No to burden sharing (2)
France was one of the colonial powers which exploited Africa's natural resources and the African people. It still keeps a significant military and economic presence in its former African colonies. Indeed, most of the refugees and illegal immigrants who...
France was one of the colonial powers which exploited Africa's natural resources and the African people. It still keeps a significant military and economic presence in its former African colonies. Indeed, most of the refugees and illegal immigrants who are now in Malta but originate from former French colonies speak French and have the ambition of rejoining relatives and other connections in France. It is, therefore, galling that the French should refuse to carry their share of the burden. Do they remember the "white man's burden"?
On the other hand, the French press was most critical of Malta during two incidents which were not of Malta's responsibility: in 2006 when a Spanish trawler picked up illegal immigrants in Libya's search and rescue zone, and in 2007 when a French vessel picked up corpses, again in Libya's zone.
I believe the Maltese government should draw the right lessons from these experiences. It should ignore the dictates of moralisers who keep harping about Malta's obligations and focus solely on Malta's rights and interests. After all, that is what all other countries (France included) always do.