Spain to welcome migrant rescue ship turned away by Italy

International Desk: A rescue ship that’s been stranded in the Mediterranean since Sunday with over 600 people on board will be allowed to dock in Valencia, Spanish authorities announced.

The government said in a statement that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had given instructions for Spain to “offer a safe port to the people on board” the vessel, and that Spain should honor its international commitments and help avoid a “humanitarian catastrophe.”

The rescue ship — whose 629 passengers include 11 children and seven pregnant women — was left stranded at sea after Italy’s new Interior Minister Matteo Salvini refused to allow the vessel access to an Italian port, prompting a number of Italian mayors to defy his anti-immigration stance by declaring their willingness to allow the vessel in.

Salvini called on the government of Malta to take in the ship, but the Maltese government refused the request, stating that international law required the passengers be unloaded in Italy.

Sánchez’s decision follows calls by EU and United Nations officials for governments to set political considerations aside and act quickly, as well as offers from within Spain to welcome the vessel.

A Council of Europe spokesperson tweeted that the Council “welcomed Spain’s decision to provide humanitarian support,” and said other European governments need to “show more solidarity.”

The decision was also lauded by Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, who said in a tweet that “this was a European issue,” and pledged that Malta would send supplies to the ship.

Source: Agencies
 

risingbd/Dhaka/June 17, 2018/A K Azad