ITALY: Italy finally allowed 37 African shipwreck victims saved by a German aid ship to disembark in the Sicilian port of Porto Empedocle yesterday after a standoff that lasted nearly three weeks.
The survivors, all men thought to be mostly refugees from Sudan, stumbled ashore after the humanitarian aid vessel Cap Anamur pulled alongside the dock.
After medical checks, they were loaded on to buses to be transferred to receiving centres where the hundreds of illegal immigrants who land on the shores of this Mediterranean island in rickety boats are sent when they arrive.
According to the website of the German aid organisation that owns the ship, (www.cap-anamur.org), the Africans were rescued from a rubber dinghy drifting off northern Africa.
Police detained the ship's captain, who could face charges of aiding and abetting illegal immigration, and the head of Cap Anamur for questioning.
Italy had previously refused to let the ship dock, saying the Africans were closer to Malta than Italy when they were picked up and should therefore have applied for asylum there.
Italian Transport Undersecretary Mario Tassone applauded the "happy end to the matter" yesterday and said responsibility for the incident and the way it was handled would be investigated.
An Italian state prosecutor ordered the Cap Anamur's captain, Stefan Schmidt, to be questioned nearly two weeks ago after he took the Africans on board, but police were not allowed onto the ship as it was in international waters. On Sunday, after an emergency request from the captain, the government decided to let the vessel anchor about a mile from Porto Empedocle, and sent medical assistance.
Elias Bierdel, head of Cap Anamur, told German broadcaster SWR he was pleased the ship had been allowed into the port. "This is a good day for Europe," he said.
On the organisation's website he had said: "Those who hinder us from bringing shipwrecked men to a safe port must take full responsibility for their actions."
The group says it is dedicated to helping refugees in distress at sea. Italy had come under pressure from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to let the refugees disembark in Sicily. The Vatican also called for them to be helped.