Police Commissioner answers MPs' questions on migration
Police Commissioner John Rizzo.
Police Commissioner John Rizzo spoke about the police having to deal "with the unknown" when he answered questions by MPs during a meeting of the Parliamentary Select Committee.
He also replied to questions on the risks to security installations posed by the nearby siting of detention camps, and dealing with crime by migrants.
Asked whether detention centres could be sited in more secure locations, Mr Rizzo said that since Malta was small, there was no area where no threat was posed. It was always a concern to the authorities that should there be a riot, migrants could gain access to the airport, the army armoury or the police quartermaster store, he said.
There were currently 1,800 migrants in the detention centres. Earlier this year there were 2,400, which was 500 more than the whole police force. There were only 1,700 soldiers in the AFM. Therefore the risks were there, Mr Rizzo said. But he was very happy with the way the police, the AFM and the Detention Service had acted to contain any disturbance or riot, firmly but with the least force.
Turning to the identification of migrants, particularly rejected migrants who file appeals for protection, Mr Rizzo said the police were dealing with the unknown. These people arrived in the country without any ID papers. They could be coming from convents or prisons, he said.
He often asked himself why these people destroyed their identity papers when they claimed to be escaping from strife and needed to convince the authorities to protect them. What did they have to hide?
Mr Rizzo said that eight years after the migration problem started, the police with assistance particularly from Frontex, had amassed intelligence from various countries and had refined their interviewing techniques so as to be able to verify what the migrants said. Language expertise had also been increased, to the extent that Malta was now helping Frontex in this regard.
On the investigation of the people traffickers who actually brought the migrants to Malta, Mr Rizzo said such investigations were started as soon as any migrants’ boats arrived. When it was established that the migrants’ boats had a master, criminal action was taken. But in many cases, the migrants denied that there was anybody responsible for the boat and said they all acted together. They said they were given a compass and told to head North.
However in the larger boats, the police sometimes established the presence of a master or a navigator and took criminal action.
Asked which migrant groups caused most trouble, the Commissioner said trouble was caused by migrants of various nationalities, particularly Somalis, while some Nigerians were a cause of concern for reasons of drug trafficking.
As for the crime rate, Mr Rizzo said there was no denying that some crimes were caused by migrants, but he could not give percentages. Given that thousands of migrants had arrived in Malta, the numbers were not insignificant (mhux ħazin) Overall, however, the crime rate in Malta was actually down by an average of 12 percent per year for the past four years.
Replying to a question on what the police were doing with regard to migrants at Marsa, the Commissioner said this was a community of 1,000 people of different cultures and denominations, and incidents sometimes cropped up. The police, he said, lacked the resources to watch over every migrant to ensure that no one was employed illegally, and the focus therefore was on surprise inspections at places of work.
Such raids, the Commissioner stressed, were not against illegal immigrants, but against all people employed illegally. Indeed, the police often came across the illegal employment of foreign students.
NO REPATRIATION AGREEMENT WITH LIBYA
Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici, who spoke at the same meeting, said the situation on the repatriation of migrants was in a state of flux. For example, last week Italy repatriated migrants picked up from five boats but in a more recent case, Italy had asked to bring the migrants to Malta and then took them to Sicily after Malta refused.
He confirmed that even if Italy had an agreement with Libya to repatriate the migrants, Malta did not. He had however been invited for talks in Libya along with the Italian Home Affairs Minister and the EU Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs.
Malta, he said, was calling for more resources to be placed in Libya by the EU and particularly the UNHCR, so that migrants who felt they should apply for protection, would do so there.
A recent reported development, he said, was that some migrant departures from Libya seemed to have shifted east, towards Benghazi, with the migrants heading for Crete.
The situation, he said, was very delicate. Malta would stick to its position of respecting its international obligations by coordinating the search and rescue zone and rescuing migrants who were in distress when the nearest port was in Malta.
