A “political level” in the management of migratory events in Italy? “The terminology used in the email by my colleague, an informal instrument precisely because it did not have any new information on SAR matters, led to the term ‘political level’ being improperly indicated to make colleagues better understand that it was not a tactical indication of modification of the operational methods of the Coast Guard in rescue activities, but rather of policies adopted in the case of police activities at sea, it was, in short, a communication that did not contain anything new regarding rescue at sea”, explains the Guard coast in relation to some news regarding an email document originating in June 2022 from the IMRCC – National Coast Guard Operations Center. In short, there would be no political interference in the definition of the rules of engagement for interventions at sea, as the document shown on Raitre during the broadcast would make clear “The Horse and the Tower” Of Marco Damilano, which would seem to assign priority to the ‘police’ operations of the Financial Police, compared to those of the Coast Guard which has naval units more suited to rescue interventions in particularly difficult conditions, weather and sea conditions like those which eight months after that email marked the Cutro massacre. But it is a reading that is excluded by the Coast Guard which assures that there is no news regarding SAR.
“The management of migratory phenomenon at sea – underlines the Coast Guard in a note – due to its complexity it has always required continuous coordination between every authority operating in this scenario, not only linked to activities at sea. This coordination takes place through the ‘technical coordination table’ established within the scope of the technical-operational agreement for interventions connected with the phenomenon of illegal immigration, foreseen since 2003 with the inter-ministerial decree of 14 July ‘Provisions regarding the fight against of illegal immigration”.
The Table, chaired by representatives of the Central Immigration Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior, involves representatives of the armed forces and police forces and meets periodically to analyze and coordinate the activities connected to the phenomenon, evaluate “any changes in the typology of the flows and analyze specific events to identify potential improvements”. The document of 27 June 2022 “was therefore originated following one of these periodic operational tables, to inform the dependent territorial commands of the points discussed and the decisions reached”. In detail, the Coast Guard assures, the issues discussed concerned “exclusively police aspects” relating to the “contiguous area” and police power in the range between 12 and 24 miles from the coast “and therefore had no impact (as has never happened and it could never happen) on the function of rescue and protection of human life at sea, which is the direct responsibility of the Coast Guard and is governed by clear and objective international and national laws. The extension of the results of the table to the rooms operations of the Coast Guard had, therefore, the aim of making known the methods of management of police activities which could have involved, only in a competitive manner, also the means of the Corps if requested by the competent authorities (Financial Police up to 24 miles from coast and Navy on the high seas)”.
