The government this afternoon accused the Opposition of obstructing its efforts to ensure that immigration is given more attention in international fora.

The statement came in reply to comments this morning by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil.

Questioned on Radio 101 about developments on immigration, including the public's reaction, Dr Busuttil said the people reacted according to the way they were led. The government had gone into panic mode and that caused the people to worry. What was happening showed how the government had acted in an immature way, showing lack of experience and lack of preparation.

In a nutshell, he said, the migrants who were coming to Malta had still come, but what was different now was that the people were divided and there was a worrying level of xenophobia, if not racism.

And in the European Union, if not the world, Malta was being shown in a  negative way. The reputation which Malta had built for itself in the EU over nine years was wiped away in a day.

Dr Busuttil said he agreed that the EU should do more regarding migration. That was what he had insisted for over the past years. The EU had taken 700 migrants from Malta and given Malta €100m in aid on maritime surveillance. But that was not enough.

However to threaten the people from whom one wanted more was not a good tactic. The government's actions were counter-productive.

THE ERITREAN AND ITALIAN PUSHBACKS

Dr Busuttil said the Nationalist government's decision in 2002 to repatriate a group of Eritrean migrants was different from what was about to happen last week.

The Eritreans, he said, had been in Malta for some time and they had been given the opportunity to apply for asylum. Some did. Some didn't. The application of some of them was not accepted. It was then that they were repatriated.

Last week, the Somali migrants were about to be repatriated without being a chance to apply for asylum. 

And if what happened in 2002 was a mistake, surely repeating it would have been worse? 

As to his alleged support for Italian pushbacks in 2010, Dr Busuttil said that in this case too, Labour propaganda was distorting the picture. What he had backed was an agreement for cooperation on migration issues between Italy and Libya. He had said the EU should have such an agreement with Libya.

But then Italy used its agreement wrongly by resorting to pushbacks without giving the migrants the chance to apply for asylum, and the European Court ruled that that violated human rights. 

Dr Busuttil said short and long-term solutions for migration needed to be discussed. The long term solution was to have Somalia recover so that people no longer felt the need to leave.

The shorter term solution was for the EU to help Libya becoming a functioning democracy. At present Libya was still in a fluid situation. It could not guarantee security and had not signed the Geneva convention. The EU should cooperate with Libya to stand on its feet. It would happen overnight, but it was something which could happen now that Libya was emerging from the Gaddafi era.

In his intervention Dr Busuttil also called for a clear explanation from the prime minister after The Sunday Times of Malta reported that the Economy Minister intervened in a call for tenders for legal services.

GOVERNMENT REACTION

In a reaction, the government said Dr Busuttil was correct to say that the deportation of the Eritreans was different form what took place last week. The Eritreans had been sent back to their country, and, according to media reports, they were tortured on their return. In last week's case, the government had not excluded anything in order to put the issue on the European agenda after years of political failure.

One of the ministers in the Nationalist government of the time of the Eritreans' repatriation was now a European Commissioner. This case was never used against him by the then Labour Opposition during the nomination process, even though it was mentioned in some quarters.

In contrast, the Nationalist Opposition was doing everything it could to obstruct the government as it sought to ensure that immigration was taken seriously  in all fora. The Opposition was even trying to harm the government in the European Parliament.

The government said it remained resolute in its commitment to offer solutions to this problem and it would not remain passive, as the Nationalist administrations had been.