The left cries scandal over the management of the migratory emergency. The thesis is as follows: NGO ships must be able to enter Italian ports without obstacles. And they must be able to disembark all of them indiscriminately. Even so, the Pd was the first to use a squeeze on boats managed by non-governmental organizations. It was 2017, when the then Minister of the Interior Marco Minniti (the one in the agreement with Libya that also provided for funding for that country’s coastguard) launched a series of very strict measures. The «Miniti code», in fact.
The plan that the Meloni government wants to bring to the table of the European Council follows precisely these rules of conduct, which have occasionally been disrespected over the years. The new rules studied by Viminale are intended to introduce greater responsibility for the flag State of ships carrying migrants and are intended to prevent NGOs from becoming “maritime taxis”. Exactly what the then Minister of the Interior of the Gentiloni government had proposed to do. To underline the hypocrisy of the Democratic Party is the leader of the League in the Senate, Massimiliano Romeo, who spoke yesterday in the Chamber after Piantedosi’s report: “Marco Minniti was a beautiful mind. You had a good one left and you put it aside. It’s a dramatic thing for the country.”
But what did the Minniti code provide in detail? First, the subscription was voluntary. Even if the last clause sounded like a warning: “Non-adherence to this code of conduct or non-compliance with the commitments established therein may lead to the adoption of measures by the Italian authorities against the respective ships”. At first there was an outcry. The NGOs did not want to give in. Then, as the months went by, almost everyone joined in. Only Doctors Without Borders remained outside.
There were thirteen “compromises” to be observed: 1) Not to enter Libya’s territorial waters. 2) Do not turn off the signals that allow you to geolocate ships. 3) Do not communicate or send light signals to boats carrying migrants. 4) Communicate to the competent Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) the «technical adequacy» (equipment and training of personnel) to provide assistance. 5) Get in touch with the authorities of the competent country and of the ship’s flag State. 6) Constantly update the MRCC on the progress of operations. 7) Do not transfer rescued migrants to other ships. 8) Keep flag State authorities constantly informed. 9) Carry out the instructions of the Maritime Coordination Centre. 10) Receive the judicial police officers on board. 11) Communicate all funding sources. 12) Cooperate with the public security authority for the place of disembarkation. 13) Once the migrants have been rescued, recover the boats or parts of them as much as possible. Speaking yesterday in Tagadà, at La7, Minniti recalled that the code that bears his name is nothing more than a “voluntary pact proposed by the 27 European countries and signed jointly with NGOs”. The former minister also addressed the government: “You cannot intervene in NGOs by decree-law, precisely because they are humanitarian organizations. We need to talk.” In the coming days we’ll see if there’s a willingness to listen.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
