established to restore public order ».

The minister then focused on the Milanese situation: “I wanted to make the first outing in Milan because I recognize the importance of the city and its tradition of concreteness and institutional collaboration”. As for the requests by Mayor Sala to have more men from the police forces, “the aspiration is that there can be more personnel but I don’t like to give figures that cannot be concretized. The 500 more men that Sala asks will be a numerical reference point for what our evaluations will be ». In fact, Beppe Sala asked the Minister of the Interior “first of all a strengthening of the staff. The Municipality of Milan will hire 500 new brigades. At the moment the previous minister’s promise was to get 250 to arrive ». For the Lombard capital, the issue of evictions was also brought to the table: “I must say that with the guidance of the Prefect we have worked a lot on freeing up illegally occupied properties, however, very often, when there are minors or fragile situations, it is necessary to find spaces where place them. – commented Sala – It is certainly a path that must be continued. I believe that a reflection on the spaces available must be made ».