Medical-aid charity Médecins Sans
Frontières (MSF) hit back on Monday at those who have suggested
migrant-rescue operations in the Mediterranean by NGOs could be
benefiting human traffickers.
MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said it was
"indignant about the cynical attacks on the work at sea of the
NGOs by some political figures, which have seen a crescendo of
venom and false accusations over the last few hours".
It added that it "will evaluate in which seats to intervene
to protect its work, image and credibility".
Deputy Lower House Speaker and 5-Star Movement (M5S) bigwig
Luigi Di Maio on Monday reiterated his call for greater clarity
on the "business of immigration", after anti-mafia writer
Roberto Saviano accused him of seeking votes even at the cost of
higher migrant deaths.
In an interview with the newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano, Di
Maio said that it was taboo to speak about immigration as a
business, since "many are living off of it", but added that he
wanted answers and "not votes" in calling for greater clarity on
the issue.
He stressed that there was no "aggressive targeting" of NGOs
involved in rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea but that
"we have raised the issue due to the many alarms received on
deaths at sea and the increase in landings. We want to shed
light on certain disfunctions - as does the Catania prosecutor's
office, which would like to open an investigation - and like
Frontex, the EU agency tasked with the issue."
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