Amnesty International says UK decision not to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean

[malaise]

is 'dark day for moral standing of UK'.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/oct/27/uk-mediterranean-migrant-rescue-plan
<snip>
Britain will not support any future search and rescue operations to prevent migrants and refugees drowning in the Mediterranean, claiming they simply encourage more people to attempt the dangerous sea crossing, Foreign Office ministers have quietly announced.

Refugee and human rights organisations reacted with anger to the official British refusal to support a sustained European search and rescue operation to prevent further mass migrant drownings, saying it would contribute to more people dying needlessly on Europe’s doorstep.

The British refusal comes as the official Italian sea and rescue operation, Mare Nostrum, is due to end this week after contributing over the past 12 months to the rescue of an estimated 150,000 people since the Lampedusa tragedies in which 500 migrants died in October 2013.

The Italian operation will now end without a similar European search and rescue operation to replace it. The Italian authorities have said their operation, which involves a significant part of the Italian navy, is unsustainable. Despite its best efforts, more than 2,500 people are known to have drowned or gone missing in the Mediterranean since the start of the year.
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The elite high school boys who run Britain have spoken.
The 1% of this planet would let most of us die if they could.

[pampango]

1. “The government’s justification for not participating in Triton is cynical and an abdication of

by saying that not helping to rescue people fleeing from war, persecution and poverty who are likely to perish is an acceptable way to discourage immigration.”

The Tories are playing the anti-immigration card to benefit themselves in domestic politics. The UK's own tea party, UKIP, is breathing down their necks with an extremely anti-immigrant policy.

[yeoman6987]

2. Can Amnesty International take over

I would imagine it is expensive which is why Italy and Britain are stopping it. Perhaps the international organizations could take over or at least give these countries some funds to keep it going. Or why not have the countries of origin do the job? Britain seems far away from the action anyway. Portugal makes more sense.

[Nye Bevan]

3. David Cameron is under threat from the UKIP which is strongly anti-immigrant

and so he is looking to burnish his xenophobic credentials.