“We are keeping our feet on the ground, holding firm to our views and obligations and trying to instil logic into the issue” Dr Mifsud Bonnici said, adding that he was also spending a lot of time explaining to the foreign media what the situation was.
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lgalea
May 16th 2009, 23:10
Margaret Richards
Let me tell you what an ILLEGAL immigrant told a friend of mine because he didn't know he was Maltese because he has a foreign wife.
He said Malta good, UNHCR give me refugee state, father, mother, uncle, aunties, wife, children come, government pay me, give me house free, give me children allowance, me pay nothing, Malta good.
When my friend told him "And I pay for all you get", he was shocked and went away.
These are the illegal immigrants living like leeches on OUR taxes without ever having paid a single cent in taxes.
For me and the vast majority of the Maltese citizens they are our enemies who are invading OUR country and we don't care a hoot about them. They could have stayed ion Libya where most of them have been living for 10 years as evidenced by the the Refugee Appeals Board report.
Margaret Richards
May 16th 2009, 21:05
Mr. I Galea, you are saying the word invasion, others call them boat loads, other call them klandestini, other call them problems, but how many of us actually do call these people 'human beings'??? And i would like to say something else. Maltese people are racist, so the obvious outcome is no coloured immigrants in Malta, Libya is not a signatory of the 1951 Geneva Convention, and human rights are trampled upon. Also to get to Libya, these human beings have to cross the desert. And although we hear of people perishing @ sea we tend to forget those perishing in the desert. So what is being done to restructure Sub Saharan Countries, to give the people the possibility of a decent living, eduction,thus stopping the brain drain, and also the scourge of failed states?? If help perhaps from a system like the ex-trustee ship council would be given, i'm sure these people given a choice will not leave their countries thus risking so much.
lgalea
May 15th 2009, 09:18
M. Mercieca
Why do you think that we care about the mainland eu problems and their dwindling population? Ours is certainly not and if the mainland eu countries have a problem why don't they take our illegal immigrants?
The real threat to the eu is the eu itself which will self-destruct because the people do not want it and its policies.
Have you ever heard about black discrimination against whites Mercieca?
Margaret Richards
If the illegal immigrants invasion was eliminated by taking whatever measures are necessary, neither our security forces nor the general population would not have to deal with the problems and dangers they constantly face with the illegal immigrants. And all of you stop putting racism into it. When a country is being invaded all other considerations are put aside and any necessary action taken to stop and prevent the invasion.
Moses Mula What if 1% of the population commits even 20% of the crimes?
Dr Noel Cutajar
May 15th 2009, 00:03
When talking about crime rate one has to be very careful. Statistics show only reported crime and not the actual figure of crime rate. There is what is referred to as the dark figure of crime which are crimes not reported to the police or the police itself downsize the actual problem. This is termed as selective decisions. Therefore the actual crime rate in any country is not what is reflected from police reports but it is far higher than what is stated. Therefore one can add that only reported crime was down by 12%. Even this figure one has to be very careful as some crimes may be reported or classified differenly to what the actual offence is. I wonder how much research is dedicated by the police force in order to ascertain the true nature of the offence and the reporting patterns in any particular time factor.
Michelle Dali
May 14th 2009, 21:53
@ M Mercieca
Racism has nothing to do with this issue. The fact is that it is very cruel to continue to encourage illegal immigration into Europe to fill a population deficit, whether it is imaginary or real.
People are dying in a desperate attempt to find a better life and criminals are becoming extremely rich on the back of all this. Human trafficking must be stamped out by any means possible and it is the responsibility of the European Union as a whole to ensure that it is.
It is also it's responsibility to ensure that a small member state like Malta is protected from the overwhelming burden it faces. The EU is doing neither. It expects Malta to take in endless numbers of illegal immigrants who are trying to reach mainland Europe without taking into account that there are millions waiting on Libya's shores to make the crossing. How is tiny Malta supposed to cope?
We must be realistic and admit that with all the best intentions in the world, Malta cannot help all the desperate and displaced people in Africa. Just remember that the Africans who are truly in desperate need of help are still in Africa.
