Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

The murder of hundreds of migrants on the high seas at the hands of smugglers last week may not be the only case, according to the Prime Minister.

Joseph Muscat was speaking about the latest shocking story narrated by three Palestinian survivors involving a boat with some 300 people on board that capsized after being rammed by traffickers.

“The stories being told are genuine... But this is only one tragedy that we know of and there may be many more like it,” he said yesterday, after addressing a forum on Maltese-Chinese cultural relations.

Dr Muscat said the tragedy confirmed that unless anything was done, criminal gangs would continue to act with impunity and lives will continue to be lost.

A quick return to stability in Libya was important to cut down on the criminal gangs smuggling people across the Mediterranean Sea, he insisted.

“It is no wonder that the UNHCR and IOM described this as murder,” Dr Muscat said.

The stories being told are genuine

One of the survivors told Times of Malta he saw traffickers chop off the hands of an immigrant who tried to cling on to their boat.

The tragedy that happened 300 nautical miles to the south east of Malta in waters that were closer to Crete was described as mass murder by migrant organisations. Traffickers forced the immigrants to board a smaller boat while out at sea. When they refused to budge, the criminals, who were on a separate boat, rammed the big boat until it capsized. Only a handful of people survived after they were picked up from the sea by merchant ships.

Similar stories were told by survivors who were taken to Italy and Greece.

Dr Muscat reiterated a call for UN intervention in Libya, which did not necessarily mean putting boots on the ground.

“It is important to bring all parties together and any intervention must respect the wishes of the Libyan people,” he said.

Asked about the EU’s sea patrol mission, Frontex Plus, Dr Muscat said he still had to see what assets would be deployed to determine whether it would be effective.

He said the government wanted the rules of engagement to respect international law – Malta has always insisted that rescued migrants should be taken to the safest, closest port of call and not disembark in the country hosting the Frontex mission.

Not hiding his disappointment at the EU’s inaction on the issue of migration, Dr Muscat said he would be hearing what the Greek European Commissioner-designate responsible for immigration will have to say at next week’s hearings in the European Parliament.

“I believe he will have a different outlook than his predecessor Cecilia Malmström,” he said.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com

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