While vigilance on the security front is paramount in the light of a possible threat posed by Islamist extremists in Libya, Malta should take care not to play into the hands of far-right and xenophobes, academics have warned.
According to Ranier Fsadni, an academic within the Department of Anthropological Sciences, a terror attack on Maltese soil would be more of a possibility if the Islamists in Libya begin to lose out and Malta (or at least Europe) is seen as part of the reason for this.
“The terrorists would not wish to provoke a European reaction that would swing the balance of power to the anti-Islamists. They know that it was [former Libyan dictator Muammar] Gaddafi’s over-reaction to the protests and rebellions in 2011 that paved the way for the international military intervention that swung the balance of power towards the then rebels,” he said.
Acts of terror are often perpetrated to disrupt peace processes
Islamist terrorists could target Malta even if Libya began to recover its stability, at the expense of extreme Islamists, and Malta was seen to have played some role in the improvement of Libya’s situation, Dr Fsadni continued.
“Acts of terror are often perpetrated to disrupt peace processes.”
The need for complete vigilance on the security front, together with international security cooperation, was obvious. However, restricting the mobility of ordinary Libyans – who, by and large, were not involved in the current Libyan conflict – would be a “clumsy approach with, very likely, unwanted consequences”, Dr Fsadni said.
Mediterranean Institute academic Norbert Bugeja believed that any measures the Maltese government decided to take in terms of strengthening security should be clearly marked as such.
“It is important to distinguish between the placing of security measures and playing into the hands of the far-right and xenophobes, who would readily highjack the need of security as a means of disallowing access into Europe from people coming from Libya and other North African countries.”
The EU should also be giving direct logistical support to Malta in terms of necessary expertise, consultation and foreign policy assistance, Dr Bugeja continued.
Allowed to grow, groups such as the Islamic State could possibly threaten Malta and other European countries. The implications of the IS thinking of itself as a caliphate and of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi claiming the title of caliph or leader – and claiming military, religious and political jurisdiction over all Muslims – should not be underestimated, Dr Bugeja said.
Al-Baghdadi’s appeal had been ignored or condemned by many Muslims around the world.
A spokeswoman from the Home Affairs Ministry said that the government was closely monitoring the situation in Libya, taking in due consideration all pertinent factors. “Terrorism should be a concern for all countries,” she said.
In an opinion piece in Friday’s Times of Malta entitled ‘Tragedy of Two Libyas’, British security analyst Richard Galustian wrote that the Maltese government had a responsibility to its citizens because, if Libya’s decline continued, Islamic extremists could bring their fight against the West to Malta.
Then not only would Malta have an influx of refugees, he continued, but, more importantly, terrorism may come to this island.