Brussels, 28/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - Speaking at a conference organised by the European Council of Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) in Brussels on Tuesday 28 October, Admiral Filippo Maria Foffi from the Italian navy stated “Those that claim that the Mare Nostrum sea rescue operation has made it easier for illegal immigrants, do not know what is happening here and don't know what they're talking about”.
The Italian admiral explained that so far there has not been any orders from the Italian authorities to end the Mediterranean Sea migrant rescue operation. At the beginning of October in Luxembourg, the Italian Home Secretary, Angelino Alfano, explained that Mare Nostrum would end as soon as the Triton operation organised by the Frontex Agency began. This operation is supposed to begin on 1 November (EUROPE 11173) but with just a few days to go to this deadline, Admiral Foffi indicated that he had not received any orders to halt the operations.
Foffi addressed some of the criticism concerning Mare Nostrum and the taking into care of the rescued migrants by the Italian services. He said that there were “very solid” rules on screening (identification and migrant registration, Ed), “and after that, the reality”. Syrian refugees, for example, “arrive with an address in their pockets and have family elsewhere and it is very difficult to tell them ' you must stay here!'… it is very difficult to compel someone to remain on the territory in question and Mare Nostrum is not the Home Office”.
Christopher Hein, the director of the Italian Council of Refugees, said that the Dublin Regulation, the system that organises the process for asylum requests in European Union, is partly responsible for this situation. He pointed out that this had made it, “almost impossible for refugees to get into the EU legally”.
United Kingdom will not be taking part in 'Triton'
Admiral Foffi also indicated that thanks to the Mare Nostrum operation, up to 700 traffickers had been identified and that the police had intercepted 300 traffickers who had been interrogated and had helped to identify an additional 400 people. Over the course of the year, the sea rescue operation also helped to save more than 100,000 migrants who had been in danger. Nonetheless, this also cost the Italian government a lot of money, €9 million a month, which is one of the reasons why this operation is coming to an end.
With regard to Triton, Foffi said that he is “pleased” that several member states were taking part in the operation, although only Slovenia had helped Italy in the Mare Nostrum operation. In this connection, Foffi again indicated that he had not as yet received any official documentation about the Triton operation and that he was unable to say whether the Italian navy would be involved in it.
On Monday, the British government said that it would not be taking part in the Triton operation. According to a report by AFP, Joyce Anelay, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, said that they thought that these operations created an inadvertent “attractions factor” that encouraged more migrants to attempt the dangerous sea crossing and would subsequently lead to more tragic and needless deaths. She added that the position of the government was to concentrate on the “countries of origin and transit” and the struggle against traffickers. (SP)