M. Mercieca
May 14th 2009, 21:12
@Michelle Dali
I must first emphasize that EU population deficit is not self-theory. Facts are there for peoples that are interested to quit dwelling in illusion.
You ask:
2. if the EU needs people to fill a population deficit, all it has to do is to set up recruitment offices in Africa where people can apply for jobs in the country they wish to emigrate to.
Answer: No politician in EU would risk losing his or her well-paid job on talking candidly about ageing population deficit and the need for foreign manpower.
The other sad fact is that, xenophobia and racism are increasing and constitute real threat to EU unity.
Racism takes many forms in EU: From white to black, nationals toward foreigners...etc. However racism can be self-destructing in EU when it’s among EU member states (English toward Irish-English toward Poles- Italian toward Romanian). Will Brits ask to deport the Poles? Or the Northern Italian disconnect from Catania?
Eroding racism is a must to keep EU unity and Europe’s survival. EU governments (including Maltese government) are taking serious steps to issue laws that eventually erode racism in Europe.
Margaret Richards
May 14th 2009, 20:45
Well spoken Dr. Mifsud Bonnici. I admire your stand at respecting international obligations. So much is being said. Racism seems to be the order of the day. Everyone talks about the aspect of immigration, as if everyone is an expert but no one spares a thought to those who are doing sterling work in this regard. So a big well done - dal cuore - goes to the Police Force. They are doing exceptional behind the scenes work. If instead of writing rubbish one would spare a thought for these people who when a boat arrives day or night, while perhaps we are cosy at home, the police are the first people to welcome these 'human beings' together with the Army. So WELL DONE POLICE FORCE & AFM.
lgalea
May 14th 2009, 19:07
The same Italian also provides for the imprisonment for up to three years for those who let their property to undocumented immigrants.
How about legislating on the same lines in Malta?
M. Mercieca
The answer has been given for the umpteenth time. Take them back to Libya and if Libya does not comply tow them back to just outside Libyan territorial waters with just enough fuel to reach the Libyan shores and point them in that direction and give them the marching orders.
They are unwanted and unwelcome by the vast majority of the Maltese citizens.
Michelle Dali
May 14th 2009, 17:56
@ M Mercieca
Here we go again with the European population deficit!
1. If what you say is true, why don't the EU countries who are so needy for manpower come begging Malta for the thousands of idle illegal immigrants roaming our streets?
2. If the EU needs people to fill a population deficit, all it has to do is to set up recruitment offices in Africa where people can apply for jobs in the country they wish to emigrate to.
Africans would then not have to cross deserts and seas to get illegally into Europe. They would not have to pay their life savings to criminals. They would not have to destroy their identity documents. They would not risk their and their children's lives. They would not have to die needlessly in the desert or drown in the Mediterranean sea.
The Police commissioner rightly asks himself why these people destroy their documents if they are seeking protection. While some of them may be genuine, undoubtedly there are others who have something to hide. Illegal immigration is the perfect opportuntity to hide a criminal past.
GiovDeMartino
May 14th 2009, 17:50
If only the Police Commissioner could answer my question about the blue films screened regularly at a public cinema. Ms. Friggieri of the Board of Censors is evading my question.
M. Mercieca
May 14th 2009, 17:04
@Lorry Coleiro.
We are called ‘racist’ isn’t actually because of illegal immigrants. This is because our sensitivity toward LEGAL IMMIGRANTS.
Sociologist Mario Vassallo carried out a survey on 14-8-2005. According to the survey carried out among 300 respondents, an overwhelming 97.3% of the Maltese said that nobody had the right to come and settle in Malta. Only 2.3% said this right should be given to everybody.
@ john micallef
Why should we expect Libya to server as a safety-valve for Europe ? Why should Libya accept none-Libyans in Libya?
Could you please mention ONE SINGLE INCIDENT where illegal immigrants in Europe used the host country’s weapons?
@ The rest.
