Despite a request from France to do so, the Norwegian government said that it would not be taking in any migrants which have been picked up by the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms ship. Jøran Kallmyr, Norway’s Justice and Immigration Minister has reiterated that his government has declined France’s offer, stating that Norway would notRead More
Source: Norway says it won’t be taking in any migrants from NGO ship Open Arms – Voice of Europe
Jøran Kallmyr, Norway’s Justice and Immigration Minister has reiterated that his government has declined France’s offer, stating that Norway would not accept any migrants from the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) migrant transport ferry the Ocean Viking either, NKR reports.
While speaking about his reasons for rejecting France’s proposal, Kallmyr told NKR, “basic mechanisms to prevent people from going out to sea are not in place. This applies, for example, to a screening system, so that we can quickly return those who do not want to stay in Europe back to Africa. And before this is in place, we do not want to participate in a distribution [of migrants].”
The decision comes after Open Arms was permitted to dock at Italy’s Lampedusa island following a protracted standoff. The migrant ferry had been anchored off of Lampedusa for six days before a local Italian prosecutor allowed them to dock and to offload the migrants they had on board.
After receiving the go-ahead to dock, the founder of the Proactiva Oscar Camps took to twitter, writing, “After 19 days, we will land in Lampedusa today. The boat will be temporarily seized, but it is a cost that Open Arms assumes to ensure that people on board can be taken care of.”
Prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio’s interventions come as part of a probe into alleged kidnapping and refusing to obey orders targeting Italy’s National Populist Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.
Salvini quickly responded to the Patronaggio’s threats and move to offload migrants into Italian territory, saying, “If anybody thinks they can scare me with the umpteenth complaint and wants a trial, they’re mistaken.”
Proactiva’s Open Arms could face severe fines of up to 900,000 euros by the Spanish government for picking up the migrants. When speaking to Spanish media, Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo said, “The Open Arms doesn’t have a permit to rescue.”
