Berlusconi promises to remove migrants from Lampedusa within days

Berlusconi promises to remove migrants from Lampedusa within days

2011-03-31 00:14:22 GMT+7 (ICT)

MILAN (BNO NEWS) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday told residents of Lampedusa that thousands of immigrants would be evicted from the island and promised to prevent further immigrant landings.

"In 48 to 60 hours, Lampedusa will be inhabited only by Lampedusans," declared Berlusconi amidst the applause of islanders, as cited by ANSA news agency.

Two of five ships sent to empty Lampedusa arrived Wednesday morning. Another three were expected later in the day, offering a total capacity of 10,000 persons.

About 3,700 migrants, mostly from Tunisia, have arrived in recent days to the tiny island, bringing the total number of asylum seekers to an estimated 7,000. This amount represents 1.5 times more than the local population.

The Italian government has labeled the situation as an emergency citing health risks and enduring miserable conditions. The dense overcrowding has caused severe food shortage among new arrivals, high tension, and local protests.

"We have obtained (permission) to monitor the ports and the coasts to prevent new landings. We have even implemented entrepreneurial measures," the prime minister said.

According to ANSA, Berlusconi in his speech said residents would receive tax-breaks and exemption from mandatory pension payments. He added that Italy's two main television networks, RAI and Mediaset, were commissioned to do reports to improve Lampedusa's image among tourists.

Berlusconi also said he had personally bought a house on the island, which was up for sale on the internet for 150 million euros ($211 million). He even said the government would nominate Lampedusa for the Nobel peace prize.

On Tuesday, the leader of the right wing Northern League Umberto Bossi used a vulgar phrase in Lombard dialect meaning, approximately, "Throw them out". The European Union's commissioner of internal affairs, Cecilia Malmstrom, responded, "People who need protection and ask for asylum cannot be pushed back".

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