(see related)
Organizers of a peaceful protest in
Rome on Tuesday against new proposed restrictive migration
policies currently before parliament denounced the
representation of migration as an emergency and said the
government is increasing the problems rather than solving them.
"Today we want to bring to the streets that part of Italy which
we believe is a majority, which does not listen to the lies of
the right-wing government and is not willing to accept a
representation of this (migration) phenomenon always as an
emergency and with answers that increase the problems of the
territories instead of solving them," said Filippo Miraglia,
head of immigration at ARCI and coordinator of the Tavolo Asilo
e Immigrazione (Asylum and Immigration Table) that organized the
sit-in.
Miraglia also said city mayors were "right" to appeal to the
government against government plans to weaken the country's
protection regime for refugees and asylum seekers by scrapping
the special protection status offered to asylum seekers who do
not qualify for international protection under national law.
The mayors will be the ones who have to handle the negative
consequences, he said.
On Monday Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said that there is a danger
of 'tent cities' forming in many parts of Italy if the plans go
through after he and the centre-left mayors of Rome, Turin,
Bologna and Florence signed an appeal at the weekend calling on
the government to reconsider.
Miraglia also called for Europe to set up "a public search and
rescue program to prevent people from dying at sea" and for the
introduction of humanitarian visas allowing "people to turn to
the state to cross borders and ask for protection".
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