Malta is doing much more than Italy, France or Spain to rescue illegal immigrants, especially as Libya irresponsibly continues to be reluctant to provide assistance, the chief of the Armed Forces of Malta said yesterday.

Brigadier Carmel Vassallo came out strongly in his army's defence following what he termed "surprising" comments by EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini who accused Malta of shirking its responsibilities.

An international chorus of dissent has rung out in the last fortnight, with Mr Frattini and Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg urging the island to stop hiding behind legal bureaucratic arguments while letting people die.

Likewise, the CoE's parliamentary assembly president René van der Linden yesterday urged Europe to stop arguing while people are neck-high in water.

Brig. Vassallo believes that Mr Frattini's comments to La Repubblica were made prematurely: "In my personal opinion, I believe the EU is still not convinced of the extent of the problem of illegal immigration around our seas. Is Mr Frattini expecting Malta to see to a boat in distress just 40 miles north of Libya, because Libya is refusing to do so?

"Does Mr Frattini know that Lampedusa is located geographically closer to Libya than Malta? So why doesn't he expect the Italians to assist, when they have a coast guard, the Guardia di Finanza and the navy?"

Yet, events over the last 16 days (see below) show that the AFM has been stretched to the limit as it struggles to meet its responsibilities.

"Why is Europe unleashing these attacks against Malta, and saying nothing about Libya? Do they expect us to carry Libya's burden?" Brig. Vassallo told The Times yesterday.

He recalled that a memorandum of understanding for search and rescue cooperation drafted out with Libya last February has remained unsigned, despite pledges to finalise the agreement by April. Malta is arguing that it should not intervene in cases which take place in Libyan waters.

The notorious case of May 21, when 27 immigrants spent three days clinging to the walkway around a tuna pen at sea, was a clear example of the Libyans' reluctance to play their part, he said.

Brig. Vassallo said the AFM immediately informed its Libyan counterparts to go to the immigrants' rescue. The Maltese ambassador in Libya also contacted the Libyan authorities about the matter.

"Not only they took no action, but they took us for a ride. They told us they sent a helicopter, which claimed it didn't spot the immigrants."

Nevertheless, Brig. Vassallo added the owner of the tuna pen was still obliged by international law to take the men on board if they were in danger.

Malta had no objection if big countries like Spain and Italy intervened to provide assistance in Libyan waters. After all, Italy has an aircraft which monitors the waters around Libya for around 10 hours every day.

While Malta represents only a tiny landmass in comparison to other nations, the Maltese search and rescue region covers in excess of 250,000 square km.

"We are capable of coordinating any search and rescue mission but it doesn't necessarily mean we are capable of carrying out the rescue.

"If we have a search and rescue case at the extreme eastern side of the rescue region we would be in difficulty. That's why Malta has drafted an agreement with Greece, the way we want to do with Libya."

Still, despite its limitations, the AFM was doing its utmost, he insisted. Only last Sunday, the army kept monitoring a group of immigrants who refused assistance, until their boat was intercepted by an Italian boat.

"For its size and on a per capita basis, Italy, Spain and France are nowhere close to doing what we're doing," he charged. Ultimately, the commander claimed, Malta has never failed to take action when there were potentially fatal situations.

Yet, the international media persisted in putting the spotlight on Malta.

"Why, for example, did they say that corpses picked up from the sea by a French ship last Friday were 120 miles south of Malta, when in reality they were just 60 miles from Libya?"

Sea of despair

May 18: About 28 immigrants drown after their boat capsizes 75 miles south of Malta. A 23-year-old from Ivory Coast survives the ordeal as he is rescued by a Maltese fisherman.

May 21: Twenty-four immigrants rescued by the AFM but they claim one man had gone missing.

May 21: An AFM aircraft spots between 53 and 57 Eritrean immigrants on a boat with a stalled motor and taking in water. They are nowhere to be seen by the time the rescue vessel reaches them. They have not been found since.

May 22: A group of 24, including two women and a girl, arrive on a boat near Birzebbuga.

May 23: Two groups of immigrants land in Malta - 29 North Africans arrive by boat near Benghajsa and 26 are brought ashore later by the AFM after being picked up by an Italian tug boat.

May 23: AFM calls off search for Eritreans lost at sea.

May 25: A boatload with 29 on board arrives at Marsaxlokk, including an 18-month-old child. They are picked up by the AFM about six miles to the south of Malta.

May 25: Following pressure by the UNHCR, the Italian navy commits an aircraft and seven patrol boats to search for the Eritreans. Another 78 immigrants land in Sicily, including 52 in Lampedusa.

May 26: A Spanish trawler (Montfalco) rescues 26 illegal immigrants in Libyan rescue waters. Malta refuses entry on grounds that they were in Libyan rescue waters.

May 26: A group of 25 immigrants are brought into Malta by the AFM while attempts to rescue a number of immigrants in the Libyan search and rescue region are under way. Just a few hours earlier, the army accompanies another group of 29 Somalis, including three children.

May 26: Twenty-seven illegal immigrants are rescued by an Italian vessel after they held on for several hours to a Maltese-owned tuna pen in Libyan rescue waters. The incident sparks international controversy.

May 29: The Spanish government decides to accept the immigrants floating in limbo on board the Montfalco. Spain accuses Malta of acting irresponsibly.

May 31: Tired and disoriented, 25 Somalis are rescued by the AFM after an ordeal at sea when their boat capsizes 80 miles south of Malta. Another group consisting of 27 men and six women, one of whom is pregnant, arrive in Malta late at night.

June 1: A French war vessel stumbles upon a sea of dead bodies. Since the vessel was in Libyan rescue waters, the AFM asks the captain to seek assistance from Libya first. The captain informs the AFM that the ship would be steaming towards France. The bodies arrived there on Sunday.

June 2: Twenty-nine immigrants, including a six-month-old baby, are recovered by the AFM from a drifting boat.

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