Italy's new populist government will refuse to let a humanitarian boat carrying more than 600 refugees and migrants dock at any of its ports and has asked the tiny Mediterranean country of Malta to open its doors to the vessel, according to media reports.
Malta said it had nothing to do with the rescue operation, opening the prospect of a diplomatic standoff between the two European Union allies.
"From now also Italy begins to say NO to the traffic of human beings, NO to the business of illegal immigration," Matteo Salvini, Italian interior minister and head of the far-right League party, wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
"My goal is to guarantee a peaceful life for these children in Africa and for our children in Italy," added Salvini, who is also a deputy prime minister after campaigning on a staunchly anti-immigrant platform, vowing to "put Italians first" and send hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants "home".
More than 600,000 people have reached Italy by boat from Africa in the past five years. Numbers have dropped dramatically in recent months, but there has been a rise in rescues in recent days, presenting Salvini with his first test as minister.
Earlier on Sunday, the charity SOS Mediterranee on Twitter that its rescue ship, The Aquarius, had taken on board 629 refugees and migrants, including 123 unaccompanied minors, 11 other children and seven pregnant women.
The charity said the group of mainly sub-Saharan Africans were picked up in six different rescue operations off the coast of Libya and included hundreds who were plucked from the sea by Italian naval units and then transferred to The Aquarius.
"The boat is now heading north towards a secure port," SOS Mediterranee tweeted on Sunday without specifying its destination, though virtually every such boat over the past five years has ended up in Italy.
'Letter sent to Malta'
Its route north will take it past Malta, and an official said that Salvini had written to the government of the small island state asking it to let The Aquarius dock there.
The official, who asked not to be identified, said that Italy would not open its ports to the NGO's vessel, according to the Reuters news agency.
Italian media also reported the same letter.
According to the daily Corriere Della Sera, the letter describes Malta's capital, Valletta, as the "most secure port" and the boat should thus dock there. La Repubblica also published a story about the letter.
There was no comment from the Italian Ministry of the Interior or the local coastguard.
Malta said the rescue operations happened in international waters off Libya and were coordinated by Italy.
"Malta is neither the competent nor the coordinating authority in this case. Malta will observe prevailing laws," its government said in a brief statement.
Salvini, 45, has continued with his anti-refugee rhetoric since taking control of the interior ministry, asking on Friday for NATO to defend Italy, which he says is "under attack from the south".
His stance on immigration has been enshrined in the 57-page contract the League agreed to with government coalition partner Five Star Movement. Headed by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, the government was inaugurated last week.
The immigration section of the policy document calls for the deportation of Italy's estimated 500,000 undocumented immigrants "as a priority", building more detention centres and a review of the European Union's Dublin Regulation, which stipulates that migrants and refugees apply for asylum in the first EU country they reach.
Salvini's comments on Sunday came after another spat with Malta following its reported refusal to come to the aid of another rescue ship, Seefuchs, which was stranded with 126 refugees on board due to violent seas until it was allowed to dock in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo on Saturday.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera

Mr Hammer wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 3:54pm:


Bring them to Australia?

Aussie wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 4:07pm:

Blackies have already invaded once in their history which had the power to change Italy's  religion for 400 years. I doubt they want that again.

Far as I can make out, it's all theatre

Italy pretends to get tough on whatever we're told they are: asylum seekers, migrants, illegal migrants, refugees

EU plays along.  Probably wrote the script

Bit of argy bargy shuffling within Italy's labyrinthine political system

Mafia and EU NGO's (we know their tribe) start carrying them to Spain at $22,000 apiece

easier to get them to ireland and straight over to UK

UK still buggering around with Brexit, treading water

Spectre and crew get to dump twice the number of browns in UK and EU.  Twice the profit.  Twice the sex slaves and pedo-lollies, twice the organ stealing

Complicit media tells the clueless that 'Italy's gone tough against reffos '

Tens of millions of descendants of multi millions Italian migrants living in Oz, Canada, US, UK etc. get all proud and self congratulatory

end result = double or treble number of reffos flooding Europe

Italy was always a sell out biatch so nothing new

Mr Hammer wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 4:11pm:


What rubbish are you talking now? When did 'blackies' invade Italy? Last I checked, it was the Italians who were in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Aussie wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 4:07pm:


What's wrong with Tasmania?

