Day: November 7, 2022

Two humanitarian organizations are challenging Italy’s far-right government led by Giorgia Meloni, whose “selective approach” in disembarking migrants rescued weeks ago prevented hundreds of people from leaving the charity ships.

On Monday, about 215 migrants were still blocked onboard the Geo Barents vessel – operated by Doctors without Borders (MSF) – and 35 were on the Humanity 1, managed by German charity SOS Humanity, in the Sicilian port of Catania.

The standoff between Rome and the charity groups started after the Meloni Cabinet imposed a tough stance on migrants heading to Italian ports aboard privately-owned ships, after being rescued from distressed boats in the Mediterranean.

The SOS Humanity announced it has launched legal action against the Italian government in Rome’s administrative tribunal, claiming that the country’s policy violates European laws and the Geneva Refugee Convention.

The charity group also started legal proceedings in Catania, to allow migrants who remained on its ship to disembark safely and begin asylum applications there.

Cracking down on migrants is said to be a flagship policy of the Meloni government – the most conservative since World War II – and hence confrontation with NGOs operating in the Mediterranean – the deadliest route for thousands of migrants who continue to die while trying to reach European coasts.

Meloni also put migration flows in the spotlight during her first trip to Brussels last week. She asked Europe to help handle migrants’ arrivals on Italian coasts, stressing that Italy’s approach to migration will be to “defend its national borders.”

Italy remains one of the main entry points into Europe and since the start of the year 85,000 migrants have arrived on often overcrowded and risky boats.

Under the new decree pushed by hardline Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, Italy now applies a “selective” approach in deciding who can disembark from the charity boats.

Under the new rules, those who do not qualify as “vulnerable” would have to leave Italian waters and should be taken care of by the “flag state.”

Children, women and people with health problems were allowed to leave the ships that entered the port of Catania. Others, however, remained on board and are expected to exit Italian waters.

Standoff continues

Humanity 1’s captain has refused to leave the Catania port until all survivors have been disembarked, stressing that “the law of the sea obliges to bring all those rescued from distress to a safe place.”

Till Rummenhohl, head of operations at SOS Humanity, said Italian health authorities conducted triage on board for most of the adults, but not all of them were interviewed with the help of an interpreter and nobody assessed their mental health.

“Thirty-five people are still onboard and didn’t get a place of safety,” he told reporters in Catania. “They are in fear of being brought back to Libya, where they fled from.”

He also stressed that Italy is treating people rescued at sea in different ways. “As long as there’s one single person on our vessel, we won’t leave,” he added. “This decree is illegal and we will take steps against it.”

The MSF, which runs the Geo Barents, also condemned Italy’s policies, saying they cannot be considered “legal under maritime law conventions.”

On Monday morning, three people who were onboard the MSF’s ship jumped in the water to try to reach the pier and were then rescued by port authorities. They refused to go back onboard.

Both NGOs stressed that everyone on board their vessels should be considered “vulnerable” as they had been rescued at sea while in distress after undergoing long trips in extreme health and sanitary conditions.

Two other charity ships also remain at sea waiting for a safe port to disembark the rescued migrants on board.

About 90 people are on the German-run ship Rise Above and 234 on the Ocean Viking, operated by European charity SOS Mediterranee.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Somali government on Monday banned the use of the name “al-Shabaab,” referring to the al Qaeda-linked terror group that the majority-Muslim nation said is a deviant sect.

In a statement, Somalia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs also barred scholars from having dealings with the armed terror group, which it said should rather be referred to as “Khawarij,” a term describing a deviant sect.

“By executing the orders of the nation’s leaders and recommendations from the religious scholars, the Ministry has banned the use of term al-Shabaab and only should be called them as Khawarij,” said the statement, forbidding the group’s ideology, as well.

The new order came after President Hassan Sheikh Mahamud announced a “total war” against the group.

Somalia has been grappling with security threats for years, with al-Shabaab being one of its main concerns.

Since 2007, the terror group has fought the Somali government and international forces in a deadly campaign that has claimed thousands of lives.

The UN has warned of growing instability in the country, with its periodic reports on Somalia this year detailing attacks by al-Shabaab and groups aligned with the Daesh/ISIS terrorist organization.

