The rescue off Libya by a private
Italian vessel of 67 asylum seekers, who were subsequently
transferred to an Italian Coast Guard ship, has irked Interior
Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, causing fresh
tension in the Italian government.
The interior ministry's position is that the intervention of
the Vos Thalassa, a tug linked to an oil rig, anticipated that
of the Libyan coast guard, sources said.
Salvini took up the matter with Premier Giuseppe Conte,
Labour and Industry Minister and Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio
and Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, sources said.
"The Italian Coast Guard cannot replace the Libyan one, above
all, if the African colleagues have moved into action," Salvini
said, according to the sources.
League leader Salvini has spearheaded the hardline stance on
migrants of the new coalition government that has seen NGO-run
migrant rescue ships denied access to Italian ports.
Toninelli, whose ministry is in charge of Italy's ports and
the Coast Guard, said via Twitter the Italian Coast Guard
intervened because the migrants were "endangering the lives of
the crew" of the Vos Thalassa, and so were transferred to the
coast guard's Diciotti vessel.
He added that a investigation had been launched so that the
migrants who caused the trouble could be punished.
A Ghanaian man and a Sudanese man have been identified as the
main alleged "troublemakers" among the migrants, the interior
ministry said Tuesday.
The top nationality represented among the migrants was
Pakistani (27) followed by Sudanese (12) and Libyans (10).
Toninelli said later that "everything had been cleared up"
with Salvini.
"I heard from Salvini this morning and we cleared things up,"
said Toninelli.
"He thought we were dealing with the umpteenth rescue at sea,
and I explained to him that it was an intervention for public
order because there had been death threats to the crew".
Speaking after a meeting with Premier Giuseppe Conte,
Toninelli said "there was total agreement".
Toninelli said the coast guard vessel Diciotti would arrive
in an Italian port "within 10-15 hours, it depends on the
conditions at sea".
"We think there will be some arrests for those who threatened
crew members with death," he said.
The interior ministry said no Italian port had yet been
indicated for the Diciotti to dock at.
Government sources said there was no rift over migrants in
the executive.
There is an awareness, they said, that it is in the nature of
the coalition to have political leaders that carry forward
principles and ministers who must then take action.
A sort of division of roles that does not worry Premier
Giuseppe Conte in the slightest.
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