ITALY: Local residents of Lampedusa have heckled European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta as they visit the southern Italian island after hundreds of migrants drowned in a shipwreck

Record ID: 348622

  • Title: ITALY: Local residents of Lampedusa have heckled European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta as they visit the southern Italian island after hundreds of migrants drowned in a shipwreck
  • Date: 9th October 2013
  • Summary: LAMPEDUSA, ITALY (OCTOBER 9, 2013) (REUTERS) PEOPLE GATHERED OUTSIDE AIRPORT TO PROTEST AGAINST ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER ENRICO LETTA AND EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT JOSE BARROSO PEOPLE GATHERED OUTSIDE TOWN HALL ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER ENRICO LETTA AND EC PRESIDENT JOSE BARROSO LEAVING TOWN HALL AS PEOPLE SHOUT PEOPLE GATHERING AROUND LETTA AND BARROSO AND SHOUTING LETTA
  • Embargoed: 24th October 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: International Relations,Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVA3P6RESBMEP375UT7FSMADBIIU
  • Story Text: The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta were heckled and shouted at as they visited the southern Italian island of Lampedusa on Wednesday (October 9), six days after a boat sank nearby, killing hundreds of African migrants.
    Some 300 people are feared drowned after their packed boat caught fire and capsized just a kilometre from the island last Thursday (October 3).
    Local islanders are exasperated that little has been done to help the 155 migrants that survived the tragedy. They have also lost patience with the European Union saying it is not doing enough to try and stem the almost constant influx of migrants.
    Italy has asked for more help from the European Union in dealing with the problem.
    As of a week ago, about 30,100 migrants had reached Italy by sea this year. Of those, 7,500 fled the Syrian civil war, 7,500 political oppression in Eritrea and 3,000 violence in Somalia. Italy is asking for more EU support and an overhaul of the bloc's immigration rules.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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