Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/499233
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 22 APRIL 2015 5 MARTINA BORG PRESIDENT Marie Louise Coli- ero Preca visited the mortuary at Mater Dei Hospital yesterday to pay homage to the few migrants whose bodies have been found from among the hundreds who lost their life in the latest tragedy in the Mediterranean. A vessel carrying some 800 mi- grants capsized off the coast of Libya last Saturday, leaving only 28 survivors. Only the corpses of 24 of the victims of the accident have been recovered, and the bod- ies were transported to Malta on Monday morning. "This is a very sad moment for all of humanit y," Coleiro Preca said. "It is particularly striking for Maltese people as these victims are our neighbours," she said. Coleiro Preco explained that the tragedy was so saddening because these people had run away from wars, persecution and extreme povert y with the highest hopes of fulfilling their aspirations for a better life. "Immigrants are often people who not only have to take care of themselves in a new country, but often send money to their rela- tives back home," she added. "All deaths that occur in this manner are tragic losses for hu- manit y," Coleiro Preca stressed. She also thanked the CEO of Mater Dei Hospital, Ivan Falzon, who had organized the show of solidarit y, allowing and inviting the public to leave f lowers at the mortuary for the victims of the tragedy. "This initiative has shown that despite the occasional racist and xenophobic comment, the strong- est trait of Maltese and Gozitan people is solidarit y. These are people who have lost their lives and whose families have no idea yet, nor will they know for a long time," she explained, reiterating that Maltese people had shown they had a good conscience. School children to commemorate migrants lost at sea Children in state primary and secondary schools will be com- memorating those who lost their lives in the Mediterranean by observing a minute of silence, ac- cording to a tweet by the educa- tion ministry. A child was among the three mi- grants who died when their ves- sel ran aground off the coast of Rhodes and it is as yet unknown whether there were children among the victims of the boat that capsized, leaving hundreds dead. News President leaves flowers in honour of shipwreck victims Labour MEP requests UN envoy to include immigration in Libya peace talks LABOUR MEP Miriam Dalli has written to Bernardino Leon, the head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, asking for immi- gration to be prioritised in the on- going Libyan peace talks. The letter asks for migration to be placed at the top of the agenda of a future National Unity government in Libya, and for measures to con- trol people traffickers and stop mi- grant deaths in the Mediterranean to form an integral part of a Libyan peace treaty. "That way, those in- volved with be bound to take ac- tion on the matter," Dalli said. "The momentum developing in the last few days on the issue must not be allowed to fade away." 64 other MEPs have also signed Dalli's letter to Leon. In a second letter to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, Dalli and her 64 MEP cohorts ap- pealed for immigration to form part of the solution for the Libya crisis. A similar letter was also sent to the Vice President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini who is also the European Union highest representative for Foreign Affairs. Dalli and the other MEPs are appealing to Mogherini as a top EU diplomat to ensure that immi- gration forms part of the solution for Libya. "I am very satisfied that this ini- tiative has found the support of 64 other MEPs, who come from the six biggest groups in the European Par- liament," Dalli said. "This clearly indicates that we are creating an awareness among MEPs so that the situation that we are continuously facing in the Mediterranean is ur- gently addressed." 'EU migration plan too vague' Dalli also criticised the ten-point action plan agreed to on Monday by EU foreign ministers as being "too vague, and lacking details and spe- cific timelines". 'The plan needs to be far more specific," Dalli said. "For example, while one proposal suggests that the EU Triton rescue and search area is extended, there is no indica- tion as to how far this should go. It is also disappointing that the ten- point plan makes no mention of any changes to The Dublin Treaty whereby immigrants are forced to remain in the country where they embark. "These countries are logically the countries on the frontier with North Africa. On the other hand, the insistence on targeting human traffickers is very positive." An urgent European Council summit has been set for tomorrow to discuss this plan and decide what steps to take, after two recent Med- iterranean shipwrecks resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 migrants. IOM fearing huge death toll in the Med THE International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is fearing that the total of 3,279 migrant deaths for all of last year will be surpassed this year in a matter of weeks. It was expressing concern in a statement relating to what may be the worst tragedy in living memory involving migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa, when the handful of survivors ar- rived in Catania, Sicily just before midnight on Monday. "27 migrants, plus one survivor evacuated to Sicily by helicopter, had been travelling on a wooden fishing boat carrying up to 800 people when it capsized near Libya, as a cargo ves- sel was coming to its aid," the IOM said. No other survivors of the Saturday night shipwreck have been found, and so far only 24 corpses have been recovered. The lifeless bodies were brought to Malta by the Italian Coastguard vessel, the Gregoretti, which then proceeded to take the survivors to Catania, on the same day. The bodies will be examined, and following the issuing of a death certificate, they will be buried ac- cording to their religious faith given that they are properly identified. The 28 survivors are mostly from Sub Saharan Africa, coming from Mali, Gambia, Cote d'Ivoire, Erit- rea, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, while others are from Bangladesh and Tu- nisia. Soon after the Gregoretti's arrival in Catania, IOM staffers boarded the vessel to verify the condition of the migrants and provide them with ba- sics, including shoes and socks. "In the past week, IOM has re- ceived reports of 400 migrant deaths in a capsize on 14th April south of Malta, with 50 more on 17th April. Including an estimated 770 lives lost off the coast of Libya over this past weekend, IOM believes the latest death toll on the Mediterranean this year is now of 1,727 migrants." On Monday reports came in of two or more boats in distress – one carrying between 150 and 200 mi- grants, the other with 300 on board – and the possibility of 20 fatalities. The whereabouts of those migrants has not been confirmed yet, but a search and rescue operation was launched. "With this latest count, IOM cal- culates the 2015 death toll is now more than 30 times last year's total at this date (April 21) when just 56 migrant deaths were reported in the Mediterranean. Through the end of April last year, 96 migrants had per- ished, indicating that the last week of April had been the deadliest period of the year to date." IOM expressed fears that the 2014 total of 3,279 migrant deaths may be surpassed this year in a mere matter of weeks. Sorrowful – President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca Miriam Dalli, MEP