All countries fail to control illegal immigration and Malta is no exception.
A solution to satisfy both Valletta and Brussels does not exist and probably never.
Unless, any or all anti-immigrants parties provide and explain in DETAILS how they curb illegal immigrants (in the context of Europe population deficit and Europe's dire need for imported man power ) they will not be taken seriously and will never fill one ballot box. This applies to ‘politicians’ like Mr. Lowell and AN.
James Green
May 14th 2009, 16:54
@ Mr Rizzo said that since Malta was small, there was no area where no threat was posed. It was always a concern to the authorities that should there be a riot, migrants could gain access to the airport, the army armoury or the police quartermaster store, he said.
AKA putting all your eggs in one basket.
Not wishing to sound alarmist but maybe it's about time that we gave serious thought to adopting the Swiss model of every Squaddy (and possibly Bobby) keeping his service firearm (and ammunition) at home.
It is also one of the reasons why keeping all privately held firearms, (and possibly even their records) as suggested by an uninformed few, at a central location an extremely risky undertaking.
Moses Mula
May 14th 2009, 16:29
To me this seems just biased information and I tell you why.
1) Special attention to crime rate done by immigrants. That is already wrong as crime is crime and criminality should not be judged by whom it was done by but the crime itself.
2) He answered the question by `mhux hazin` , very professionally and scientifically done, not !.( crime rate is down, so how will Mr.Lowell explain that? )
3) Does he know that all immigrants who arrive without documents have destroyed said documents themselves? I hope he is not guessing, biased again.
Of course, one cannot deny that our police force is not that big, and that the majority of the police are doing their job and obeying orders. And yes Malta is small. But you have to do your best with what you have and not doing your worst so other countries will pity you and your mistakes are justified, playing the martyr.
@Bernice Bruno, your comment is not of good taste, just racist.
Others who are hailing Lowell, and his speeches of racial hatred, very sad indeed.
Stephen Farrugia !
May 14th 2009, 15:13
One, should understand clearly what our dear Police Commissioner is saying.
The Maltese people have been to quite about the subject because they were scared, of false accusations. Those that stood up, were brave. It is time to give a very strong answer, to the EU, government and those that want intergration with immigrants.
I would take the opportunity, to thank all our " boys", in the army and police force, for providing security. We know, how much they are suffering because of lousy political decisions.
Ave !
louise vella
May 14th 2009, 15:01
Let's not forget the following:
1. Throughout all this time Dr Gonzi has been preaching about Christian values
2. Even recently, Dr Fenech Adami has been preaching about the human rights of illegal immigrants
3. At this very moment, Dr Mifsud Bonnici is still putting his trust in UNHCR which has spent the last six years attacking Malta and its government.
And then we shall vote on 6 June.
Raymond Sammut
May 14th 2009, 14:56
"As for the crime rate, Mr Rizzo said there was no denying that some crimes were caused by migrants, but he could not give percentages." So where did Mr Rizzo get his 12 percent from?
J Martinelli
May 14th 2009, 14:38
@ John Azzopardi
"Having no agreement with Libya to repatriate these illegal is suicidal to Malta's future"
"Italy has already taken a hard stance on this and is now on it's way to winning the war on illegal immigration coming from Libya".
Can Mr Azzopardi state without hesitation how many illegal immigrants choose Malta as their destination? Italy's stance along with malta's refusal to accept other than those rescued closer to Malta than Lampedusa, seems to be working out and let us remember that Italy was nudged into action by Malta's refusal to let the Pinar enter our harbour!
@ J Spiteri
"When Norman Lowell spoke against immigration he was considered a racist....So, have the majority turned racist?" You are mixing apples and oranges.
The majority are against receiving illegal immigrants beyond the island's capacity irrespective of the colour of their skin. Mr Lowell's pronouncements tend to weigh
more heavily on the side of immigrants of certain colour.
