Migrant vessel Sea-Watch 3 captain Pia Klemp on Monday accused Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and European politicians of bearing responsibility for the mass grave in the Mediterranean Sea.

Noting that the ship, which had undergone maintenance work in Malta, had not been allowed to leave port, Ms Klemp said that there were no search and rescue vessels in the Mediterranean Sea, where people were dying every day.

“More than 100 people perished only last Friday,” she said, adding European politicians were “denying people their rights and help”.

Seventeen NGOs came together yesterday to warn that Malta’s decision to close its ports to migrant rescue ships could have “potentially fatal” consequences.

The warning came as the captain of rescue vessel the Lifeline, Claus-Peter Reisch, a 57-year-old German national, was accused of sailing the ship in Maltese territorial waters without the necessary registration and licence.

The government announced last week that Malta’s ports would no longer allow entry to ships carrying migrants operated by NGOs, “pending reviews and current investigation”.

The 17 NGOs insisted the government’s decision to close Malta’s ports inevitably meant more people would die attempting to reach a safe harbour.

Acknowledging the importance of secure national borders, they called on the government to “urgently reconsider its decision” and allow NGO vessels to continue to operate from Maltese ports.

“This especially since EU States do not seem to have any plans to increase their search and rescue capabilities in the Mediterranean, but instead intend to rely on the Libyan coast guard to conduct rescues,” the NGOs said.

Activists outside court on Monday.Activists outside court on Monday.

Sea-Watch calls on the government to stop hindering rescue workers

Government statements stressing the need to allow the Libyan coast guard to operate without obstruction and actions taken against NGOs look like “little more than a thinly veiled attempt to block refugees and migrants from leaving Libya,” they added.

The NGOs stressed that it was “a well-documented fact that migrants in Libya routinely experience severe violations of their rights”.

The migrant rescue organisation Sea-Watch on Monday called on the government to stop hindering rescue workers, thus causing a mass grave in the Mediterranean Sea. It accused the government of “a political campaign to stop civil rescue at sea”.

Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia denied there was a political campaign to hinder NGOs, insisting the government’s aim was precisely the opposite.

“We need to be sure that every vessel that sails in and out of our ports is observing laws and fulfilling its obligations,” Dr Farrugia said.

He said Malta never shied away from speaking about migration on an international level and no one would be allowed to “bully” the country.

“Some foreign ministers have tried to threaten our sovereignty,” Dr Farrugia said. He insisted the Libyan coast guard had been trained under European authorities and had access to EU funds.

Their operations were recognised by the United Nations and the International Maritime Organisation, he noted.

Alternattiva Demokratika also condemned the closing of Malta’s ports, saying the government was “imitating the actions of Italy’s fascist government”.

The Maltese government had an ethical and moral duty not to ignore “this cemetery developing around us”, the green party said.

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