Italian MP, Laura Boldrini called on the Italian Parliament not to “be deaf and not to ignore the unscrupulous acts and abuses of the Libyan Coast Guard against migrants.”
“Shooting a boat crowded with migrants is a criminal act, and therefore Italian Parliament cannot turn its a blind eye, because the Libyan patrol boat was a gift from Italy,” Boldrini said during a press conference with deputies from various parliamentary blocs and representatives of humanitarian NGO’s.
She noted that it is important for Italy to be present in Libya, especially in this phase of calm and democracy, “but we cannot see what the Libyan Coast Guard is doing and be silent, because we gave them that marine equipment in 2018,” she explained.
“So, without this equipment, would the Libyan Coast Guard have gone so far as to shoot migrants and send them back to those horrible detention centers? Of course not,” she added.
Notably, the Italian newspaper Valigia Blu reported that the Italian cabinet has decided to approve the refinancing of the Libyan Coast Guard, while the Parliament will be called to vote on the decision.
Despite the torture, deaths, and more generally the systematic violation of the most elementary rights of migrants in Libya, the Italian Parliament could vote in favour for the refinancing of the Libyan Coast Guard for the fifth consecutive year.
Earlier this month, the European Commission confirmed that it would request an explanation from the Libyan authorities regarding the shooting of a migrant boat by members of the Libyan Coast Guard. The German charity Sea-Watch released aerial images on Thursday of what it says is a Libyan coastguard vessel firing at migrants in the Mediterranean and possibly trying to “ram” their boat.
The Libyan Navy stated that it had launched an inquiry to “establish facts,” after reviewing what was published by various international media and social networking sites.