Kind of a developing story from Lampedusa.
After the German captain from the rescue vessel docked (without permission)....she then allowed forty to fifty of the rescued migrant folks to jump up on the dock. Italian cops came over and arrested the female captain.
The charges? Right now, now. There is talk of some serious charges....not complying with the port authority. It's probably enough to get three to five years in an Italian prison.
German fury? The Green Party so far, are the only ones who have gotten hyped up. It appears that they want Merkel to have a chat with Italy, and request EU action to let the captain go.
What's hurting this whole discussion is that the law of the seas.....says that if you rescue folks....you MUST go to the nearest port. Well....she was closer to Libya, and by the rule, that's where she should have gone. Lampedusa, the island? You can figure it was about a day's ride away from the rescue spot, and ten times the distance allowed by the law of the seas. So she has broken some strong ethical rules.
The EU getting into this? I have my doubts that they can find any strong willing nature to push the Italians. This captain is more or less left to the fate of Merkel getting involved and asking for some special favor.
No comments:
Post a Comment