Labour MP Gavin Gulia yesterday urged the government to accept the opposition's invitation for the holding of a national conference on illegal immigration without pre-conditions.

He said when speaking in parliament that the opposition had never sought to make political mileage from the issue of illegal immigration, which was not a problem of the government's making.

Indeed, the opposition had expressed its sympathy with government policies on several occasions. It had agreed with the detention policy exercised in terms of the law, a stand now also backed by the courts. The opposition had also initiated a debate on illegal immigration within the Social Affairs Committee. Unfortunately the exercise had not been as fruitful as it could have been.

He had visited holding centres and made objective remarks, including calling for an improvement of conditions. Those remarks could not be described as partisan. Neither was the opposition's call for an inquiry into the repatriation of Eritrean refugees. And surely the opposition was justified when it criticised the fact that the Appeals Board on decisions on the granting of refugee status was not constituted in summer, when it was most needed. This meant that repatriation could not be made.

Dr Gulia said the opposition was renewing its call for a national conference on illegal immigration. This would not be a political event, but a means to identify and agree on action on this serious issue. The government had initially refused the request and now had made a U-turn but had set pre-conditions as a means to justify its new position, saying both sides should first publish policy documents.

His appeal, Dr Gulia said, was for the government to accept the opposition's invitation without conditions.. The two sides could agree on the format so that the conference could be a non-political exercise leading to ideas on how this serious problem could be tacked in the national interest and in the interest of the migrants themselves.