The air is heavy. And the expression of the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni makes it clear. In her latest video published on Friday evening, at the end of a day that marked tensions in Lampedusa, over seven thousand landings, rescues at sea and even some jabs from the League, Giorgia Meloni has a first main objective: not to disappoint those who voted. It is them that she addresses at the end of the six minutes, when in a calmer tone of voice than anything we have heard before, she says: «We haven’t changed our mindswe work every day to maintain the commitments we have signed with you, in every area, starting from the restoration of legality and the fight against illegal immigration”.
In the previous minutes, among the various announcements, there is also that ofinvitation to reach Lampedusa, to the President of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Layen. And in the next few hours they will land together on the island. If on the one hand Giorgia Meloni’s video is disturbing due to the tones of a declaration of war that it hides, not too much, on the other it offers a good opportunity to clarify some significant things on the topic of immigration. Because in those six minutes there are several inaccurate sentences, which reflect slogans that we are used to hearing. We have analyzed some of them.
«The migratory pressure is unsustainable»
It is true that this year our country has recorded more landings. According to data from the Interior Ministry, 127,207 people have arrived in Italy by sea from the beginning of 2023 to today. 2022 ended with around one hundred thousand arrivals while the record year was 2018 with 180 thousand people. However, there remain numbers that our country has already managed in the past. Furthermore, if we look at the data relating to asylum requests we see that: between January and July 2023, Germany received over 187 thousand asylum requests. Spain 99 thousand, France more than 93 thousand and finally Italy, based on the latest available data, received around 62 thousand. One asylum request for every 947 inhabitants, according to analyzes carried out by Pagella Politica. Finally, as MEP Pietro Bartolo explained to us here, the largest part of immigration takes place within Africa itself. Finally, the data also records the fact that Italy is almost always only the port of arrival for migrants who would actually like to reach other countries but the Dublin Treaty obliges them to apply for asylum in the first country they set foot in.
«I think of the daily attempt by some political forces and influential entities to argue that Tunisia is an oppressive regime with which agreements cannot be made, to even declare that Tunisia is not a safe haven»
Tunisia was the first country to kick off the “Arab Spring” in 2011 and the first to move towards what seemed like real democracy. What happened is that with the arrival of President Saied in 2019 all this was lost. Saied has in fact approved, with a referendum, a new Constitution which increases his powers and weakens the independence of the judiciary, he has ousted the judiciary and it is the same one that intends to fight the «ethnic substitution» by sub-Saharans. As Amnesty International explains, «President Saied compromised the independence of the judiciary through the issuing of two law decrees which gave him the power to intervene in the careers of judges and magistratesie also that of dismiss them arbitrarily. In fact, on 1 June 2022, 57 judges were dismissed for vague and politically motivated accusations of terrorism, moral and economic corruption, adultery and participation in “alcohol-based parties”. Do you remember the photo of the mother who died of thirst in the desert with her little girl? They were on the border between Libya and Tunisia, where migrants are rejected and left in the desert without any kind of assistance.
«How is it done? With a European mission, even naval if necessary, in agreement with the North African authorities to stop the departure of the boats”
The naval blockade that Giorgia Meloni has been talking about for some time to stop boats leaving from North Africa is not feasible. This is a measure provided for by international law, in particular by Article 42 of the Charter of the United Nations and provides for a military operation to prevent the entry or exit of any vessel from one or more ports of a country involved in a military conflict. It’s like a declaration of war. Furthermore, net of the vastness of the stretch of sea that should be patrolled (therefore with a very large number of boats), Italian law does not allow blocking ships in which asylum seekers may be present. Article 33 of the Geneva Convention prohibits indiscriminate rejections of those who ask for protection.
«I want to send a clear message to those who want to enter Italy illegally… If you enter Italy illegally you will be detained and repatriated»
This point also goes against Italian and European legislation on immigration. First of all because those seeking asylum are allowed to enter Italy and Europe, regardless of how they arrive. «The provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 and those of article 4, paragraphs 3 and 6, (which are those relating to rejections, ed) do not apply in the cases provided for by the provisions in force governing political asylum, the recognition of refugee status, or the adoption of temporary protection measures for humanitarian reasons”. Art.10, paragraph 4 of the Consolidated Law on Immigration.
Source: Vanity Fair
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