|
Italy plans memorial to
commemorate Malta tragedy
Dilpreet Khalsa
 Jalandhar:
The government of Italy has sanctioned funds for the retrieval of
the remains of 300 victims of the Malta Boat tragedy, Malta Boat
Tragedy Probe Mission chairman Balwant Singh Khera claimed on
Tuesday.
Observing the 11th anniversary of the tragedy at the Company
Bagh, he said the Italian government had sanctioned the
requisite funds and had agreed to build a memorial to
commemorate the death of 300 young men who had lost their lives
in Malta-Sicily Channel near international waters on December
25, 1996. Italian senator Tana Dijuleta was instrumental in
getting the support of four Nobel prize winners and 100 members
of Parliament, who had recommended to the prime minister of
Italy to help the mission in this cause.
Accusing the
state political leadership of sheltering the fake travel agents,
Khaira said “though 170 out of 300 youth belonged to Punjab, till
now no state government has taken any initiative to provide justice
to the victim’s family”. He demanded that monetary relief of Rs
50,000 is inadequate and it should be raised to Rs 5 lakh each to
the kin of victims. The mission has also decided to approach the
Delhi HC for speeding up the hearing of the criminal cases against
the 25 fake travel agents. He demanded that the government should
publish the inquiry report of the human trafficking scandal in 2001.
27
December, 2007
|
Read Also