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| Europe |
| Italy ready to forcibly return Tunisians if Europe won't help |
| 2011-03-31 |
| Italy will forcibly return thousands of Tunisian illegal immigrants unless other European countries accept them as the situation reaches breaking point. In recent weeks more than 18,000 immigrants have arrived on the tiny rocky island of Lampedusa, pushing resources to the limit. Many of them have been moved by ship to holding areas on the mainland but there the migrants climb over flimsy fences and escape. Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini today launched a stinging attack on Europe and France in particular. He said: 'They must be repatriated or distributed around other European countries. There has been a flagrant lack of solidarity from Italy's European neighbours, who have failed to help starting with France.' Relations between Rome and Paris have been tense since the start of the allied no fly zone as Italy had wanted NATO to take immediate command while France first opposed the idea and then dragged out the discussions. Italy also felt left out after it emerged that America, Britain, Germany and France had discussed plans for Libya's future in a video conference without being invited. Frattini added that 'forced repatriation is an extreme measure but it cannot be excluded' - the solution being urged by fellow ruling right wing coalition anti-immigrant Northern League. That party's leader, Umberto Bossi, who had once suggested the navy should shell boats carrying immigrants, simply said: 'They should all f*** off home.' Earlier this week, Berlusconi told a cheering crowd on Lampedusa that he would clear the island within '60 hours' and that he had even bought a home there to show solidarity. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #3 Berlusconi promises to end the 'invasion of migrants' He also tells a joke. ''During a poll, a sample of women were asked if they wanted to make love with Berlusconi. Thirty per cent said maybe. The other 70 per cent said, 'Again?'' |
| Posted by: tipper 2011-03-31 16:47 |
| #2 ...that was attempt before. Their efforts were finally done in by the very same people who had set up a branch office, so to speak, already in London. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-03-31 15:41 |
| #1 Potential solution: cede Lampedusa to Tunisia. The refugees are no longer in Italy. Of course, you can't carry this idea too far or Florence will end up part of Tunisia. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2011-03-31 14:25 |