The president of the Sicily region, Nello Musumeci, defied the Italian government on Sunday 23 August by issuing an order closing on its territory all the migrant reception centers, which he considers conducive to the spread of the coronavirus. Sources from the Italian Ministry of the Interior immediately clarified that this regional measure was invalid because it fell within the competence of the State.
" By tomorrow midnight, all migrants present in the + hot spots + and in all the reception centers in Sicily must be transferred to facilities located outside the island ", we can read in the decree. of about thirty pages.
Read also: With 1,200 migrants since the beginning of August, the Channel crossings are exploding
The text also aims to prohibit any migrant from " entering, transiting and stopping over in the territory of the Sicilian region with boats, large and small, including those of NGOs ". The President of Sicily explains his decision by the fact that "it is not possible to guarantee the stay on this island in compliance with health measures to prevent contagion ".
In a comment on social networks, Musumeci (elected president of the region thanks to a right-wing and far-right alliance) said that " Sicily cannot be invaded while Europe looks away and the government does not carry out any eviction ”.
Read also: Italy: bad patch for Matteo Salvini, deprived of a stage and election
A position that won him the support of Matteo Salvini, the head of La Ligue (far right) and former Minister of the Interior who had worked to prevent the disembarkation of migrants in Italian ports.
104 migrants including 37 minors
Many small boats of migrants, mainly Tunisians, continue to dock on the island of Lampedusa, in the south of Sicily. There were about 1,200 migrants on Sunday 23 August in Lampedusa, after the transfer of around 300 people since Friday 21 August to reception facilities in Sicily.
Read also: Italy: more than two hundred migrants brave quarantine in Sicily
The Sea-Watch 4, belonging to a German NGO, said Sunday (August 23) that it currently had 104 migrants on board, including 37 minors, found this weekend at sea off the Libyan coast.
Dozens of migrants hosted in Sicilian centers have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent weeks.