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| Europe |
| Italy to grant temporary residence permits to Tunisian migrants |
| 2011-04-07 |
| (Xinhua) -- Italy has agreed to grant temporary residence permits to Tunisian migrants on its soil, following an agreement signed with the North African country, the official press agency TAP reported on Wednesday. Italy has also agreed to provide Tunisia with 10 navy patrol boats and 100 jeeps to monitor its coastline, while the North African country has taken the commitment to prevent would-be undocumented Democrats to leave the country. All the migrants who would have arrived following the signing of the agreement will be repatriated. The decision which will be submitted to the Italian cabinet for approval at a date which has not been disclosed, will give the Tunisian migrants the right to sojourn in Italy for 6 months, however, the decision does not allow for the free circulation of the migrants in the Schengen space, TAP said. "The fragility of the Tunisian political scene, would not have allowed a massive return of Tunisian migrants to their country," said a communique released by the Italian interior ministry. The agreement was signed on Tuesday in Tunis during a meeting between Italy's Interior Minister Roberto Maroni and his Tunisian counterpart, Habib Essid. It is estimated that more than 22,000 Tunisian migrants have landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa since the toppling of the former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 14. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |