Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/691413
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 JUNE 2016 3 News AFM: 'We followed Greek instructions' CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 This claim was corroborated by the AFM spokesperson who said that deci- sions on how the asylum seekers are moved at sea and on land are taken by the Greek authorities and "the Maltese crews followed the instructions presented by the Greek liaison officer." Volunteers and members of the Platanos Refugee Solidarity took to social media sites to vent their anger at what they described as shameful treatment of refugees. They said that early in the morning on 30 May, an AFM vessel stopped a dinghy carry- ing around 50 people some 200 metres from the harbour in the fishing village of Skala. "For more than 45 minutes they were kept drifting on the water, away from volunteer help and medical assistance, whilst ground Frontex units arrived to the har- bour to detain them. Despite the fact that many people were wet and travelling with young chil- dren, police deprived them of any form of support, even deny- ing access to the UNHCR officer present," the volunteers said. They added that the AFM members acted aggressively and put the asylum seekers in line and made them walk 300 me- tres uphill to the coastguard bus, while keeping all the volunteers at bay. The volunteers added that a Frontex "cop" pushed a doctor who tried to examine a toddler who was not responsive. "Tension sparked and the cop was saying 'the kid is all right, back away, back away'," the vol- unteers said. However, a Frontex spokesper- son told MaltaToday that once the vessels reached the shore in Skala, none of the volunteers identified themselves as a doctor. "A person wearing a UNHCR vest remained aside and did not approach the Maltese officers until the transfer of migrants to the awaiting bus was completed. A Maltese officer referred him to the Hellenic Coast Guard for fur- ther information about the procedures under- taken," the spokesperson said. Frontex said that it has investi- gated the case and all children on board were in good health and none of them required any medi- cal attention. Frontex also pointed out that since there were no requests for assistance and "all migrants were in good health," volunteers were asked to keep some distance, so as not to add confusion and en- sure a smooth transfer of asylum seekers. All asylum seekers were taken to Moria camp in Lesbos. "At no time was physical force used as both migrants and vol- unteers cooperated with the di- rections given by the Greek and Maltese officers," the Frontex spokesperson added. Lieutenant Nicholas Galea al- so denied these claims and said "at no time was physical force required as both migrants and NGOs alike cooperated with the directions given." He added that the AFM as well as Frontex officials looked into these allegations however no of- ficial report has been filed with Frontex, Greek authorities and Maltese authorities. Frontex said that the people rescued on 30 May were trans- ferred from the Maltese vessel to the awaiting coaches "in an organised manner, ensuring mi- grants' safety and security con- sidering that the area was unlit and the bus was parked some distance away." While noting that this was the first time they witnessed police keeping refugees at sea for so long, the volunteers said "it's the first time we witness violence against doctors, it's the first time we see authorities remembering so passionately that these people are 'illegal' and therefore they only need police 'treatment'. Shame." Currently 22 AFM members are participating in Joint Opera- tion Poseidon (Sea) 2016. These are divided into a Maritime and Land component deployed in the Aegean Sea whilst a National Officer is deployed at the Inter- national Coordination Centre in Piraeus, Greece. As part of the EU border agen- cy's mission in Greece, the AFM has a Coastal Patrol Boat (CPB), a Thermal Vision Vehicle (TVV) and two supporting vehicles de- ployed in Greece. So far this year, over 150,000 asylum seekers have reached Greek shores, with at least 376 people losing their lives in the Aegean Sea. Most of the asylum seekers who landed in Greece are Syrian nationals who are fleeing the civil war, which has ravaged the Middle Eastern country for more than five years. The International Organisa- tion for Migration (IOM) has estimated that 206,400 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2016 up to 5 June. So far this year 2,809 people have died while attempting to reach Eu- rope. Chris Cardona elected Labour deputy leader MIRIAM DALLI ECONOMY Minister Chris Car- dona was yesterday elected Labour deputy leader for party affairs after garnering 53.4% of the delegates' votes. He saw off the challenge of jus- tice minister Owen Bonnici who ended with 339 votes. 737 delegates turned up to vote in the run-off between the two ministers following the first round on Friday, which saw Stefan Zrin- zo Azzopardi eliminated. The hotly contested election saw former Labour president Zrinzo Azzopardi eliminated from the race on Friday evening, by just 11 votes. All three candidates spent the last few weeks lobbying the dele- gates, meeting the party structures and pledging a leadership closer to the grassroots. The first round saw Cardona clearly in the lead, having gar- nered 310 votes. The rest of the votes were split between Bonnici (224) and Zrinzo Azzopardi (213), an indication of a more moderate vote being split between the two candidates. Cardona needed to win over a third of Zrinzo Azzopardi's votes to seal the victory and in yester- day's second round increased his tally by 79 votes to reach a total of 389. In his first comments to the me- dia, the incoming deputy leader had words of praise for both Bon- nici and Zrinzo Azzopardi, point- ing out that three candidates had promised each other to serve as a shoulder. Cardona described the delegates' participation in the election as one that showed "a high level of enthu- siasm". "This election has shown that the party is ready to get back on track, become the strong party it was, built on ideas and enthusiasm in its mission to seek a better quality of life for the people," he said. Echoing the Prime Minister's message, the incoming deputy leader said that the party must strive to build bridges but, first, it must build bridges with the del- egates. "The party has a strong human resource: every delegate and every activist is essential. But we must also have a wider vision," he said. With reference to the Panama Papers revelations, Cardona said there was no doubt this had changed the party. "It was a phase and like the change in seasons, we are now at a stage where we can focus on deliv- ering results," he said. Cardona went on to thank for- mer deputy leader Toni Abela, whom he described as a person who had inspired him a lot in his political career. "With his humility, persua- sion and personal sacrifice he has shared that knowledge with us," Cardona said. On his part, Bonnici congratu- lated Cardona for the "clear result" that placed the latter as deputy leader. Bonnici went on to point out that the campaign had served the party well, in that they invested their time in listening to the delegates. "Now that we have a new deputy leader, I look forward to continue working within this government and my district with even more energy. We will continue work- ing on implementing our electoral programme so that, in two years' time, we will register another elec- toral win," Bonnici said. "Count me in for my support," he told Cardona. Labour elected a new deputy leader for party affairs after Kon- rad Mizzi, the former energy min- ister – revealed to have opened an offshore company in Panama while in office – was told to step down from the party position. Mizzi retained his minister's position inside the Office of the Prime Minister. The deputy leadership post was traditionally created for non-MPs, but the Labour leadership's insist- ence on having Mizzi as deputy leader led to changes in the party statute and a one-horse race to elect the minister.