Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1070939
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 JANUARY 2019 NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS MALTA may have taken custo- dy of 17 shipwrecked refugees rescued by NGO Sea-Eye after 12 days at sea, but it has refused to allow a crew-change, the rescue organisation said, slam- ming what it said was Malta's "indifference" to the challenges faced by Mediterranean coun- tries. "Despite the intensive efforts of the German ambassador in Valletta, Malta refused the Sea- Eye ship mooring in port with- out stating a reason. 10 crew members were allowed to leave the ship to return home. The minimum crew stays behind and is looking for a port for the ship Professor Albrecht Penck. Malta also prohibited the possi- bility of sending a replacement crew," the NGO said in a state- ment. "The dignity of our crew and the rescued people was not only touched, it was drowned in the Mediterranean," Gorden Isler, a spokesman for Sea-Eye, said. The organisation Sea-Eye was founded in 2015 in Regensburg, Germany, and operates the Dutch registered Sea-Eye and Seefuchs rescue ships, and two German-flagged boats Bavaria One and Professor Albrecht Penck. More than 800 volun- tary rescuers participated in the rescue of 14,378 people with Sea-Eye. On Friday morning, 10 crew members left the Sea-Eye ship to return home, leaving the re- quired minimum crew behind. "We experienced difficult times together. Now I'm looking for- ward to seeing my family, but it hurts me to leave a part of the crew behind," said Jan Ribbeck, head of mission. Sea-Eye says it had asked the Maltese authorities for permis- sion to exchange the ten crew members for four new volun- teers but was rejected "without explanation." "Apparently, one is very afraid that we will right away head back towards Libya, being ready to rescue," the spokesman said. Diplomatic attempts to clear the impasse had been going on since Wednesday afternoon, said the organisation, but Malta "was not open to any argu- ments until the end. "The use of state power to take aggravating measures to pre- vent aid agencies from saving human lives reveals the politi- cal course of the island nation of Malta. Premier Joseph Mus- cat has been holding the crews of Professor Albrecht Penck and Sea-Watch 3 – a boat run by rescue NGO Sea Watch – as political hostages for weeks to put pressure on other EU mem- ber states," Isler said. Malta had saved more than 200 refugees from drowning between Christmas and New Year, said the NGO, as it ac- cused Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of "imposing his politi- cal will on the EU, regardless of the dignity of the rescued or the seafarers." That week Muscat had also received representatives of the Libyan unity government and demanded that the Libyan Coast Guard be allowed to do their job. "However, this so- called work is not about rescu- ing human lives but about the prevention of flight in violation of international law, Article 33 (1) of the Geneva Convention… "This cruel policy arises from domestic constraints. There is still no solution to the fair dis- tribution of people rescued in the Mediterranean. The main burden is on Spain, Malta, Italy and Greece. The fact that Mal- ta is putting its own interests above international law, due to domestic constraints, is a result of a non-solidary attitude of non-Mediterranean EU Mem- ber States towards the Mediter- ranean countries." "As a politician, you cannot say that you are a convinced European and are indifferent to the challenges of the Mediter- ranean countries. This policy jeopardizes European cohesion and helps men like Matteo Sal- vini, Sebastian Kurz and Vik- tor Orban in the stirrups," Isler said. The Professor Albrecht Penck will be changing its name and home port in the coming weeks in order to resume its work. "Men like Joseph Muscat and Matteo Salvini alone do not determine what the future of Europe looks like. After all, also the rescue organisations Sea-Eye e.V. and Sea-Watch e.V. belong to Europe, whose donors express the European desire to help. "Sea-Eye therefore calls on the European Commission to continue its efforts to promote a common European and hu- manitarian solution for the distribution of people rescued from the Mediterranean and to mandate a European naval op- eration to save as many people as possible. Until this day, we will continue." Malta denies mooring permit to Sea-Eye rescue ship "Men like Joseph Muscat and Matteo Salvini alone do not determine what the future of Europe looks like." The rescue crew leaving the ship on Friday morning – only a minimum of crew members stay behind. (Photo: Alexander Draheim/sea-eye.org)