At least 1,242 civilians were killed in terrorist attacks in Somalia in 2018-2019, while 1,735 were injured, according to UN figures.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Türkiye-US High Level Defense Group meeting was held in the Turkish capital Ankara on Monday with the participation of a delegation from the US Defense Department.

At the “positive and constructive meeting,” regional and global defense and security issues were discussed, as well as bilateral defense, military training, and defense industry cooperation, Türkiye’s National Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The group’s next meeting is expected to be held in 2023 in the US.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Monday again urged European governments to swiftly offer a place of safety to people who remain on NGO vessels on the Central Mediterranean.

In a joint statement, the agencies said their call is to allow the immediate disembarkation of nearly 600 people who remain on NGO vessels after being rescued in Maltese and Libyan search and rescue zones on the Central Mediterranean.

At least 1,337 people have gone missing on the Central Mediterranean migration route this year, according to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project.

Most of the 88,000 people who arrived by sea in Italy in 2022 were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard and other Italian state-led rescue ships or came autonomously, and 15% were rescued by NGO vessels.

“Italy’s efforts in the disembarkation of some 400 people, the most vulnerable on-board Humanity 1 and Geo Barents, including children traveling alone and others requiring urgent medical attention, are welcomed,” said the statement. “However, a solution is urgently needed for all remaining survivors on all four vessels at sea.”

Survivors at sea

The UNHCR and IOM said that despite continuous advocacy efforts, the survivors, some of whom have been at sea for up to two weeks, remain stranded on board the four NGO search and rescue vessels in international waters.

They said 234 people remain on the Ocean Viking boat, 217 on Geo Barents, 35 on Humanity 1, and another 88 on the Rise Above.

“Those stranded need to be disembarked swiftly without any further delay,” said the statement.

“We call on states in the region to protect the lives of those rescued by ending the current impasse and offering a place of safety for disembarkation.”

The UN agencies said safe disembarkation should be followed by meaningful responsibility-sharing between all states concerned through regional, cooperative arrangements.

All coastal states could then discharge their search, rescue, and disembarkation responsibilities.

“A piecemeal and ad-hoc approach from the high seas which continues to leave coastal states alone cannot be so pursued and is not sustainable,” said the two UN groups.

They stressed that the priority must be saving lives and respecting human dignity.

“Those arriving from Libya have, in many cases, suffered severe abuse and human rights violations,” said the statement.

“The vulnerabilities of all migrants and refugees who cross the Mediterranean – including accompanied and unaccompanied children, victims of trafficking, survivors of torture – should be identified to activate national and international protection and reception mechanisms.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

It is essential that Greece and Türkiye resolve their differences through diplomacy, the US ambassador to Athens said on Sunday.

“The only thing that will work is to discuss and resolve the differences diplomatically and according to international law,” George Tsunis said in an interview with private broadcaster ANT1, emphasizing that both neighboring countries are important and respected members of NATO.

“There are differences in many relationships. But peace is the primary principle in this case and can only be achieved diplomatically,” Tsunis added.

Arguing that inflammatory rhetoric would not serve the interests of Athens, Ankara, or NATO, he drew attention to repeated US calls on both allies to engage in dialogue to overcome differences between them.

“These differences are not unique and can be resolved,” he said, expressing hope that the disputes between the two countries would be settled through diplomatic channels “in the near future.”

When asked how Washington would react in the face of an attack on Greece, Tsunis was careful in his wording. “The Greek army is capable of protecting the homeland but the US would tirelessly work to ensure the peace,” he said.

The New York-born son of a Greek immigrant family, Tsunis has served as the US ambassador to Greece since May.

On Nov. 2, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu criticized Europe and the US over their approach to Türkiye-Greece relations, accusing Europe of double standards in Athens’ favor.

Expressing Ankara’s readiness to resolve outstanding disputes, Cavusoglu said this was not possible due to Greece’s disregard of exploratory talks.

“Greece is blocking the pathway for international law and jurisprudence to resolve problems,” he said, adding that it has sought to “impose their maximalist understanding” on Türkiye.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Nigerian Air Force said on Monday that it had killed top members of the terrorist group ISWAP during airstrikes in the northeast.

Edward Gabkwet, an air force spokesperson, said in a statement that ISWAP commanders Ali Kwaya and Bukar Mainoka were neutralized during an operation near Lake Chad. They were members of the group’s so-called consultation council.