@ Sandro Pace
It took Italy a few billion euros to get Libya to move a little. Malta has no such resources and no navy to police territorial waters. It is therefore unfair to make accusations when solutions hardly exist.
Ramon Cutajar
May 14th 2009, 14:30
Since 2000 most of Norman Lowell's speeches were taken with a pinch of salt or outright ridiculed. A quick seach on youtube will show most of his speeches labelled as 'comedy'. Nowadays it seems that he was the proverbial phrophet, shouting in the desert, heeding the nation of what was to come in the future.
Strangely most of the 'Opinion Formers', or 'part of the rotten establishment' as he himself labelled them, have either fallen silent or else admitted that this is a serious problem...
The man deserves an apology...... that is the least that Malta owes him.
lgalea
May 14th 2009, 14:19
Italy today passed a law making it a criminal offence for an illegal immigrant to be in Italy punishable with between €5,000 - €10,000 and expulsion, setting up civil vigilantes, requiring persons including doctors to report clients they suspect are illegal immigrants and making it an offence for anyone to rent or sell property to any illegal immigrant.
How about a similar law in Malta?
Azzopardi Alfred
May 14th 2009, 13:40
Back in the 1950's the British politician Enoch Powell was rediculed, to say the least, when he warned Britain of the grave consequences of unregulated immigration and this led to his downfall.However time proved him right at the expense of UK's society, today there are cities in the UK overrun by immigrants. In Malta Norman Lowell has suffered and is still suffering the same "persecution" for forewarning us of the dangers of illegal immigration, this ongoing saga is proving him right in many respects except for his undiplomatic and ultra-rough way of saying what needs to be said, however there is no questioning the substance.
Alfred Bugeja
May 14th 2009, 13:38
Italy struck the deal to take the illegal immigrants saved in international waters directly back to Libya by paying the Libyans €5 billion and giving them a load of goodies in the process in the agreement that Berlusconi signed in August last year. This was made amply clear by the Italian Government itself. That is the only reason why Libya took back around 1,500 migrants up till last week (and apparently stopped taking them since).
€5 billion is roughly equivalent to twice Malta's annual GDP.
Anyone who believes that Malta can strike a similar deal with Libya is living in cloud cuckooland. The only thing that our Government's ministers can do to obtain some co-operation from the Libyans on illegal immigration is logic and persuasion. That is all. And that is quite insignificant when compared to the sweet sound of money.
Lorry Coleiro
May 14th 2009, 12:33
Since the year 2000, there was a man who was laughed at and ridiculed, when he said these precise words.
''Once they land a shore they become a problem. A sanitary problem, a security problem, a health problem, a financial problem, a cultural problem''.
And for that he and others were labeled as racists by the very persons who now today claim that illegal immigration has become a huge problem for the country.
Kif jghid il-Malti l-ebda profeta m'hu mismuh f'pajjizu!
..............and that is something very,very sad!
Sandro Pace
May 14th 2009, 12:24
From the minister's words, not much effort is being done in obtaining a repatriation agreement with Libya, which is the only realistic solution. My impression is that given such an agreement, they still would not have the guts to do what Maroni did in the interests of Italians. So better the excuse of nothingness.
It is more comfortable and easy for them to rely on other circumstances (leaving from the east, the EU should do this or that..., Frontex etc. etc.). Does anyone think that a UNHCR office in Libya will solve anything?
We are all fed up of this attitude.
Charles Sammut
May 14th 2009, 12:24
The AFM and Police Corps between them have 3600 personnel. However even with costal surveillance radar, boatloads of illegal immigrants still manage to land undetected as happened yesterday in Gozo in broad daylight.
Don't we have our priorities wrong? The AFM's priority seems to be in setting up roadblocks in the hope of catching some kid with a joint or an ecstacy tablet, with the rest of their time spent ironing their uniforms and polishing their boots. Not to mention that a considerable number of them are obviously unfit and obese.
Meanwhile in spite of all the electronic, maritime and aerial assets they have, anyone is free to set foot on our shores. We should reman the de Redin towers because nobody seems to be watching the coastal defence radar screens.
