Europe should help Libya stop illegal migration and send back migrants who have already made it into the North African country, according to the Tripoli government’s Minister for Oil and Gas.
Mashala Agoub Said said he was in Malta “with an open heart” after having visited Italy and France to appeal for support.
“Most countries blame Libya for migration but we are in the same boat,” he told a press conference at the Libyan embassy in Balzan. There are hundreds of thousands of irregular migrants in Libya, and some 200 people pass through the country daily.
Libya’s detention centres are full. There are 20 centres of 400 to 700 people, and the United Nations supports only three of them. In recent years, the country has repatriated 30,000 people but can no longer do so, as many embassies have closed. There are 10,000 people waiting to be sent back.
Haftar is stealing the revolution from Libyans
Migrants are a financial burden, but there are also serious concerns about those who smuggle them into Europe. “These human traffickers are making millions. Where will this money be used? As a government, we are afraid it will be used against us.”
The country is in a state of civil war, split between the Tripoli government, which considers itself the representative of the revolution, and the internationally recognised government in Tobruk. Noting he is the brother-in-law of Tobruk’s strongman, General Khalifa Haftar, he had harsh words for the commander, whom he said is like a “killer machine”.
Libyans revolted under Gaddafi because they wanted to rebuild the country on a foundation of human rights, however the revolution was being stolen from them by Haftar, he said.
Some 58,000 families have fled Benghazi, where Haftar’s government holds sway.
“What Haftar is doing is worse than what Gaddafi did. We lived for more than 40 years under the Gaddafi regime and I refuse to let my family live under a similar situation.”
Showing a picture of the General, whom he said was surrounded by mercenaries, Mr Agoub Said said Haftar’s actions were helping strengthen the presence of the Islamic State in Libya. Minister Agoub Said urged dialogue between Tripoli and Tobruk, with a view to reuniting Libya.