国际英语资讯:Italys hardline refugee policies increasingly popular, but also drawing criticism_时事

国际英语资讯:Italys hardline refugee policies increasingly popular, but also drawing criticism

Claudio Amendola, a television and cinema actor, said Italy must move past what he called a "fear" of those from other cultures or races.

"We all have a little bit of fear but we cannot let our country go adrift," Amendola said. "I think it is time to awaken our national conscience that until now has been a bit too dormant."

A letter signed by more than 200 public intellectuals -- academics, writers, and think tank fellows -- made similar charges, saying the government's anti-migrant policies were "unconstitutional, morally unacceptable, and contrary to the most basic human rights."

Matteo Renzi, a former Italian prime minister, made the unusual choice to criticize the government's policies in a column published in the U.S.-based Washington Post to mark World Refugee Day. In the article, he said the government was too busy making a play for the approval of their anti-migrant base to take the correct steps.

"I have always said that faced with a person who is about to drown, our first thought must be to save them and only afterwards to think of the effect on public opinion," Renzi wrote. "You can lose an election, but you shouldn't lose your human dignity."

CRITICISM FROM PRESIDENT

In Italy, the president is the head of state, a largely ceremonial role compared with that of the prime minister, who is the head of government. The president usually tries to stay above most day-to-day political issues.