PM 'disgusted' over failure to rescue migrants

The Prime Minister yesterday launched the most scathing attack so far on Italy, saying his government was "disgusted to hear of other countries in the Mediterranean who refuse to rescue people who are in danger".

He was speaking in the wake of the Cabinet's decision to authorise the army to help migrants at sea carry on with their voyage. The move was prompted by the latest confrontation with Italy over 66 migrants rescued off Lampedusa.

Italy first told the Maltese authorities it did not have any vessels to rescue the migrants but later sent two ships to prevent an army patrol boat from entering Lampedusa.

"We have moral, ethical and legal obligations. We are making it clear that we will intervene whenever people's lives are at stake, however, we will do so within the parameters of international law. In the last case the Italian forces should have intervened because the boat in distress was closer to Lampedusa," Dr Gonzi said yesterday.

He stressed that the Armed Forced are not obliged to bring people ashore against their will and dismissed suggestions that the government would only be helping the criminal network that dealt with human trafficking if the army facilitated immigrant crossings.

"If we know that there is something illegal on the boat or something is against the law we will intervene. This is why we said we will continue to honour our international obligations to the full," Dr Gonzi insisted.

This tactic was used in 2003 without success when the AFM refuelled a boatload of 148 migrants, who ended up being sent back to Malta by the Italian authorities.

Dr Gonzi insisted that the army was obliged to assist any boat, even if it belonged to fishermen that developed a technical fault such as a "fuel shortage".

"We are obliged to help it but we are not obliged to bring people ashore against their will. God forbid we start bringing ashore people against their will.

"We will provide help where needed, we will save lives where they are in danger of being lost but we cannot do more. Our country has its limitations," Dr Gonzi said.

But the Cabinet's controversial decision had little apparent impact on the Italian authorities.

The Italian Home Affairs Ministry did not pronounce itself on the matter while its spokesman avoided calls from The Times.

The Italian ambassador Paolo Andrea Trabalza similarly said he did not have a reaction.

"I have relayed what has been reported in the newspapers to the Italian government but I don't think anyone will get too excited about it," Mr Trabalza said when contacted.

"The Italian Home Affairs Ministry has other priorities to deal with such as the earthquake victims and the wider problem of immigration, which is much wider for us than the boat crossings in the Mediterranean," he said.

The ambassador added that he had heard "rumours" of situations where the Maltese authorities have "pretended not to see migrants pass by" and that they sometimes helped them on their way.

"There is nothing new in what is being proposed now," Mr Trabalza said.

However, he also insisted that the dispute was still an argument "between friends" and that the historic, political and cultural relations between both countries were untarnished.

"I hope that this small quarrel among friends in Europe opens the eyes in Brussels to the need for a compulsory burden sharing mechanism," he added.

Even if this position may be shared by the government, Dr Gonzi did not use diplomatic words about the Italian authorities' behaviour in the latest incident involving a boat load of 66 migrants.

"Lampedusa is part of the Italian territory and there are regular daily transport links with the mainland. Lampedusa is as safe as Italy is safe.

If Lampedusa is not safe, Italy is not safe and if Italy is not safe than Europe has a problem," Dr Gonzi said.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party once again accused the Prime Minister of being spineless on the issue of immigration.

"The Cabinet's decision is nothing more than a sudden reaction by Lawrence Gonzi, in a situation of management by crisis after falling for the Italian trap," the PL said yesterday.

"Joseph Muscat was right when he told Dr Gonzi not sign the Immigration Pact because burden sharing was not mandatory," the party said.

It insisted that Dr Gonzi should admit his mistakes and say that he had no plan to tackle illegal immigration.

In a counter statement the Nationalist Party accused the Labour leader of breaking up the national consensus on illegal immigration that had been the norm for years.

The PN accused the Labour Party of putting its partisan interests before the national good. In another reaction to the events that unfolded over the past few days, Azzjoni Nazzjonali felt vindicated by the Cabinet's decision.

It noted that the Cabinet had adopted one of the policies it had outlined in its 10-point plan, which had suggested escorting immigrants safely outside Maltese territorial waters.

The party pointed out that its proposals had been described as unfeasible and extreme by the authorities when they were first made public.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com