The United Nations must act fast to prevent Libya from becoming “a failed state” as this would spell disaster for the Mediterranean region and aggravate an already alarming humanitarian crisis, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat warned yesterday.
This appeal was made in the wake of Italy’s call for a UN peacekeeping force to restore law and order in the neighbouring North African country.
The growing concern was fuelled by reports a few days ago that Islamic State fighters have taken over the important coastal cities of Sirte and Derna and made significant inroads in other parts of Libya.
According to diplomatic sources, Italy would be ready to commit some 500 troops for a UN peacekeeping mission but is expecting other countries to follow suit and give their share.
“We cannot have the cake and eat it, by staying put and expecting the situation in Libya to improve,” Dr Muscat said yesterday in an interview on One Radio.
While pledging to give “logistical” support to any UN-mandated mission, the Prime Minister stressed that Malta was not facing any imminent security threat.
There are no real imminent threats to Malta- PM
“We are working closely with other countries and there are no real imminent threats to Malta,” he said.
The Prime Minister also cautioned against the spreading of dubious or false news from unreliable internet sources.
He said that the only real threat was to the entire Mediterranean region, as a further escalation in Libya would aggravate the problem of irregular migration.
At the same time he urged the few remaining Maltese nationals in Libya, estimated to number about 20, to leave the troubled country immediately.
While noting that last year Malta recorded the lowest number of arrivals in years, he said that failure to act by the international community could result in an “overnight” spike in irregular migration.
Dr Muscat cautioned that apart from refugees escaping from war-torn central African countries and Syria, a further escalation of violence would also force Libyan nationals to seek refuge in Europe.
Such a situation would only play into the hands of criminal gangs smuggling people to Europe, he added.
Touching on other issues the Prime Minister welcomed the EU’s revised economic statistics issued last week for the third quarter of 2014, remarking that Brussels admitted it had been “wrong” in its forecast.
Dr Muscat pointed out that economic growth was revised upwards by 0.2 per cent, making Malta’s economy the fastest growing between July and September of last year.
As for the fuel controversy, he reiterated the government’s policy in favour of hedging.
This was a form of “insurance”, he said, that would guarantee long-term stability in prices.
While noting that this government had already reduced prices at the pump seven times, he gave notice that further cuts would be announced at the beginning of next month.
Commenting on recent developments in the oil procurement scandal, he said he would take all necessary decisions, but gave no further details.
He also lashed out at the Opposition’s remarks that questioned the timing of the scandal – leaked weeks before the last general election – saying that such declarations were “shameful”.