Gaps remain in migrants' boat mystery
A rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) said last night that her visit to Malta this week had been useful to piece together more pieces of the puzzle in the case of a migrants' boat which was 'ignored' by the authorities of a number of countries.
"This visit to Malta was important for my inquiry into who is responsible for lives lost in the Mediterranean Sea, and enabled me to piece together another part of the puzzle in the case of the 'left-to-die boat'", said Tineke Strik.
The visit to Malta focused on an incident reported in March-April this year, when 63 boat people fleeing Libya 'were left to die' after their appeals for rescue had allegedly been ignored.
"Having already visited Italy and spoken with officials from NATO, it was indispensable also to learn how Malta acted in this case," said the rapporteur. "Nonetheless, the puzzle remains incomplete. Gaps remain and important questions still need to be answered. As time is precious in this kind of inquiry, I very much count on national authorities, NATO and the EU to provide me swiftly with the information I have requested."
"The on-going war in Libya at that time made it difficult to establish who was responsible for co-ordinating search and rescue operations at sea, but it was clear to everyone that the Libyan authorities were not in a position to undertake search and rescue in practice," she said. "There should be no gaps in the division of responsibility in practice, and yet that is exactly what seems to have happened here."
"Besides, the on-going dispute between Italy and Malta on their respective responsibility with regard to the disembarkation of boat people rescued at sea remains a cause of serious concern," she said.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in June launched an inquiry into who is responsible for the more than 1,000 “boat people” thought to have perished in the Mediterranean since January 2011 while trying to reach European soil from North Africa.
Following a request for an inquiry signed by 34 members of the Assembly, PACE’s Migration Committee appointed Mrs Strik (Netherlands) to prepare a report on “Lives lost in the Mediterranean sea: who is responsible?”.
“There have been allegations that migrants and refugees are dying after their appeals for rescue have been ignored,” said Mrs Strik at the time. “Such a grave allegation must be urgently investigated.”
“I intend to look into the manner in which these boats are intercepted – or not – by the different national coastguards, the EU’s border agency FRONTEX, or even military vessels. I also intend to speak to witnesses directly involved in reported incidents, and put questions to national authorities, the UNHCR, FRONTEX and NATO, among others.”
On 8 May, the Guardian newspaper reported that 61 boat people escaping from Libya had died after their appeals for rescue had been ignored by armed forces operating in the Mediterranean. The following day PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu called for “an immediate and comprehensive enquiry” into the incident.
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Joe Spiteri
Dec 17th 2011, 15:14
......it was clear to everyone that the Libyan authorities were not in a position to undertake search and rescue in practice". Tineke Strik must be totally misinformed. Did the Libyan authorities EVER really care to carry out true search and rescue operations? Will she also be calling on the Libyan and Tunisian authorities to help her solve this so called puzzle? Will the families and relatives eventually sue the Maltese authorities for failing to go to their rescue?
Evarist Saliba
Dec 17th 2011, 12:47
Is the enquiry looking into the possibility that some of the blame could be due to the persons who undertook this clandestine trip? The attitude that blame must be put at the door of those who failed to solve a problem while absolving those who created it in the first place, is hardly helpful.
George Vella
Dec 17th 2011, 20:18
Well said Mr. Saliba. STOP
R Borg
Dec 17th 2011, 12:39
What a waste of time and taxpayers money instead of using the resources to solve the economy problem in the EU.
Louise Vella
Dec 17th 2011, 12:27
Strik and UNHCR should start at the source of the problem. If they do not want lives to be lost at sea, they should start a public relations campaign in Libya and Tunisia to warn potential illegal immigrants of the dangers of the sea crossing, especially if the boats are unseaworthy and overloaded. They should tell the illegal immigrants that as they are not recognised as refugees they are likely to be sent back to their home countries. And that even if they stay illegally in some EU country, they should not expect to see the roads paved in gold. By their press conferences, press releases and other gimmicks, Strik, UNHCR and others are only encouraging the illegal immigrants to take to the sea, with all the risks involved.
vincent a galea
Dec 17th 2011, 10:50
"Besides, the on-going dispute between Italy and Malta on their respective responsibility with regard to the disembarkation of boat people rescued at sea remains a cause of serious concern," she said.
Strange statement!!!
Surely such intelligent countires that form the EU should not create "causes for concern" in this regard!
There exist clear guidelines as to mileages, distances etc to remove any doubts whatsoever as to who is responsible for what!
Joseph Vassallo, (Bugibba)
Dec 17th 2011, 10:34
Wasn't the Mediterranean, all along the Libyan coast, full of N.A.T.O and American warships at the time? How come THEY weren't alerted and didn't see the purported craft despite all their essential vigilance including helicopter patrols? Is there proof that a boat actually went down? Have bodies been recovered or maybe the boat itself?
What are the chances that this was a planned hoax (possibly by a regime in trouble) and there was no boat, no migrants and no victims? Playing on global humanitarian sympathy is a well-known means towards an end. During March this year, Gaddafi was still very much in charge and could easily have used such a report as a means to draw attention away from what was going on in and around Benghazi. Remember that the rebellion was only just started; it had not even really got under way and the regime did not want the world to focus in its reaction to the protests.
I'm asking if this was a "proven" incident or an "alleged" one.
Robert Callus
Dec 17th 2011, 10:06
Where were those who are pro-life "from conception till natural death" while this tragedy was going on? Not a hiss. Is having people drown because of political bickering a natural death?
http://robertcallus.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/rights-of-a-born-foetus/
Joseph M. Grech.
Dec 17th 2011, 11:35
Try knocking on the door of PL, Joseph Muscat et al who wanted us to imitate Italy!
Christine Xuereb
Dec 17th 2011, 15:52
Good point.
John F. Galea
Dec 17th 2011, 09:02
Clarifing past ordeals is quite correct and in order, of course taking into consideration the war zone pertaining at that time.
However that now tranquility is back in Libya I see no reason why this exodus from Libya causing such a heavy influx of illegal immigrants into tiny Malta. This has to stop and the EU should come to its senses and stop its all bla bla.
The Maltese authorities should put their foot down and send immediately back illegal entries to where they had embarked.
Gustav Svensson
Dec 17th 2011, 09:26
Luckily EU will not allow that. A good number of the immigrants will be integrated into the maltese society.
Mariano Camilleri
Dec 17th 2011, 13:59
so what about maltese rights???...dont we have rights too???...what freedom we have if we cant say no to anything and the illegals make our lives worse??what right we have if we cant protect our way of life???
Louis Gialanze
Dec 17th 2011, 14:39
We have no qualms with saving lives at sea. That's as far as our international obligation goes. However, keeping the aliens here in Malta against their own wishes is forced on us by the EU. Gustav Svensson's homeland is big enough to host another ten million or so would be immigrants. Go ahead liberal Scandinavia put your money where your mouth is.