Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1050749
26 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 NOVEMBER 2018 Making our homeland safe "WE are in a real battle, a guer- rilla war, in which battles can only be won by international cooperation," stated Col. M Giuseppe Campobasso who is part of a unit of the Libeccio International operation of the Guardia di Finanza. It is an established fact that central Mediterranean waters are a smugglers' den for fuel, drugs, cigarettes, tuna and hu- man trafficking. Two United Nations reports by a Panel of Experts published in 2017 and in 2018 confirm that smuggling activity is taking place in differ- ent locations in the Mediterra- nean, including at Hurds Bank. In 2017 a number of arrests were carried out in Italy and Libya. None have ever taken place in Malta. Malta's territorial waters are up to 12 nautical miles from our coastline and its contigu- ous zone extends to 24 nautical miles. Beyond this, it is interna- tional waters. Towards the south east of Malta lies Hurds Bank. This is an elevated plateau where the depth of sea water is relatively shallow but sufficient for most surface navigation. Its geopolit- ical position and good weather makes it ideal for ship-to-ship (STS) transfer operations, espe- cially in the field of petroleum, chemical and gaseous cargoes. Also all ships sailing from the Americas going to the Gulf and China and vice versa pass off Hurds bank where they are replenished with fuel, sup- plies and crew changes. Part of Hurd's Bank is in international waters and outside Maltese jurisdiction. Malta has no jurisdiction over ships outside Malta's territorial waters, unless they are regis- tered in Malta. In the conta- gious zone Malta can intervene in cases of illegal activities that breach customs, sanitation in- cluding pollution, fiscal matters and immigration regulations. Malta has numerous commer- cial interests to protect at Hur- ds bank. Government gains tax from service providers, not to mention all the money enter- ing our economy. The unique characteristics of the area are also exploited for illegal activity by the underworld. A crossroads of illegal trafficking The 5th September 2018 UN Panel of Experts Report declares that Libyan fuel is be- ing smuggled from Zawija by the militia and that ships are leaving Malta to waters close to Libya to smuggle this fuel with STS transfers being carried out at Hurds Bank. The Inter- national press has reported Lib- ya's Attorney General as stating that an estimate of US$750 M of fuel has been smuggled. This smuggling is creating further instability in Libya. This October, The Daphne Project, which is led by a team of international investigative journalists, hinted that the bru- tal murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia has connections with this international cartel of or- ganised crime and possibly the Maltese underworld. The same Panel of Experts Report recommends that as an action states must have the ability to stop and search ves- sels suspected of smuggling in international waters, and par- ticularly those close to Libya. Recent reports in the Maltese press on fuel smuggling and tuna contraband have further highlighted this illegal activity. Making our homeland safe On 27 October the Partit Demokratiku Opposition ta- bled a Private Members Motion (PMM) for the establishment of an internationally-led body focused on combating organ- ised crime and its influence on Malta. Its objective is to safe- guard and strengthen Malta's international respect and reputation. It offers a plausible solution to a marine area that lacks law-regulating initiatives. This PMM proposes the es- tablishment of an international body as modelled by United Nations on the International Commission Against Corrup- tion and Impunity which has been tried and tested else- where. The advantage of having United Nations involvement is the ability to come up with international solutions for international problems. This would be independent of the government and will be given the broad remit to investigate any potential links with the criminal underworld. The UN and not a state will take the lead and the body will direct its resources towards prosecution Godfrey Farrugia is leader of the Democratic Party (PD) Godfrey Farrugia