The humanitarian ship Ocean Viking, owned by the NGO SOS Mediterráneo, docked in the port of the military base in Toulon, in southern France, this Friday (11), after spending three weeks at sea searching for a port to dock in Italy. .
More than 600 people, accompanied by interpreters, were mobilized to receive 230 migrants, including hundreds of police officers and 16 French Refugee Protection Agency employees. They will be interviewing passengers over the weekend.
Sophie Beau, managing director of the NGO SOS Mediterráneo, said: RFI reported that the organization had requested 46 disembarkation from many European countries. The Ocean Viking ship rescued migrants in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya.
“We have spoken to the French authorities in recent days, but the response took a long time. We note that the adoption of a common mechanism by European countries is lacking to coordinate the disembarkation of migrants and to prevent them from experiencing situations of revolt for and for the European States themselves,” he said.
Passengers, including more than 50 children, will undergo a “sanitary examination” upon disembarkation and be taken to an international temporary area reserved for stowaways, controlled by border police, according to Evence Richard, the region’s public safety secretary. where the military base is located.
“Immigrants are not allowed to enter national territory,” said Eric Jalon, director general for foreigners in France. “They can stay in the temporary zone for up to 20 days, and in some cases up to 26 days,” he said.
The French intelligence agency, the General Directorate of Internal Security, whose duties include, among other tasks, the prevention of terrorism, will have to verify the identity of the immigrants. “We have a major security concern,” said Interior Ministry spokesperson Camille Chaize.
After these two steps, the migrants must be transported by bus to a shelter in Hyères in the southeast, where they will wait for the analysis of their urgent asylum application to be processed. “People who do not meet the conditions to stay in France or be admitted to another European state will be sent back to their country of origin,” says Eric Jalon.
At least nine other European countries will receive other passengers. Germany, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal and Luxembourg will receive a third of these.
It was the first time a ship assisting migrants in the Mediterranean landed in France after it refused to allow entry into its ports after a diplomatic dispute with Italy.
“We have received this ship in an exceptional way, taking into account the 15-day waiting time at sea that the Italian authorities have imposed on passengers,” French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Thursday.
The French minister criticized the “unacceptable and against international law” behavior of Italy, which has a far-right government, and warned of “consequences” in bilateral relations. The Ocean Viking initially tried to dock on the coast of Italy closest to where the migrants were rescued.
The Italian government denied access, claiming that other countries should take more responsibility in welcoming foreigners trying to reach Europe from North Africa each year.
This Friday (11), Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni said, “Italy cannot be the only landing point for migrant ships from Africa, and she wanted the issue to be discussed at the European level in Brussels. She also criticized the “aggressive” stance of the French government.
Right condemns ‘migration spree’
In 2018, France and Italy faced another diplomatic crisis. The Italian government at the time refused to accept the Aquarius ship, which had more than 600 immigrants on board and eventually landed in Spain.
Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right National Assembly party, on Thursday described the French government’s decision to accept migrants as “permissive”.
According to Valérie Boyer, senator of the right-wing Republicans, France’s decision “encourages an immigration spree. It is a European policy on the subject,” orchestrated by coyotes who profit from the crossings of foreigners from Africa or the Middle East. RFI.
Bruno Retailleau, the party’s Senate leader, has called for migrants to return to their country of origin. According to him, the Ocean Viking ship is the “Trojan horse of irregular migration in Europe”.
source: Noticias
