Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/517560
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 27 MAY 2015 5 The plan also acknowledges the possibility of EU military use of force against groups such as Is- lamic State "within the Libyan sovereign area", "the threat to the force should be acknowledged, especially during activities such as boarding and when operat- ing on land or in proximity to an unsecured coastline, or during interaction with non-seaworthy vessels. The potential presence of hostile forces, extremists or terrorists such as Da'esh [ISIL] should also be taken into consid- eration." The documents mark a depar- ture from previous EU military strategy in the overt targeting of civilian infrastructure in Libya. Numerous EU countries, in- cluding Belgium, Bulgaria, Den- mark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom participated in NATO-led air strikes on Libya in 2011. Human rights organisations have called on the EU not to put the lives of refugees and migrants at risk. The plan acknowledges that the EU risks negative pub- licity "should loss of life be at- tributed, correctly or incorrectly, to action or inaction by the EU force". To manage this reputational risk, the documents recommend "an EU information strategy from the outset" in order to "facilitate expectation management". They also acknowledge the "need to calibrate military activ- ity" particularly within Libyan waters or ashore "in order to avoid destabilising the political proc- ess by causing collateral damage, disrupting legitimate economic activity or creating a perception of having chosen sides". The military command also said it needed a clear legal framework prior to launching the operation, "ideally with a United Nations Security Council Chapter VII resolution and a complementary invitation by a legitimate Libya government". Boats transporting people from Libya to reach safety in Europe are the main means for refugees f leeing conf lict in Syria, Eritrea, Afghanistan and the Horn of Af- rica. Since the destruction of the Libyan government in 2011 there has been a sharp increase in the number of refugees travelling to Europe from Libya. In 2014 more than 170,000 peo- ple are estimated to have crossed the Mediterranean from Libya – making up 60 per cent of the en- tire irregular migration into the EU last year. News HAVE YOUR SAY 4JHOVQBOEMPHPOUP.50CTFSWFSBOEIBWFZPVSTBZPO FWFSZUIJOHGSPNDVSSFOUBõBJSTUPMPDBMUSFOETXJUIUIF DIBODFUPXJOQSJ[FTJOPVSXFFLMZDPNQFUJUJPOT.50CTFSWFS JTZPVSDIBODFUPDPOUSJCVUFUPUIFGBTUQBDFEXPSMEPGUIF NFEJBBOEMFOEZPVSWPJDFUPUIFEJTDVTTJPO 7JTJUPCTFSWFSNBMUBUPEBZDPNNU suggests Islamic State attacks in Libya business visa red flag by NGO and Libyan economies, thereby potentially improving the lives of persons and communities. It could also represent a legal and safe way for some refugees to ac- cess Malta's asylum procedure. "Yet whilst the government discusses and implements this scheme, we continue to receive urgent requests for assistance from Libyans, Syrians and other persons outside of their coun- tries due to wars and persecu- tion, yet they are unable to move on and unable to return home," it said. Aditus argued that the refusal of Malta's and other EU embas- sies and representations to grant humanitarian visas to these refugees remains one of the key factors pushing them onto boats to attempt to cross the Mediter- ranean. "When we're asked, 'which em- bassy will give my family a visa to come to safety?', we know there is very little we can say or do. It's terrible, because we know what usually happens next: a floun- dering boat packed with men, women and children becomes a very expensive visa, with little guarantee of safe arrival," aditus director Neil Falzon said. The foundation went on to urge the Maltese authorities to con- sider translating the logic behind this new temporary visa scheme into humanitarian action with a view to granting refugees safe and legal access to Malta. Aditus: Maltese politics 'unashamedly ridicules the desperate plight of refugees' Joseph Muscat and Foreign Minister George Vela (centre) in talks with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini