Italian under-secretary 'surprised' by Gonzi's comments

Claims only Italian coastguard rescues migrants in international waters

The Italian Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Stefania Craxi, said today that she was "surprised" by comments made by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi on responsibility for illegal migrants.

Speaking on the fringes of a Mediterranean coastguards conference in Genoa, Ms Craxi said she was surprised that Dr Gonzi had accused the Italian Coastguard of not giving humanitarian assistance to boats carrying illegal immigrants.

Ms Craxi claimed that the Italian coastguard was "the only one" to rescue migrants in distress in international waters. The Italian Coastguard, she said, did so with great humanity, something which other Mediterranean governments did not do.

See also

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090506/local/pm-disgusted-over-failure-to-rescue-migrants

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.