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Thousands gather across Europe to back migrant rescue ship
PARIS, Oct 7, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Thousands of people attended rallies
Saturday across Europe to show support for migrant rescue ship Aquarius,
stuck in port in the French city of Marseille after Panama revoked its flag.
Dozens of demonstrations were held in France including in Paris, as well as
in Brussels, Berlin, Madrid and Palermo.
Many dressed in the boat’s orange colours and chanted for “a flag for
Aquarius” while slamming the “criminal inaction” of EU governments to resolve
the impasse.
Marseille, home to the SOS Mediterranee NGO which operates the vessel with
Doctors Without Borders (MSF), saw the largest show of support. Organisers
said 10,000 people took part in the demonstration though police put the
figure at nearer 3,500.
A similar rally in Paris also drew a crowd of around 10,000, according to
the organisers, while police put the figure at a tenth as many.
“The goal is to make an appeal to citizens and show that SOS Mediterranee
draws its legitimacy from civil society,” said the NGO’s spokeswoman Sophie
Rahal in Paris.
Panama last month pulled the ship’s flag following a request from Italy’s
far-right, anti-establishment government, meaning the Aquarius cannot legally
set sail.
The boat’s operators say it has rescued some 29,500 migrants to date and
SOS Mediterranee president Francis Vallat said “the situation is more
critical than ever”.
Vallat said although migrant volumes had dropped “we are passing from one
death per 42 migrants (at sea) last year to one in 18 migrants” this summer.
Attending the Marseille rally, French leftist champion, local lawmaker and
leader of La France Insoumise Jean-Luc Melenchon insisted “Aquarius must have
a flag — and a French flag”.
Meanwhile, around 100 flouted an official protest ban and gathered in the
northern port of Calais — where authorities in late 2016 dismantled the
notorious Jungle refugee camp, which at its height at been home to some
10,000 migrants.
Immigration remains a hot-button issue in the European Union following the
2015 migration crisis.
There are deep divisions among member states over how to handle the
continent’s biggest influx since World War II.
Frontline state Italy has clamped down on asylum-seekers under far-right
Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.
Saturday saw protesters gather in Riace — a small hamlet in Italy’s deep
south which has earned praise for its integration of migrants — demanding
the release of their leftist mayor.
Domenico Lucano was placed under house arrest on Tuesday under suspicion of
arranging “marriages of convenience” for immigrants and for allegedly
skipping a tender process while awarding a garbage management contract to co-
operatives with ties to migrants.
In office since 2004, Lucano has made headlines around the world for
welcoming migrants to the sparsely-populated village in Calabria in a bid to
boost jobs and development.
“Keep strong, continue fighting,” his supporters chanted Saturday as they
gathered outside his window from where he raised a fist in support.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0923 hrs