J.Spiteri
May 14th 2009, 12:22
When Norman Lowell spoke against immigration he was considered a racist. Today, the majority speaks and shows concern about immigration, as the current Times poll about the EP electoral campaign testifies. So, have the majority turned racist? If so, they couldn't be blamed. The one who are definitely to blame are our lame politicians, who, through lack of incompetence, have left the situation to worsen and get out of control. Why are we relying on somebody else to solve this growing problem? Are we incapable of finding a solution by ourselves?
Bernice Bruno
May 14th 2009, 12:01
This makes you wonder.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1890354.ece
What is the situation in Malta?
John Azzopardi
May 14th 2009, 11:34
Having no agreement with Libya to repatriate these illegal is suicidal to Malta's future. Mifsud Bonnici and Gonzi should force the issue as Italy did and with the help of the EU. Otherwise Maltese will be the one of the only open opportunities to enter Europe. Italy has already taken a hard stance on this and is now on it's way to winning the war on illegal immigration coming from Libya. Malta is now left on it's own yelling like crazy person. At the end of the day, Malta has now become the loser. Well, let have our government get us of this mess because it's them who put us in this mess to start off with . The people of Malta and Gozo deserve better.
e.cortis
May 14th 2009, 11:20
We don't even practice solidarity and burden sharing here !! How do we expect other countries to show us solidarity and share the burden with us ??. These 33 landed in Gozo. KEEP THEM THERE !!. I am sure there are more than enough places where to house them . What's more, let the authorities start transferring these illegals from the south to the north and, of course, Gozo. Anything wrong with that?. That's what Solidarity and Burden Sharing really is. After all, charity begins at home .....
Adriano Spiteri
May 14th 2009, 11:08
Norman Lowell spoke about this issue long before it became a national problem.
Time Proved him Right.
Joe Cordina
May 14th 2009, 11:07
I think that the police are doing a very good job considering the mammoth size of the problem. I do not think that the police should actually be further burdened with investigating illegal employement as there exist another entity for this being ETC.
Edwin Mifsud
May 14th 2009, 10:58
"It was always a concern to the authorities that should there be a riot, migrants could gain access to the airport, the army armoury or the police quartermaster store, he said."
This just proved A.N. right!!
It IS a national Emergency.
lgalea
May 14th 2009, 10:47
At least some authorities are showing their concern that has been expressed by the public for years.
What the Maltese people need is to get all the illegal immigrants out of Malta and not allow a single illegal immigrant to remain here.
That is the only way to stop the illegal immigrants invasion and send the message that no illegal immigrants will be allowed in Malta.
Italy set the example.
Let's follow it.
John carmel Navarro
May 14th 2009, 10:37
I think Police Commissioner John Rizzo showed his pedigree, he has integrity which is recognized by the Government. He answered all the questions with honesty; it is so very true that the Police Service is dealing with the unknown. They have very limited manpower but still the pressure is being put on them to solve the whole Illegal Immigration problem, one has only drive around Marsa to see the magnitude of vast number of separate issues’s that need addressing. There are far too many Illegal Immigrants roaming our street for whatever reason whether seeking employment or otherwise, anyone with no papers must be kept in a secure complex until their identity is verified. If one breaks the law and enter a country illegally than they cannot expect freedom of movement. We are a very small Island and cannot afford to let things get out of control, our policeman require and deserve all the support in dealing with this problem.
john micallef
May 14th 2009, 10:20
as i had already stated some time ago, why are these illegals destroying their id's when they were asking for protection? as the commisioner said, there was no logic in doing this. why shouldn't the authorities, seeing that the majority came without id, send these to libya? as well as being a normal human, some of them could have also had military training, seeing this and the vicinity of the afm's armoury and police quartermaster this would institute a security fear. let's not forget that most of afm's weaponry is of soviet origin, the one's that are wildly used in conflicts in africa (namely AK-47 aka kalashnikov)