Auggie wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 6:52pm:

That's alright auggie. Sorry for the over reaction. Sicily was controlled from the 7th century until the Normans arrived and then their  religion was changed back.The Muslims also had control over other parts of Southern Italy and a bunch of their islands like Sardinia. The med nations have been fighting back invasion for multiple centuries and it's still happening. Africa is bursting at the seems and this is a spill over  of people. If it's left unchecked Italy's race and culture will be changed.

Gordon wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 6:51pm:



Good thinking !

Plenty of room in Tassie for both izrailees and africans

and a nice big stretch of water between Tassie and Oz

Aussie wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 7:08pm:



Most of the freeloaders are in boats because NGO's are pulling right up to the beach and helping them aboard

Most of them are male

Most of them have mobile phones, gold chains and the whole razzmatazz.  And they pay, at minimum, #22,000 per head to get to the Land of White Civilization, busty blonde women, a moped, a cutlass, a balaclava while demanding free housing, free money and a free get out of jail by the criminal cabals any time (rarely) that the pussified London police bother to catch them before letting them go

Mr Hammer wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 7:13pm:



They're not running from
they're running to

following the breadcrum trail laid by Spectre and her tribe

urged on with 'Destroy the West'.  'Rape those white women'.  'Steal their stuff -- they aren't allowed to stop you'

at the end

' But don't come near us.  Stay away from us izrailees.  Take everything you can lay hands on over there, far away from us.  Because we jews claim to be homogeneous.  That means we believe we're too speshul to mix gene pools with you'

and the blacks laugh and reply, ' We don't want to come near you in any case.  You protect your stolen borders with razor wire and bullets provided you by your tribesmen who're destroying everyone in sight.  In any case, you're too ugly and neurotic, even for we blacks. And of course, we've already seeded you izrailees, long ago, as evidenced by your nappy hair, everted lower lips and other identifiers.  So don't worry, we won't pose alongside you and cause you embarrassment.  Just keep wearing those glam wigs and telling others it's a religious thing.  We don't need to say a word.  Your genes are out there for all to see and we are your fathers' fathers'

Aussie wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 7:26pm:



Geographically relevant alright

And that can mean whatever anyone wants it to mean

Especially now they've eliminated Ghaddhafi, who was keeping the lid on and keeping Europe pest free

Aussie wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 7:08pm:


Sorry Aussie, that's a very 'leftard' argument. These people are coming to the West because they want a better life.

Gordon wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 7:47pm:


Good one. Never seen that before.

But, really dig Chris Walken.

Aussie wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 7:59pm:


What is the problem?? They live in poverty. There's no work, sanitation, etc. People move to the West because they see what it's like - clean cities, work, etc.

I suspect you know all of this, but are winding up to make a point.

Aussie wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 7:59pm:


Why do indians move to the schitshine coast then?

Auggie wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 8:07pm:


I'm ok with migration provided it's at a rate that doesn't overwhelm the hostculture

Unforgiven wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 9:45pm:




mmm ASIO is still looking for the guy that let you in....


wont be long now!

Auggie wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 7:43pm:


That's how Australia was populated. By people seeking a better life.

After those people got their better life, their descendants want to prevent other people getting the same opportunity.

Auggie wrote on Jun 13^th, 2018 at 1:25pm:



Aye, but we took mostly White, European-based, and relatively civilised people who pretty much shared similar backgrounds and values ..... even the Italians, noted by the Allies as lovely people to war with, were pretty much OK and shared Catholic ideas*, the Greeks often came here because of their civil war and were pretty much an Allied nation ...

Setanta wrote on Jun 15^th, 2018 at 11:47pm:


Touche`!

Mr Hammer wrote on Jun 12^th, 2018 at 7:13pm:


More to the point, why are the Western coalition bombing the Middle East to a point that the Middle Easterners' skin colour are turning black? I think you are mixing up sub-Saharan Africans with the Middle East.

The news going on over there is that Western forces are targeting specific places to bomb. I doubt any of the 'refugees' are escaping the bombing, seeing as THEY are not getting indiscriminately bombed. Nor are the 'refugees' escaping to a place away from the direction of the bombers' homeland.