Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1235679
7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 15 APRIL 2020 NEWS A petition to Malta Prime Minister Rob- ert Abela has requested that the Armed Forces succour a vessel carrying boat mi- grants inside the Maltese search and res- cue zones, as fears grew of a boat capsizing in inclement weather. The Easter petition has garnered over 3,500 signatories calling on the prime min- ister to succour a boat carrying 47 people, including a pregnant woman and children, could have already lost their lives at sea. "We have known about their situation for days and we have not lifted a finger and this despite having all the means to save them. We have persisted in this course even when yesterday a mother begged us to 'at least save my child'. We are writing to implore you to change course and send a Malta Armed Forces vessel to the area in question to save these people, and also others who are in the same predicament and who are all our brothers and sisters, from certain death before it is too late. Our common humanity can tolerate no delay in acting to fulfil this most serious obliga- tion." European member states last week shut down their ports to boat migrant rescues, invoking emergency measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Malta's foreign minister Evarist Bartolo also spoke to EU external relations com- missioner Josep Borrell, claliming that migrant rescue charities were enabling hu- man traffickers in Libya to send out boat migrants at sea, and ferry them to safety in Europe. Over 300 academics have called on the government to reconsider its hawkish po- sition and rescue boat migrants in distress. The Maltese government fears that af- ter Italy's ports were shut down under the COVID-19 pandemic, more asylum seek- ers will be directed into the Maltese SAR zone and territorial waters. The NGO Alarm Phone estimates that in just the week between 5-11 April, over 1,000 people on more than 20 boats left the Libyan shores. "The Alarm Phone was alerted to 10 boats in total, two of which were rescued by [Sea-Eye's] 'Alan Kurdi' on 6 April. Over 500 people are reported to have been returned to Libya within merely three days. Some of the survivors have informed us that six people drowned. Many of those returned were kept imprisoned on a ship at Tripoli harbour. Moreover, the fate of some boats remains unclear. At the same time, we have also learned of several oth- er boats that reached Italy autonomously, arriving in Lampedusa, Sicily, Linosa and Pantelleria." Over 3,500 sign petition calling on Malta to rescue boat migrants MATTHEW VELLA OVER 300 academics from the University of Malta and other European universities have called upon Malta and the European Union to open their ports for the safe disembarkation of asylum seekers and refugees stranded at sea, and assume shared responsi- bility for their fates. The statement comes as Italy and Malta shut off their ports to migrant rescue charities, like the Sea-Eye and its ship 'Alan Kurdi', and fended off accusations of re- fusing to succour boats in distress. "Refugees and migrants contin- ue to cross the Mediterranean Sea in their desperate effort to reach security and refuge. The practice of leaving boats in distress and relinquishing all responsibility has become the norm. Whilst we appreciate the particular challeng- es individual Member States are facing during these challenging times, the situation neither jus- tifies nor excuses the violation of human rights. "The decision to close ports is unlawful. The absence of solidar- ity between the Member States in meeting their collective moral and legal obligations is reprehensible," the academics said. Their statement came just after Malta's foreign minister Evarist Bartolo justified Malta's decision not to divert resources currently fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, and instead demand a €100 mil- lion humanitarian mission from the EU to assist Libya in fighting the pandemic and prevent the de- parture of boat migrants. Libya's coasts are controlled by militia factions loyal to the UN- backed GNA, and other elements of the warring Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Haftar. But the country remains in chaos amid the civil conflict. "Detention camps are full, and, according to credible reports, thousands of migrants are fleeing or have been given permission to leave the camps. This provides all the ingredients for a major hu- manitarian disaster… Within the context of a need for migrant res- cue which will only grow bigger, and considering our resources being focused elsewhere, we are facing a disaster. The only way of preventing such a humanitarian disaster is for there to be an EU humanitarian mission in Libya giving medical provisions to Liby- ans and migrants," Bartolo said on Monday. But Malta has also accused mi- grant rescue charities of abetting human traffickers, by picking up migrants sent out at sea, a state- ment which has been criticised by activists and academics. Womens' rights activist and lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic lambast- ed the Maltese proposal to pump EU money into Libya. "Countless reports show migrants are kept in appalling situations and subjected to torture. Libya is not party to in- ternational conventions and is run by militias… perhaps the govern- ment needs a lecture on human trafficking: there is a clear dis- tinction between smuggling and trafficking of persons. Until you have concrete evidence of NGOs partaking in trafficking (or smug- gling), refrain from using the word at all and furthermore from mak- ing allegations without evidence. If you do have evidence, then by all means proceed with criminal action. Until then you will be the one that is participating in traf- ficking of human beings by literal- ly financing Libyan warlords." The academic and women's rights activists Andrea Dibben also warned of the dangerous rhetoric that was attacking NGOs rescuing people at sea by vilifying them as traffickers. "People still cross irre- spective of the presence of rescue ships. The only difference is that without the NGOs many more would drown and perish in the bottom of the sea," she said, citing studies from Oxford and Man- chester universities that there was no correlation between the likeli- hood of migrants attempting the crossing, and the chance of them being rescued. "Push and pull factors of migration are far more complex than what politicians like to paint them." The government's stance comes in the way of a rise in anti-migrant sentiment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, after the head of Mal- ta's own social welfare agency (FSWS), Alfred Grixti, a long-time Labour Party activist, suggested that migrant rescue ships should be seized and scuttled. "So unbecoming of an FSWS chairperson whose role is to pro- vide services that care for the needy and vulnerable," comment- ed Alternattiva Demokratika rep- resentative Mario Mallia. "What's next? Suggesting we scuttle police cars because they bring victims of domestic violence to shelters? Or perhaps round up social workers who care for the downtrodden lest they knock on the doors at Appogg? Or perhaps cut the tele- phone lines for 179? I don't think so. But if not, does this mean that there are categories of vulnerable we should not be concerned with? Or perhaps that there are vulner- able people more worth saving than others? Is good sense and solidarity on lockdown?" 'Open ports and save boat migrants', 300 academics demand Malta, EU action