The group, associated with the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group, is primarily active in the Chad Basin, and fights an extensive insurgency against the states of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.

Gabkwet said: “Our path to victory in the northeast remains on course and we won’t relent until all locations are free of terrorists and insurgents.”

He said the operation came in light of intelligence that some ISWAP leaders and fighters from surrounding areas were headed to a meeting to plan more attacks.

Nigerian Air Force fighter aircraft sent to the location of the terrorists’ meeting at Belowa engaged the ISWAP elements with rockets and bombs in multiple passes, according an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Hours after the strikes, two vehicles conveying about 13 surviving terrorists to another hideout were struck through precision strikes by Nigerian Air Force aircraft, the official added.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that this month he will travel to Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Bahrain, and Qatar.

After Monday’s Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara, Erdogan said that on Thursday and Friday he will visit Samarkand, Uzbekistan for a Turkic Council Summit.

Then he will head to Bali, Indonesia the following Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 15-16, for a G-20 Leaders’ Summit.

After the summit he will visit the Gulf nation of Bahrain, and on Nov. 20, he will head to its neighbor Qatar, he added.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The announcement by Kosovar Serbs that they have withdrawn from all central and local institutions in Kosovo is a historical and tectonic change, Serbia’s president said Sunday.

Aleksandar Vucic made the remarks during a guest appearance on private station TV Pink. They referred to the decision by Serbian representatives to withdraw from the assembly, government and all Pristina institutions as well as suspend their participation in the police and judiciary.

“This is neither the first nor the last time that Serbia is attacked on the issue of Kosovo…We are certainly talking about major political, almost tectonic changes,” said Vucic.

Vucic said that on the night between June 29 and 30, he prevented “unprecedented bloodshed” in the north of Kosovo because the Serbs had erected barricades and members of the special units of the Kosovo police were ordered to tear them down.

”After 11 hours of difficult talks, the Serbs from the north told me that because you are begging, we will remove the barricades. There is no end to the madness in Pristina, and all this is supported by two great powers,” he said.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, urged Kosovo to immediately start taking steps to establish the Community of Serb Majority Municipalities.

”The Kosovo Assembly has ratified the Brussels Agreement and Kosovo’s Constitutional Court ruled that the association/community needs to be established. Therefore, its establishment is a binding legal obligation for Kosovo. Continued failure to implement this obligation undermines the principle of rule of law and damages Kosovo’s reputation and credibility,” said Borrell

The move came after a meeting Friday by the Serb List — a minority political party in Kosovo in Zvecan municipality.

The head of Serb List, Goran Rakic, said the decision is in response to the Kosovo government’s attempts to convert license plates issued to Serbs by Serbian authorities to “RKS” or Republic of Kosovo license plates.

He also announced his resignation as minister for communities.

Vucic urgently convened the government due to the developments.

Meanwhile, Serbia neutralized a commercial drone Wednesday on the Kosovo border.

Vucic issued orders to the military Tuesday to destroy any enemy drones in the country’s airspace after unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were spotted above military bases bordering Kosovo.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic confirmed that drones had been spotted filming military bases.

Defense Minister Milos Vucevic said earlier that the armed forces were on alert amid escalating tensions with neighboring Kosovo over the issue of car license plates.

Kosovo has tried many times this year to make its Serb minority renew their license plates which date before 1999 when Kosovo was part of Serbia. The move has resulted in violent clashes between police and Serbs.

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but Serbia continues to view Kosovo as its territory.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Sunday it tracked 44 Chinese warplanes, four warships and two military drones around the island.

A total of 15 People’s Liberation Army warplanes and two drones crossed the median line, it said, adding that four other aircraft flew on the eastern part of the air defense identification zone.

Chinese air and sea vehicles were tracked with electronic tracking tools, patrol planes, ships and ground missile systems, it added.

China has increased military activities around Taiwan, which it views as its “breakaway province,” since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a delegation to the island nation of more than 24 million people in August.

China views Taiwan as a “breakaway province” despite Taipei having governed itself since 1949. Beijing has vowed to reunify the island, including by force if necessary.

Apart from the show of military might, Beijing has downgraded military dialogue with the US and suspended cooperation on climate change issues, along with six other countermeasures.

Source: Anadolu Agency