Maltese travellers who were stopped at Tripoli airport and banned entry to Libya have complained of being treated 'like hostages' and being kept in a room for 20 hours.
19 Maltese were stopped at Tripoli airport on Sunday-Monday night and yesterday after Libya stopped entry visas issued to Schengen countries. A number of Maltese were eventually allowed through but eight were forced to return to Malta.
An accountant who has been doing business in Libya for the past 25 years, said he had to spend about 20 hours in a room at Tripoli airport before catching a flight back to Malta.
"They treated us like hostages, not even allowing us out of the room to stretch our legs," the passenger, who did not want to be named, said on his return yesterday.
He arrived in Tripoli on Sunday evening, having left Malta just before Libya decided to refuse entry to people from Schengen countries.Libya was reacting to Switzerland's decision to blacklist 180 Libyans.
Among the Maltese on that flight, three were refused entry and 14 were allowed out of the airport. However, a female passenger who was given the green light to enter the country decided to stay with her father who was not allowed in, George Cassar, Malta's Ambassador to Tripoli, said.
A number of other passengers from Italy, Austria, Portugal and Ireland, who were among the plane's 61 passengers, were also blocked from setting foot inside the country.
Even those who were finally allowed into Libya spent some four hours stuck at the airport until Maltese diplomats persuaded the Libyan authorities to grant them permission to enter, Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said when contacted.
In a similar incident, four Maltese and two Italian passengers, arriving in Tripoli on yesterday's Air Malta flight, were stopped from entering Libya. A total of 45 people were on that plane.
"I hope common sense prevails and we can reach an agreement at the earliest," Dr Cassar said.
It is not clear why some people were allowed to enter Libya while others were turned back. One of the persons who returned to Malta is an employee of Saint James Hospital Group, which opened a hospital in Tripoli in 2005. "This took us completely by surprise," Jean Claude Muscat, the group's director in charge of overseas operations, said.
The group regularly sends administrative and medical personnel to the North African country to oversee work at the Tripoli hospital and conduct business meetings and staff training.
Mr Muscat admitted that their work would be made very difficult if Maltese were not allowed into Libya: "It is impossible to run a business if you cannot be hands-on."
However, when asked whether the company would consider closing its Libya operation if the visa problem persists, Mr Muscat was positive, insisting that "we are hopeful a solution will be found".
Foreign Minister Borg said he had been in contact with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and Libyan European Affairs Minister Abdallah Obeidi in a bid to resolve the issue.
He said the Libyan government had organised a meeting for ambassadors of countries in the EU to inform them about the developments
European Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström yesterday said the European Commission deplored the "unilateral and disproportionate decision" by the Libyan authorities. This was affecting travellers in possession of a visa legally obtained before the suspension measure refused them entry upon arrival.
The issue would be discussed before the end of the week by the European Commission, member states and the Schengen associated countries within the framework of the visa group, which would consider the appropriate reaction, she said.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Ministry is urging Maltese travellers to consult the Libyan Embassy in Malta before travelling to Libya because no assurances for entry to the country are being given, even to those who are already in possession of a visa.