Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1243341
2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 MAY 2020 Left alone by the EU, but no excuse to breach human rights Editorial WHEN it comes to migration, Malta is stuck in a game of realpolitik which has, as its consequence, the lives of human beings stuck in limbo in the Mediterranean graveyard. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the ports of larger nations with greater seafaring capability, the European Union seems to be unable to ensure the safe passage of asylum seekers along its southern border: its soft power crumbling with- in a matter of weeks, after having first suspended Operation Sofia, and now launching Operation Irini to stop weapons smuggling to Libya. The former was aimed also, in part, at funding and training the Libyan coastguard; while also justifying the return of rescued migrants to Libya, despite countless warnings of human rights viola- tions in that country. But with Libya now torn apart by civil conflict, it is patently clear that the country can no longer be deemed a 'safe port'; which implies that any con- tinuation of Operation Sofia – or any pushback to Libya, by any country (including Malta) – would be a case of 'refoulement', and therefore run counter to international law. As a result, Malta has been left without options, it seems; but at the same time, this does not justify the very dangerous course of action it has chosen to take: effectively 'suspending' its international obligations to save lives at sea inside its own Search and Rescue Zone (SAR). There are also contradictions in Malta's cur- rent immigration policy. First, the government launched a tirade against migrant rescue NGOs that were using private vessels saving lives on the high seas, going as far as to declare the Maltese ports closed to them due to the COVID-19 pan- demic. Now, as it heralds the success of its COVID healthcare strategy, it is itself using private com- mercial boats to push back migrants to war-torn Libya – which is, as already indicated, a sanctiona- ble act of refoulement. The latest strategy is to keep migrants firmly outside our SAR, on board a Maltese tourist ferry boat of the 'Captain Morgan' line. That the com- pany ownership itself is quite partial to the Labour government, might explain why the pleasure-craft is now ferrying people seeking asylum out of reach of international protection. It is quite a turn-up for the books, when one considers the mixed messages that emanate from the Maltese government: the COVID emergency first prompted the denigration of migrant rescue NGOs, but now that the government lauds its comeback strategy with low infection rates, it is the Maltese State that is using private boats to keep asylum seeker stranded on the high seas. The only difference is that, while NGOs were trying to save lives… the intention here is to ren- der them unable to claim asylum in Europe: which is their international human right, recognised by both the European and UN Conventions. Adding to the irony is the fact that a vessel that ferries tourists - such an integral part of Malta's fabled hospitality - has been turned into a vessel to keep out 'unwanted people'. It indeed confirms the worst aspect of Malta's policymakers: that they see migrants as non-tour- ists – that is, 'not money' or 'un-tourists' and therefore unwelcome – somewhat justifying what is turning out to be a violation of basic fundamen- tal human rights. The reality is that this tactic could also put the Maltese government in danger of criminal liabilit in a reptitio of the Hirsi judgement, if not within our own jurisdiction, then in the international courts. Additionally, the involvement of Neville Gafà - a former OPM official and vocal supporter of the GNA government force - shows that Malta retains an unofficial diplomatic link to militias who exert influence on the smuggling of migrants to sea. Again, the Maltese government walks on the fringes of international politics. Because of the realpolitik situation, mandated by the EU's unac- ceptable absence on this matter, Maltese politi- cians seem inclined to rationalise that the absence of a common solution therefore permits the decon- struction of human rights laws. But that slope is a slippery one indeed; and invoked against the backdrop of the COVID-19 emergency, it could be the start of a general scal- ing-back of other human and civil rights, that might need 'curtailing' in the convenient discourse of an emergency. So while Malta clearly has to slam its fists on the table of European leaders, to get them to finally assume responsibility for this sensitive issue... we cannot use the EU's absence as a pretext to breach international and human rights laws ourselves. 2 May 2010 Tender procedure changed after RCC email 'to ensure transparency' RICHARD Cachia Caruana, Malta's permanent representative to the EU, had alerted the Office of the Prime Minister and ministers Austin Gatt and Tonio Fenech to irregularities in the Deli- mara tender process raised by a bidder, but was swiftly ignored by the Department of Contracts. In a snapshot of the influence wielded by the former personal aide to Eddie Fenech Adami, the report by the National Audit Office into the De- limara tender notes how in July 2008, Israeli firm Bateman chose to go straight to Brussels to voice its grievance at being left out of negotiations by Enemalta. When the Perm Rep alerted OPM of the alle- gations, the Department of Contracts decided to change the tendering process, from one based on individual negotiations to a 'three-stage model' – much against Enemalta's wishes it transpires. Since 2006, Enemalta had used the novel way of negotiating individually with each bidder – even though this was without the authorisation of the Department of Contracts. Then in July 2008, a Bateman lobbyist met at- tachés from Cachia Caruana's office in Brussels to deliver a "message of protest", complaining that emission laws had been abruptly changed for diesel engines, favouring BWSC's technology; and that there had been no Environment Impact Assess- ment prior to tendering, in conflict with EU law. At this point, on 22 July Cachia Caruana alert- ed officials at the OPM, and Gatt's and Fenech's ministries, to take note of Bateman's protestations before proceeding with any decision. These concerns were forwarded to the Depart- ment of Contracts, which however were swiftly ignored in an email sent the next day. The Contracts department told Enemalta "not to be influenced" by Bateman's protestations, but crucially revealed in this correspondence that the tendering process had changed to a 'three-stage model': the traditional way of selecting winning bidders on the strength of price and technical specifications. The Auditor General's report notes that this was the first mention ever of the three-stage mode. Enemalta's negotiated procedure – an uncom- mon practice in the civil service – allowed the corporation to meet with all bidders, irrespective of the technology they were offering (gas or diesel) and select the best technology for the lowest cost of operation. ... Quote of the Week "I am very unhappy. Frustrated. I feel like leaving politics and spending my last years reading, writing, listening to music, cooking, walking, travelling and above all enjoying my family." Foreign minister Evarist Bartolo MaltaToday 10 years ago